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Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022

Oversight of Oranga Tamariki system - Monitoring of Oranga Tamariki system - Power of entry for monitoring purposes

36: Limits on power of entry

You could also call this:

"Rules to keep kids safe when officials visit homes"

Illustration for Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act 2022

When you are an authorised staff member, you cannot enter premises under section 34 if you think a child or young person might get hurt. You also cannot enter if the person in charge of the premises says no in exceptional circumstances.

You might be wondering what exceptional circumstances are. This means people in the premises are very sick, or something serious has happened and your visit might make things worse or hurt a child's feelings.

If the person in charge says no to your visit, they must write down their reason and give it to the Monitor before you were supposed to visit.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS591490.

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35: Notice of entry, or

"Before entering a place, staff must give the person in charge a written notice saying why they are coming in."

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37: Purpose of this subpart, or

"What extra jobs and powers Ombudsmen have when checking Oranga Tamariki services."

Part 2Oversight of Oranga Tamariki system
Monitoring of Oranga Tamariki system: Power of entry for monitoring purposes

36Limits on power of entry

  1. An authorised staff member must not enter premises under section 34 if—

  2. the authorised staff member has reason to believe that entering the premises may result in a child or young person being at risk of being harmed; or
    1. a person in charge of the premises denies entry to the premises in exceptional circumstances.

      1. In subsection (1)(b), exceptional circumstances means—

      2. people within the premises are experiencing serious health concerns (for example, an outbreak of gastroenteritis); or
        1. a serious event or incident has occurred and a visit by an authorised staff member is likely to exacerbate tension or cause emotional harm to a child or young person at the premises.

          1. A person in charge who denies entry to an authorised staff member under subsection (1)(b) must provide a reason in writing to the Monitor within a reasonable time before the entry is to occur.