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Oranga Tamariki Act 1989

Purposes, principles, and duties - General duties

8: Parents and others to be informed of decisions

You could also call this:

"People making decisions about you must tell you and your family in a way you understand."

Illustration for Oranga Tamariki Act 1989

When someone makes a decision about you under the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, they must tell you and your parents or guardians about it. They have to explain why they made that decision. You have the right to know what is going on, and so do the people who care for you. The person telling you must do it in a way that you can understand.

If you are too young to understand the decision, or if it's not good for you to know, then you might not be told. The person making the decision gets to choose whether or not to tell you, based on what's best for you. They have to think about what's in your best interests.

When the person tells you about the decision, they should do it in a way that makes sense to you. They should speak to you and, if possible, also give you something in writing. They should use language that you can understand, so you know what's happening.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM149447.

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Children and parenting > Children and parentingRights and equality > Privacy
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Part 1Purposes, principles, and duties
General duties

8Parents and others to be informed of decisions

  1. Where any person takes any action, or makes any decision, under this Act that significantly affects any child or young person, that person shall ensure that, wherever practicable, the following persons are informed, as soon as practicable, of that action or decision and of the reasons for it:

  2. every person who is a parent or guardian of, or a person having the care of, the child or young person:
    1. the child or young person.

      1. It is not necessary to inform a child or young person of any action or decision if—

      2. that child or young person is incapable of understanding it; or
        1. it is plainly not in the child's or young person's interests to be so informed.

          1. The information required by subsection (1) to be given to any person shall be given—

          2. orally and, where practicable, in writing; and
            1. where practicable, in a manner and in language that the person understands.