1Interpretation

1. In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,—

   assets includes real or personal property, money, rights, or interests

   board means the board of the Commission

   commencement means the commencement of the Children and Young People’s Commission Act 2022

   Commission means the Children and Young People’s Commission established by section 11

   investigation means an investigation that has been requested in accordance with clause 10(4) of the Schedule of the Oranga Tamariki (Residential Care) Regulations 1996

   liabilities includes debts, charges, duties, and other obligations, whether present, future, actual, contingent, payable, or to be observed or performed in New Zealand or elsewhere.

2Appointment of first board members

1. This clause applies to the appointment of the first board members of the Commission.

2. The Minister may recommend to the Governor-General that a person be appointed as a board member if the Minister has, either before or after commencement, had regard to the matters in section 13.

3. This clause—

4. is subject to clause 3:
5. overrides sections 14 and 15 (which require a candidate for appointment as a board member to have been endorsed by a relevant agency and a nomination panel to be convened).

3Continuation of Children’s Commissioner appointed under former Act

1. The person holding office as Children’s Commissioner under the former Act immediately before commencement continues in office as a first board member of the Commission.

4Superannuation or retiring allowance of Children’s Commissioner

1. Sums by way of subsidy or contribution may be paid into any retirement scheme (within the meaning of section 6(1) of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013) for the purpose of providing a superannuation fund or retiring allowance for the person—

2. who held office as the Children’s Commissioner under the former Act immediately before commencement; and
3. who is taken to be a board member under this Act on and after commencement.

5Transfer of employees

1. On commencement, every employee of the Children’s Commissioner becomes an employee (a transferred employee) of the Commission on the same terms and conditions that applied to the person immediately before they became an employee of the Commission.

2. For the purposes of all legislation and every law, determination, contract, and agreement relating to the employment of a transferred employee,—

3. the employment agreement of that employee is to be treated as unbroken; and
4. the employee’s period of service with the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, and every other period of service of that employee that is recognised by that office as continuous service, is to be treated as a period of service with the Commission.

5. To avoid doubt, the employment of a transferred employee by the Commission does not constitute new employment for the purposes of any service-related benefits, whether legislative or otherwise.

6. A transferred employee is not entitled to receive any payment or benefit from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner on the grounds that the person’s position in that office has ceased to exist or the person has ceased to be an employee of that office as a result of the transfer to the Commission.

7. This clause overrides—

8. Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act 2000; and
9. any employment protection provision in any relevant employment agreement.

6Government Superannuation Fund

1. This clause applies to a person who, immediately before becoming a board member or an employee of the Commission, was a contributor to the Government Superannuation Fund under Part 2 or 2A of the Government Superannuation Fund Act 1956.

2. Despite anything in this Act, the person is to be treated, for the purposes of the Government Superannuation Fund Act 1956, as being employed in the Government service as long as the person continues to be a board member or employee of the Commission.

3. The Government Superannuation Fund Act 1956 applies to the person in all respects as if the person’s service as a board member or employee of the Commission were Government service.

4. Subclause (1) does not entitle a person to become a contributor to the Government Superannuation Fund if the person has ceased to be a contributor.

5. For the purpose of applying the Government Superannuation Fund Act 1956, the chief executive of the Commission is the controlling authority.

7Transfer of Children’s Commissioner’s assets and liabilities to Commission

1. All residual assets, liabilities, agreements, leases, and licence arrangements of the Children’s Commissioner in existence immediately before commencement vests in the Crown as assets or liabilities of the Commission on and after commencement.

2. All information held by the Children’s Commissioner immediately before commencement is transferred to the Commission on commencement.

3. All money payable to or by the Children’s Commissioner immediately before commencement becomes payable to or by the Commission on and after commencement.

4. Unless the context otherwise requires, anything done, omitted to be done, or to be done by, or in relation to, the Children’s Commissioner is to be treated as having been done, having been omitted to be done, or having to be done by, or in relation to, the Commission.

8Continuation or completion of inquiries, reviews, and investigations under former Act

1. This clause applies to any inquiry, review, or investigation commenced by the Children’s Commissioner under the former Act before commencement but not completed by the close of day immediately before commencement.

2. The complaint, inquiry, review, or investigation may be continued or completed on and after commencement by the Commission under the corresponding provisions of this Act.

9Investigations by Children’s Commissioner under Oranga Tamariki (Residential Care) Regulations 1996

1. This clause applies to an investigation commenced by the Children’s Commissioner under the Oranga Tamariki (Residential Care) Regulations 1996 before commencement date but not completed by the close of day immediately before commencement.

2. The Children and Young People’s Commission may continue and complete the investigation as if this Act had not been enacted.

10References to Children’s Commissioner in other legislation or documents (Repealed)

11Interpretation

1. In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,—

   amendment Act means Part 2 of the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Legislation Amendment Act 2025

   Children and Young People’s Commission or Commission means the Children and Young People’s Commission established by section 11 of the Act (as it read immediately before the commencement date)

   Children’s Commissioner means the Children’s Commissioner established by section 11 (as replaced by the amendment Act)

   commencement date means the date on which the amendment Act comes into force.

12Children and Young People’s Commission dissolved

1. The Children and Young People’s Commission is dissolved on the commencement date.

2. The board members of the Children and Young People’s Commission cease to hold office at the close of the day before the commencement date.

