Advocacy
Caring Families Aotearoa is dedicated to ensuring that every care family and whānau is enabled, supported, and has the skills to provide tamariki/children with a secure and healing home.
To ensure this happens, we advocate for caregivers by having regular ongoing conversations with MP’s, Oranga Tamariki senior staff, NGO (Non-Government Organisations), Iwi reference groups, and other care Agencies around issues that affect our caregiver members.
Our 2026-2029 Advocacy Areas
Our 2026-2029 Strategic Plan offers a clear new direction and focus. In terms of our Advocacy, the new Plan looks to champion a system that genuinely understands and addresses the unique needs of children in care.
We will advocate for Government policies and practices that ensure care systems are responsive to the individual needs, experiences, and voices of caregivers and children in care.
Whakarongo – ensure the voice of caregivers informs decision making.
Our focus areas are;
- Advocate for funding to be better aligned with need.
- Promote equality for statutory and non-statutory caregivers in funding, recognition, and systemic inclusion.
- Ensure advocacy upholds tino rangatiratanga (caregivers maintain control of decisions and self-empowerment).
Recently we have advocated in the following areas;
The Ministry of Social Development, Draft Carers Strategy Action Plan
The Draft Carers Strategy Action Plan focuses on supporting unpaid and informal carers across Aotearoa
In our submission, we called for this new Action Plan to address the clear inequities between statutory and non-statutory caregivers — because every caregiver deserves the tools and support they need, and every child deserves the best possible chance to flourish.
The Department of Justice, Review of Legal Aid System
Caring Families Aotearoa made a submission calling for a fairer more supportive legal aid system for those stepping up to care for tamariki.
We often hear from caregivers – whether grandparents, extended whānau, or non-family members – who have taken on the care of a child informally, without any legal guidance or financial support. They are left to navigate complex and costly legal processes on their own, just to secure guardianship and ensure the child’s safety. We made a submission and asked caregivers to also submit using a quick and easy ready-made script that they could adapt if they wanted to.
Ministerial Advisory Group
Our CEO, Linda Surtees is one of eight members appointed by the government to a Ministerial Advisory Group to provide advice on the Crown’s approach and response to recommendations from the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry.
The Group will provide Lead Coordination Minister Erica Stanford and other relevant Ministers with independent advice and assurance. Collectively the members provide a range of lived experience from survivors and survivor advocates to an understanding of care settings. This diverse range of perspectives and expertise will enable constructive discussions and advice on the monitoring, oversight and implementation of the Crown response.
Their appointment is for an initial term of two years.
Care and Protection White Paper
In March 2024, Caring Families Aotearoa, along with a collective of non-government organisations (Wesley Community Action, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services, Voyce Whakarongo Mai, Open Home Foundation, and Kia Puāwai), released the Care and Protection White Paper. The White Paper has been presented to The Minister for Children, Hon Karen Chhour, and offers our collective, high-level vision for the Care and Protection System in Aotearoa with the hope that it will form part of government policy.
Prior to releasing the White Paper, Caring Families Aotearoa independently released the Care and Protection Green Paper* to generate discussions and gather feedback on the performance of New Zealand’s care and protection system. We then began collaboratively working with our NGO collective to progress our Green Paper, using the feedback we received to help shape the proposals we have put forward in the White Paper.
*A green paper is a consultation document in which an organisation outlines its proposals about an issue and stakeholders have the opportunity to provide feedback.
Advocacy Request Form
If you have an issue or concern that you would like us to advocate for on your behalf, please complete and send us the Advocacy Request form.