Setting up a care arrangement in Australia – process guidance

• Te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family
• Site staff:
  • social worker
  • supervisor
  • practice leader
  • site manager
  • site legal team

• Have you explored all whānau or family options in New Zealand (maternal and paternal)?
• Has everyone agreed there are no suitable whānau or family care arrangements available in New Zealand?
• Has there been consultation, a hui ā-whānau or family group conference where the idea of a whānau or family care arrangement in Australia has been discussed?
• What are the specific needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi? Can they access appropriate services and benefits in Australia to meet their needs, now and into independence?
• If the potential caregivers don’t have Australian citizenship or permanent residence, what access to services and benefits will te tamaiti or rangatahi have in Australia on a Special Category visa? Will these be suitable to meet the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi?

• Review and update the social work assessment to understand the needs and strengths of te tamaiti or rangatahi, including a gateway report. If required, follow up with the professionals involved with te tamaiti or rangatahi.
  Assessment report
  Gateway assessments
• Have an initial discussion with the potential caregivers about: 
  • the specific needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi 
  • the potential caregiver’s willingness and ability to meet these needs 
  • the potential caregiver’s agreement to: 
    • being visited and assessed as a caregiver by their local Australian child protection agency, and
    • having suitability checks completed for themselves and for all people in their home aged 18 and above.

• Is this a safe care arrangement and would it be able to meet the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi?
• Will te tamaiti or rangatahi remain connected to their parents, siblings, whānau or family and culture?
• Have the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child been considered, particularly the subsidiarity principle, which outlines that te tamaiti or rangatahi has the right to be raised within their own family in their country of origin, if possible?
• If te tamaiti or rangatahi is Māori or Pacific, has the appropriate practice model (Te Toka Tūmoana or Va'aifetū) been applied?
  Te Toka Tūmoana
  Va'aifetū

We consult with our practice leader and site manager early in the process to discuss the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi in the Australian care arrangement and the financial resources required to meet these needs. A finance analyst can provide expert advice on how to manage the financial implications of an Australian care arrangement.

• Site staff
• Lawyer for child
• Regional senior advisor
• Interstate Liaison Officer (ILO) at Oranga Tamariki national office
• Other professionals involved with te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family

Everyone involved must be very clear that this is only a proposal at this stage and ensure we are not raising hopes or expectations in case this care arrangement in Australia does not happen.

The social worker:

• ensures their management team is involved
• considers the views of the site manager and lawyer
• confirms that their practice leader consulted with the regional senior advisor, and they informed the ILO about the proposed care arrangement in Australia
• makes sure everyone is aware that this process will take time (could be between 3 and 6 months)
• lets everyone know that this plan must be agreed to by the court, recommended and agreed to by the State in Australia and approved by the DCE Tamariki and Whānau Services.

Te tamaiti or rangatahi (depending on their age and stage of development)

• What are their views and wishes about this proposed care arrangement in Australia?
• What will this mean for them (for example, new country, new school, friends, culture, whānau or family)?
• What do they know about the proposed whānau or family caregivers in Australia?
• Do they understand that the plan is for them to stay in Australia long term and there might be some limitations to their entitlements and access to services in Australia (for example, tertiary education, and employment in the army, police and politics)?

Biological parents, guardians and other significant whānau or family

• What are their views on this proposed care arrangement in Australia?
• What are the current contact arrangements and how will this change?
• How will connections be maintained?
• Are they likely to consent? If not, do they know that, if this is in the best interest of te tamaiti or rangatahi, the court will need to decide?
• Do they understand that the plan is for te tamaiti or rangatahi to stay in Australia long term and there might be some limitations to their entitlements and access to services in Australia (for example, tertiary education, and employment in the army, police and politics)?

Potential caregivers

• What do they know about the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi?
• Are they willing and able to be part of a plan with everyone to meet those needs?
• Do they understand the timeframes?
• How can they ensure that te tamaiti or rangatahi has access to the required services and benefits in Australia?
• If the prospective caregivers are Australian citizens or permanent residents, are they willing to apply to have te tamaiti or rangatahi put on their immigration status in Australia?
• If the prospective caregivers are on a Special Category visa, how will te tamaiti or rangatahi have access to services and benefits when living in Australia?

Appropriate cultural advisors, colleagues and whānau if te tamaiti or rangatahi is Māori

• Have we consulted effectively with iwi?
• Have we effectively applied Te Toka Tūmoana practice model to this proposal?
• Have we considered in this proposal how it has regard for mana tamaiti and the whakapapa of te tamaiti or rangatahi to achieve oranga, and the whanaungatanga responsibilities of their whānau, hapū and iwi?

Lawyer for child

• Do they think this plan is in the best interest of te tamaiti or rangatahi?
• Should social workers and the lawyer talk to te tamaiti or rangatahi together?
• Is there anything specific they would want to include as part of this plan?

