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Practice note: Family group conferences, community work and the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
Community work hours are often used in youth justice family group conference plans as an appropriate penalty for te tamaiti in relation to their offending.
Community work as part of a family group conference plan can take different forms. It should not, however, include activities that are unsuitable for the age, maturity and ability of te tamaiti, or that place te tamaiti at risk.
By law, tamariki under 15 years are prohibited from being involved in the following activities:
the manufacture or preparation of goods for trade or sale
construction work
logging or tree-felling
the manufacture, use or generation of hazardous substances
working with machinery, driving a vehicle, riding on a vehicle that is pulling or attached to an implement, or riding on an implement
any other activity (including lifting a weight) that is likely to cause harm to the health and safety of tamariki under 15 years.
Also, tamariki under 16 years are not allowed to carry out night work between 10.00pm and 6.00am.
Family group conference participants must be clear what would constitute appropriate community work for te tamaiti and discuss and agree basic safety measures in relation to the chosen community work. This information could be provided by the coordinator as part of their obligation under s255 to ensure that relevant information and advice is made available to the family group conference.
The type of community work should be agreed at the family group conference and clearly recorded in the plan. Avoid decisions such as “the social worker will arrange community work for te tamaiti” or “the whānau will seek their own options for community work” as these give little opportunity to take account of health and safety considerations.
This approach will require more preparation by the coordinator during convening if community work is being considered as a potential outcome for te tamaiti because suitable options should be identified and presented to the conference. It would be important to talk with the whānau and the victims about what might be appropriate and available as a consequence for the offending behaviour.
It is a priority to ensure that the community work is a meaningful and useful experience, and linked to the offending – for example, completing work for or on behalf of victims or having family members involved in providing and/or supervising the work for te tamaiti.
Option 1: Community work arranged by someone outside of Oranga Tamariki
If the family group conference identifies the community work to be undertaken, and it does not require involvement from Oranga Tamariki, it is good practice for the coordinator to ensure that a prohibited activity is not selected (see above), and that the family group conference has considered (or has nominated a person to consider) the following steps in relation to the work and tried to answer them as much as possible:
Identify potential risks for te tamaiti in carrying out the work, including consultation with the person arranging and/or supervising the work if possible
Consider whether any aspects of the work are unsuitable or likely to cause difficulties for te tamaiti
Identify any risks that te tamaiti might present to anyone working with them
Agree a plan with the person arranging and/or supervising the work as to how the identified risks will be eliminated or minimised (in so far as is reasonably practicable), and make a record of that plan.
Although it is not the preferred approach, if the family group conference plan is not specific about the community work and it is to be arranged by someone else, then it is good practice for the coordinator, social worker or another person agreed by the conference to liaise with the person arranging and/or supervising the work to ensure that a prohibited activity is not selected and that health and safety considerations are taken account of. The community work should be appropriate for the age, maturity and abilities of te tamaiti.
Option 2: Community work arranged by social worker
If the family group conference plan identifies the community work to be undertaken, and the social worker has a role in arranging the work specified in the plan, the social worker should consider the following steps before any work commences:
Identify potential risks for te tamaiti in carrying out the work, in consultation with the community work provider or sponsor
Consider whether any aspects of the work are unsuitable or likely to cause difficulties for te tamaiti
Identify any risks that te tamaiti might present to anyone working with them
Agree a plan with the provider as to how the identified risks will be eliminated or minimised, and make a record of that plan.
If the social worker is not satisfied that te tamaiti can safely carry out the specified work, the social worker should report back to the family group conference accordingly.
Again, although it is not the preferred approach, if the family group conference plan is not specific about the community work and it is to be arranged by the social worker, then the social worker will have to ensure, in so far as is reasonably practicable, that the health and safety of te tamaiti is not put at risk by the work that is to be carried out. For any proposed work, the social worker should consider the steps set out above.
