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Oranga Tamariki Act 1989

Children and young persons in care of chief executive or other persons or bodies - Secure care

370: Time limits on detention in secure care

You could also call this:

"How long you can be kept in secure care"

Illustration for Oranga Tamariki Act 1989

If you are in secure care, you can only be kept there for a certain amount of time. You cannot be kept in secure care for more than 72 hours, or on more than 3 days in a row, unless someone approves it under section 376. If you are in the care of the chief executive because of section 42 or section 235, you cannot be kept in secure care for more than 24 hours unless someone approves it under section 376. When counting the time you spend in secure care, some days are not included, like public holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM154337.

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Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Courts and legal help
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371: Application for approval for continued detention in secure care, or

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Part 7Children and young persons in care of chief executive or other persons or bodies
Secure care

370Time limits on detention in secure care

  1. Subject to subsection (2), no child or young person shall be kept in secure care for a continuous period of more than 72 hours, or on more than 3 consecutive days (whether continuously or not), unless an approval has been granted under section 376.

  2. Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1), no child or young person (being a child or young person who is placed in the custody of the chief executive pursuant to section 42 or section 235) shall be kept in secure care for a continuous period of more than 24 hours unless an approval has been granted under section 376.

  3. In calculating, for the purposes of subsection (2), the period for which a child or young person has been kept in secure care, any period spent in secure care on any of the following days shall not be included:

  4. Saturday, Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Labour Day, the Sovereign's birthday, Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki/Matariki Observance Day, Waitangi Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, or the second day of January:
    1. if Waitangi Day or Anzac Day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the following Monday:
      1. the day observed as the anniversary of the province in which the residence in which the child or young person is detained is situated:
        1. any day that is a public holiday in the place in which that residence is situated.

          Notes
          • Section 370(2): amended, on , by section 13 of the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services Act 1999 (1999 No 82).
          • Section 370(3)(a): amended, on , by wehenga 7 o Te Ture mō te Hararei Tūmatanui o te Kāhui o Matariki 2022/section 7 of the Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Act 2022 (2022 No 14).
          • Section 370(3)(ab): inserted, on , by section 8 of the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 19).