• Site staff
• Interstate Liaison Officer in New Zealand
• Interstate Liaison Officer in Australia
• Prospective caregivers in Australia
• Child protection department and authorised assessment provider in Australia

Before making a caregiver assessment request to Australia, the social worker discusses the assessment process with the prospective caregiver in Australia the same way we would for a New Zealand-based caregiver. The social worker works in partnership with the caregiver social worker through this process.

Inform the potential caregiver that:

• we can proceed with the assessment request to Australia only after they complete and return all required application documents and consent forms
• caregiver assessment in Australia will take 6 to 8 weeks to complete, and the child protection services in Australia may use a contracted assessment provider, who will contact the potential caregivers
• we will keep in touch with the potential caregivers and keep them updated.

On occasion, we may request that an Australian State conduct a household safety check to inform our caregiver assessment about the appropriateness of the care arrangement in Australia. The timeframe for this request is negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

The social worker sends the standard Oranga Tamariki caregiver application forms to the prospective caregiver for them to complete and return to Oranga Tamariki.

The caregiver application documents provide us with the prospective caregiver's:

• confirmation of identity, residential address and residential status in Australia
• nominated referees’ names and contact details
• medical information and doctor’s contact details
• consent to carry out police vetting in New Zealand and Australia
• consent to complete a records check with Oranga Tamariki in New Zealand.

Policy: Caregiver and adoptive applicant assessment and approval – 'Suitability checks' and 'Conducting suitability checks'

The Interstate Child Protection Protocol allows Oranga Tamariki to request a care and protection history check in Australia.

• A care and protection history check needs to be completed for the prospective caregivers and all their household members aged 18 and above. Wider consideration of other members of the household also needs to be understood when assessing the suitability of the care arrangement in Australia.
• Care and protection history checks from the child protection services in Australia are requested separately and require separate written consents.
• The social worker:
  • completes the following form:
    Request for care and protection history check in Australia (DOC 63 KB)
  • asks caregivers and all adult household members to complete the consent forms:
    Consent to care and protection history check in Australia (DOC 83 KB)
  • emails the completed request form and consent from the prospective caregivers to the New Zealand Interstate Liaison Officer (ILO):
    Intercountry_Casework@ot.govt.nz
• The New Zealand ILO forwards the request and caregiver consent to the relevant Australian State or Territory.
• When the care and protection history checks are completed in Australia, the New Zealand ILO forwards the information to the social worker.

• The Oranga Tamariki site requests an Australian National Police History Check for prospective caregivers living in Australia through the NZ Police vetting system. Each site has authorised people to request police checks – usually the caregiver social worker or a workplace administrator.
• For an Australian check, the prospective caregivers and adult household members must read and complete all 5 pages of the Request and Consent Form, including ‘Section 4 – Applicant to complete for Australian check’.
• Each applicant must provide verified evidence of identity. Usually, any Justice of the Peace (JP) or Commissioner for Declaration can provide verification of their identity in Australia – they can check the Department of Justice Attorney General website to see who provides these services where they live in Australia. Alternatively (depending on where they live in Australia), they can have verification of identity done by their local child protection department office.

NZ Police Vetting Service Request & Consent Form

When suitability checks are completed and the social worker is satisfied with the result, the social worker requests a full caregiver assessment from Australia.

• When the caregiver assessment in Australia is requested for the purpose of reunification with the parents of te tamaiti or rangatahi, the social worker completes the following form:
  Request for interstate assessment of parent/s for reunification template (DOCX 84 KB)
• When the caregiver assessment in Australia is requested for an overseas care arrangement with whānau or family, the social worker completes the following form:
  Request for family/whānau caregiver assessment in Australia (DOC 171 KB)
• If there is any identified child protection and/or criminal history for prospective caregivers or any adults living in their home, we must attach the outcomes of child protection and/or criminal history checks already carried out and include a summary of the dialogue we had with the prospective caregivers regarding the outcomes of their suitability checks.
• The assessment request template identifies the points to be covered in the assessment. These are examples of possible areas to be covered in the assessment. We edit this section to suit the individual circumstances of te tamaiti or rangatahi, add any additional areas of assessment we require and delete the points we don’t need the assessment to cover.

The social worker discusses the completed caregiver assessment request with their supervisor and forwards it to the practice leader for endorsement. After the assessment request is endorsed by the practice leader, the practice leader forwards the completed caregiver assessment request to the Interstate Liaison Officer (ILO) at Oranga Tamariki national office. 

As the social worker in New Zealand remains the key social worker until the Australian caregiver obtains legal orders or legal orders are transferred to Australia, this means:

• it is our responsibility to provide as much information as possible regarding te tamaiti or rangatahi and the proposed Australian care arrangement – this includes when requesting casework assistance and developing a case plan
• we should ask the Australian State authorities to provide casework assistance for the Australian care arrangement as soon as possible after the care arrangement is agreed.

Where the transfer of the Child Protection Order is not legally possible, we may ask the Australian State authorities to provide casework assistance. The capacity of Australian State authorities to aid, without transfer of the order, should be reviewed every 2 years by consultation between the 2 offices involved.

