Oranga Tamariki Act 1989

Care and protection of children and young persons - Plans for children and young persons

137: Court to consider report and make directions

You could also call this:

"The court looks at a report about a child and makes decisions to help them."

Illustration for Oranga Tamariki Act 1989

When a court gets a report about a child or young person, you can expect the court to think about the report and the new plan. The court can then make some decisions, such as changing an order that is already in place, or making a new order to help the child or young person. The court can also ask someone to apply to change an order.

The court might ask a care and protection co-ordinator to organise a family group conference to talk about the child or young person. You might be asked to go to court to answer some questions about the plan or the report. The court can also ask for another report or plan if they think the first one is not good enough.

If the court is thinking about making a new order, they will usually only do this if the report recommends it and everyone agrees, or if a family group conference recommends it. Any orders that are already in place will keep going until the court has finished thinking about the report and has made a decision. The court can make other orders to help the child or young person, and they can also use rules from other parts of the law to help them make a decision.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM151019.


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136: Access to reports and revised plans, or

"Getting to see reports and plans about you"


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138: Court to set date for further review of plan, or

"The court sets a new date to check if a child's plan is working and needs to be changed."

Part 2Care and protection of children and young persons
Plans for children and young persons

137Court to consider report and make directions

  1. Where a report is furnished to the court pursuant to section 135 in respect of the review of any plan prepared in relation to any child or young person, the court shall consider the report and the accompanying revised plan, and may do any 1 or more of the following things:

  2. in relation to any order that is in force under this Part and that relates to that child or young person,—
    1. make any order under section 127 as if an application had been made under section 125 in relation to that order; or
      1. direct any person to make an application under section 125 in relation to that order:
      2. make, in respect of that child or young person, any order referred to in section 83(1) or section 84(1):
        1. direct a care and protection co-ordinator to convene a family group conference for the purpose of considering such matters relating to that child or young person as the court may specify:
          1. require any person to appear before the court for the purpose of being examined as to any matter relating to, or arising out of,—
            1. the plan prepared pursuant to section 128:
              1. the report furnished under section 135 on the review of that plan:
                1. the revised plan accompanying that report:
                2. where the court considers that the report furnished under section 135, or the revised plan, or both, are inadequate, direct the person who prepared the report to furnish to the court a further report, or a further revised plan, or both, and may indicate any specific matter that it requires to be dealt with in that report or plan:
                  1. make any order that it is empowered to make under section 178 or section 181 or section 186 or section 187 in relation to the hearing of an application for a care or protection order, and the provisions of those sections, of sections 179, 180, 182, 183, 184, and 185, and of sections 188 to 194 shall apply with such modifications as may be necessary with respect to every report required to be furnished to the court under this paragraph.
                    1. When considering the report and revised plan, the court may, but need not, give to any person the opportunity to be heard.

                    2. The provisions of section 199 shall apply with respect to any person required to appear before the court pursuant to subsection (1)(d) as if that person had been called by the court as a witness.

                    3. The court shall not make any order under paragraph (a)(i) or paragraph (b) of subsection (1) unless—

                    4. the report furnished to the court under section 135 recommends that the order be made, and the court is satisfied that every person to whom a copy of that report is required to be given agrees with that recommendation; or
                      1. a family group conference recommends that the order be made.
                        1. Nothing in section 128 shall apply in respect of any order that the court proposes to make pursuant to subsection (1)(b).

                        2. Where a report is furnished to the court pursuant to section 135 in respect of the review of any plan prepared in relation to any child or young person, any order that is in force under this Part and that relates to that child or young person shall, unless the court otherwise directs, and subject to section 108(c) to (e) and section 117 and to any order made pursuant to this section, continue in force until the court has completed its consideration of the report in accordance with this section and has determined what (if any) decision it should make with respect to that order.

                        Notes
                        • Section 137(1): amended, on , by section 4(1) of the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 76).
                        • Section 137(1)(f): amended, on , by section 19 of the Oranga Tamariki Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 81).
                        • Section 137(1A): inserted, on , by section 4(2) of the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 76).