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How to report suspected abuse or neglect
If you think a child has been or is likely to be hurt or abused (physically, sexually or emotionally), you can make a report of concern. You can also report concerns about neglect, deprivation or wellbeing.
Report a concern – Oranga Tamariki
When you report a concern in good faith to Oranga Tamariki or the Police, legal or disciplinary action cannot be taken against you.
Providing information about safety or wellbeing of child or young person – New Zealand Legislation
Early learning services must have a child protection policy and should provide information on who to contact if you are concerned.
This is a requirement of the Children's Act 2014.
Part 2 of the Children’s Act – New Zealand Legislation
A child protection policy outlines how your service will:
- work to keep children safe from abuse and neglect
- identify, report, and respond to suspected or real cases of child abuse and neglect.
Your policy must be reviewed at least every 3 years.
Children's Act guide#
You can find more information on developing child protection policies and the specific components of the Children’s Act 2014 in the guide below.
Licensing and certification requirements#
Find out more about child protection policies required for each service type.
Child protection training#
Regular child protection training helps staff confidently recognise and respond to signs of abuse or neglect, creating a safe and supportive environment for children.
Online child protection training resource#
Alongside Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood New Zealand and Safeguarding Children, we have developed a digital child protection resource specifically for the early learning sector.
To access this child protection training, you need an Education Sector Logon (ESL).
See the instructions below to access the resource:
- go to the Education Learning Management System
- select 'login with ESL'
- select 'catalogue' from the top menu
- search for 'child protection'.
Education Learning Management System
ESL delegated authoriser#
To get an ESL account, contact your organisation’s ESL delegated authoriser.
For help, contact the Education Service Desk.
Phone: 0800 422 599
Email: [email protected]
You can learn more about ESL and how it works with the Education Learning Management System.
Education Sector Logon (ESL) – Applications and Online Systems
Training courses you can attend#
Working together seminars are for professionals who work with tamariki. They are free and run in partnership with Child Matters.
Working together seminars – Oranga Tamariki | Ministry for Children
Safeguarding Children offer practical, evidence-based, frontline-tested solutions, specifically tailored for those with responsibility towards children.
Our child protection policy#
We have a child protection policy that encourages a culture of child protection.
Mōhiohio anō
More information
This guide, provided by Oranga Tamariki, is designed to sit alongside your child protection policy.
Oranga Tamariki has several resources to support identification of abuse or neglect.
Identify abuse – Oranga Tamariki | Ministry for Children
Stop has a guide that supports understanding of sexualised behaviour in young children.
Child Matters has information on how to handle disclosures of child abuse and indicators of child abuse.
Educating to prevent child abuse – Child Matters
If you are worried about a child and need more information about what to report to Oranga Tamariki.