To request the casework assistance and allocation of a co-worker in Australia, we complete the following form:

Request for interstate transfer of casework tasks (DOC 123 KB)

Our request for casework assistance needs to ask the relevant child protection service in Australia to undertake specific casework tasks that cannot be carried out from New Zealand (such as home visits) on our behalf after te tamaiti or rangatahi has moved to Australia. 

The casework assistance request must be endorsed by our supervisor and practice leader. The endorsed request is then sent to the Interstate Liaison Officer in New Zealand. The Interstate Liaison Officer forwards the request to the relevant child welfare service in Australia.

It takes 4 to 6 weeks for the request to be accepted and a co-worker assigned in Australia. 

Therefore, the request for casework assistance should be completed and sent to the Interstate Liaison Officer as soon as possible after the care arrangement in Australia is approved by the DCE Tamariki and Whānau Services.

When guardianship or parental responsibility has been conferred solely on a caregiver in Australia, the understanding is that the Australian State would not be involved in providing casework support.

In special circumstances, we may request a specific time-limited casework task of the Australian State authorities subject to an agreement by their Interstate Liaison Officer.

The New Zealand ILO reviews the request and may consult with the social worker, supervisor and practice leader and amend the request. When satisfied with the quality of the caregiver assessment request, the New Zealand ILO forwards the request to the ILO in the relevant Australian State or Territory.

There is an agreement among the State child welfare departments that an assessment in Australia will be completed within 8 to 10 weeks of receiving the request, in line with the Interstate Protocol. If this timeframe cannot be met, the relevant State child welfare department provides us with a list of approved private providers that Oranga Tamariki can contract and pay to undertake an assessment.

If an urgent assessment is required, talk with the New Zealand ILO.

Once the caregiver assessment is completed, the responsible ILO in Australia sends the caregiver assessment report to the New Zealand ILO who sends it to the social worker and highlights any areas they think require further consideration.

We consider the recommendations made by the Australian report writer and ILO in relation to the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi. This is a critical decision point in our planning.

• Site staff
• Regional senior advisors 
• Site Legal
• Lawyer for child
• New Zealand ILO at Oranga Tamariki national office
• Other professionals involved with te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family

• We cannot proceed with the overseas care arrangement if the caregiver assessment completed in Australia shows that:
  • the care arrangement would not be safe, and/or
  • the care arrangement is not suitable for the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi, and/or
  • the proposed caregiver is unwilling to make decisions and carry out responsibilities for te tamaiti or rangatahi, and/or
  • suitability checks are not satisfactory.
• We advise all parties that Oranga Tamariki cannot proceed with the care arrangement in Australia and why.

• Proceed if the caregiver assessment completed in Australia shows that:
  • the care arrangement is safe, and
  • the care arrangement is suitable for the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi, and
  • the proposed caregiver is willing to make decisions and carry out responsibilities for te tamaiti or rangatahi, and
  • suitability checks are satisfactory, and
  • te tamaiti or rangatahi is recommended for an overseas care arrangement.
• If a court review is due, seek a court adjournment with an explanation of the proposed care arrangement in Australia, where the process is at, and the timeframe required.

Follow up any areas needing clarification or more information directly with the proposed caregivers.

Review and discuss resources in the Australian community available to meet the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi.

The purpose of the consult is to decide to proceed with the social worker’s proposal of a care arrangement for te tamaiti or rangatahi in Australia.

The case consult should involve:

• site staff
• site Legal
• lawyer for child
• regional practice advisor
• ILO (if required)
• other professionals involved with te tamaiti or rangatahi (if required for specific reasons).

All relevant parties should be informed of the decision: 

• te tamaiti or rangatahi
• whānau or family
• guardians
• all legal professionals involved.

Update the court plan. Include the proposed timeframe for the overseas care arrangement in Australia. Once the court endorses the plan, proceed to the next step.

• Site staff
• Regional senior advisors
• New Zealand ILO based in International Child Protection Unit (if required)
• Other professionals involved with te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family (if required for specific reasons)
• Office of the DCE Tamariki and Whānau Services

This part of the process helps us understand the assessed information, voices and perspectives.

1. Complete and attach:
   • the approval memo for repatriation or care arrangement in Australia
   • supporting documents, such as social worker and gateway assessments, recent school reports, any counselling or support programmes te tamaiti or rangatahi attended, psychological report, or other relevant reports and/or assessments.
2. Get these documents checked and endorsed by the: 
   • supervisor
   • practice leader
   • site manager
   • site legal team.
3. The site manager sends these documents to the regional senior advisor for checking and endorsement by the regional manager.
4. The regional manager forwards the final endorsed submission pack to the DCE Tamariki and Whānau Services for approval.
5. The DCE Tamariki and Whānau Services considers and approves the proposal.
6. The regional senior advisor informs the relevant site and New Zealand ILO about the approval.
7. The relevant site informs all other parties involved.
8. The New Zealand ILO advises the ILO in Australia that the care arrangement has been approved.
9. The site begins the transition plan.