Military-Style Academies

The Government has announced a range of initiatives to address serious, persistent youth offending. These include plans to introduce a new Young Serious Offender (YSO) declaration and Military-Style Academies (MSA). 

There is a small group who commit a significant proportion of the total offences by young people. For those who continue to offend, despite the efforts of those around them, current responses are not sufficient. The new initiatives aim to address criminal activity, while also supporting offenders in their rehabilitation. 

Legislation to create a YSO declaration will be introduced later in 2024. A young person will be eligible to be declared a Young Serious Offender if: 

Teenagers declared to be Young Serious Offenders will face a stronger and escalated response, with more options for the Youth Court and Police. That includes being able to sentence young offenders to a Military-Style Academy Order (they need be 15 to 17 years old at the time of offending to be eligible for this). A Youth Court judge will have the final say on making a YSO declaration. 

Alongside the development of the new legislation, planning for a Military-Style Academy Pilot is progressing (sometimes called the MSA Pilot, or the Academy).  

Oranga Tamariki was directed to lead the establishment of the Academy. We have worked closely with officials from NZ Defence Force, Ministry of Justice, New Zealand Police, other agencies and community groups to develop it. 

Lessons from the MSA Pilot will inform the operational elements of future Military-Style Academies. However, when the new legislation is in place there may be changes to the design of how future Academies will run. For example, if needed, it will allow for a longer residence stage and more flexibility around the types of programme components and locations. 

The goal of the Military-Style Academy Pilot is to make a difference in the lives of the teenagers involved, by enabling them to positively contribute and thrive within their whānau and community, without offending.   

The MSA programme team, led by Oranga Tamariki, looked at evidence from previous military-style programmes, in New Zealand and internationally, to understand what will give the teenagers taking part the best chance of success. The team has embedded these elements in the Academy design, including a deliberate focus on the teenagers’ transition back to the community, making sure they have support and are well set up for the future. These are key differences that set the Academy apart from previous iterations. 

Tusha Penny, DCE Residences & Homes at Oranga Tamariki, explains:   

“The design of the Military-Style Academy Pilot has taken shape over the last few months. I’m excited that we can now share more details, ahead of the launch of the residence stage at the end of July.  

Using an evidenced based approach, we believe Military-Style Academies could be game changing for those youth that need more intensive support to turn their lives around.  

The pilot is different from anything we’ve tried before. We’ve thought outside the box and are being ambitious – throughout the design process we’ve asked what does ‘best’ look like? Where can we take inspiration from? Then we've tested that thinking with experts, who are independent to Oranga Tamariki. 

This isn't about a punitive or correctional approach. We want there to be accountability for proven serious offending, but the key to success is that this is also an opportunity for the teenagers, and their whānau, to benefit from an intensive circuit breaker. That includes getting joined up, multi-disciplinary support that is tailored for them.  

This doesn’t replace other work in our Youth Justice space. Instead, it’s a new tool in our toolkit, for when existing options haven’t worked.”   

The Academy consists of a 12-month programme, with three parts: 

The Military-Style Academy Pilot is operating under existing legislation settings. Teenagers taking part have been sentenced to a Residence with Supervision Order and a Youth Court judge has made participation in the Academy part of their Youth Court plan.  

Up to 10 teenagers are expected to take part in the Academy. They will have been aged 15-17 years old at the time of offending, and already be in Oranga Tamariki youth justice facilities.

The residence stage will commence by the end of July, at the Oranga Tamariki Youth Justice Facility in Palmerston North. 

This page will be updated as the Military-Style Academy Pilot progresses.