13Consequences of dissolution

1. On the commencement date,—

2. all assets belonging to the Commission vest in the Children’s Commissioner; and
3. all information and documents held by the Commission are held by the Children’s Commissioner; and
4. all money payable to or by the Commission becomes payable to or by the Children’s Commissioner; and
5. all rights, liabilities, contracts, entitlements, undertakings, and engagements of the Commission become the rights, liabilities, contracts, entitlements, undertakings, and engagements of the Children’s Commissioner; and
6. subject to clause 14, every employee of the Commission becomes an employee of the Children’s Commissioner on the same terms and conditions as applied immediately before they became an employee of the Children’s Commissioner; and
7. anything done, or omitted to be done, or that is to be done, by or in relation to the Commission is to be treated as having been done, or having been omitted to be done, or to be done, by or in relation to the Children’s Commissioner; and
8. proceedings, inquiries, and investigations under any enactment that may be commenced, continued, or enforced by or against the Commission or in relation to the Commission may instead be commenced, continued, or enforced by or against or in relation to the Children’s Commissioner without amendment to the proceedings; and
9. a matter or thing that could, but for this clause, have been done or completed by the Commission may be done or completed by the Children’s Commissioner.

10. The transfer of information from the Commission to the Children’s Commissioner under subclause (1) does not constitute an action that is a breach of information privacy principle 8 or 11 (as set out in section 22 of the Privacy Act 2020).

11. For the purposes of the Inland Revenue Acts (as defined in section 3(1) of the Tax Administration Act 1994), the Commission and the Children’s Commissioner are treated as the same person.

12. The dissolution of the Commission does not, by itself, affect any of the following matters:

13. any decision made, or anything done or omitted to be done, by the Commission in relation to the performance or exercise of its functions, powers, or duties under any enactment:
14. any proceedings commenced by or against the Commission:
15. any other matter or thing arising out of the Commission’s performance or exercise, or purported performance or exercise, of its functions, powers, or duties under any enactment.

14Transfer of employees from Commission to Children’s Commissioner

1. This clause applies to a person who becomes an employee of the Children’s Commissioner under clause 13(1)(e) (a transferred employee).

2. The terms and conditions of employment of a transferred employee immediately before the commencement date continue to apply in relation to that employee until—

3. those terms and conditions are varied by agreement between the transferred employee and the Children’s Commissioner; or
4. the transferred employee accepts a subsequent appointment with the Children’s Commissioner.

5. For the purposes of all legislation, and every law, determination, contract, and agreement relating to the employment of a transferred employee,—

6. the employment agreement of that employee is to be treated as unbroken; and
7. the employee’s period of service with the Commission, and every other period of service of that employee that is recognised by the Commission as continuous service, is to be treated as a period of service with the Children’s Commissioner.

8. To avoid doubt, the employment of a transferred employee by the Children’s Commissioner does not—

9. constitute new employment for the purposes of the Holidays Act 2003 or the KiwiSaver Act 2006 or any service-related benefits (whether legislative or otherwise):
10. treat the transferred employee as a new employee for the purposes of the Employment Relations Act 2000.

11. A transferred employee is not entitled to receive any payment or benefit from the Commission or the Children’s Commissioner on the grounds that the person’s position in the Commission has ceased to exist or the person has ceased to be an employee of the Commission as a result of their transfer to the Children’s Commissioner.

12. This clause overrides—

13. Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act 2000; and
14. any employment protection provision in any relevant employment agreement.

15First Children’s Commissioner

1. On the commencement date, the person who held office as the Chief Children’s Commissioner under section 12(1)(a) (as it read immediately before the commencement date) is to be taken to have been appointed as the first Children’s Commissioner under section 11 (as replaced by the amendment Act)—

2. for a term starting on 1 August 2025 and ending with the close of 31 July 2026; and
3. subject to the terms and conditions of appointment that applied to the person immediately before the commencement date.

4. This clause overrides sections 11 to 13 (as replaced by the amendment Act).

16References to previous Title

1. On and after the commencement date, every reference in any legislation and in any document to the Children and Young People’s Commission Act 2022 must, unless the context otherwise provides, be read as a reference to the Children’s Commissioner Act 2022.

17References to Commission

1. On and after the commencement date, a reference to the Children and Young People's Commission in any legislation, notice, instrument, contract, or other document must be read as a reference to the Children’s Commissioner.

2. This clause applies unless the context otherwise requires.

18Continuation or completion of inquiries, reviews, and investigations by Commission

1. This clause applies to any inquiry, review, or investigation started or continued by the Commission under this Act before the commencement date but not completed by the close of the day immediately before the commencement date.

2. On and after the commencement date, the inquiry, review, or investigation may be continued or completed by the Children’s Commissioner.

3. Nothing in this clause limits clause 13(1)(g).

19Review of amendments made by amendment Act

1. The Minister must arrange for an independent review of the operation and effectiveness of this Act as amended by the amendment Act, including the operation and effectiveness of the Children’s Commissioner established by section 11 (as replaced by the amendment Act).

2. The review must consider—

3. whether the functions, duties, and powers set out in this Act are supporting the Children’s Commissioner to give effect to the purpose of this Act; and
4. whether the Children’s Commissioner is working effectively with hapū, iwi, and Māori organisations; and
5. whether any amendments to this Act are necessary or desirable; and
6. any other matters that the Minister considers appropriate, after consulting the Children’s Commissioner and other Ministers of the Crown with relevant portfolios, as necessary.

7. The review must begin no later than 5 years after the commencement date.

8. The findings of the review must be reported to the Minister.

9. The Minister must present a copy of the report on the review to the House of Representatives as soon as practicable after receiving the report.