Working with others

Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act provides our practical duty to te Tiriti o Waitangi and sets out responsibilities to improve outcomes for tamariki Māori working alongside whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori.

As part of transformation change through section 7AA, we welcome invitations from iwi and Māori organisations to enter into a strategic partnership. We expect partnerships with iwi and Māori to drive change across our core services.

We have strategic partnership agreements with Ngāi Tahu, Ngāpuhi, Waikato-Tainui, Ngāi Tuhoe, Māori Women's Welfare League and the Eastern Bay of Plenty Alliance.

We also have a Memorandum of Understanding with others including Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, the Taupō Collective Impact governance group and the New Zealand Māori Council. Signed relationship redress agreements are held with several other iwi, as part of their Treaty Settlement. We expect in time the iwi will initiate some more intensive work with us.

Each partnership, agreement or co-design initiative between Oranga Tamariki and our Iwi or Māori organisation partners is unique. We recognise that we share the same vision of reducing the number of tamariki Māori in our care, and the strategic priorities for each iwi and Māori organisation are distinct.

Read more about our strategic partnerships with Māori

We work closely with other partner agencies and providers to ensure we meet the needs of tamariki and rangatahi. These range from organisations and government agencies such as Police, the Ministry of Health, NGOs, to community groups, local bodies and businesses – we all have a part to play.