25906 (2026). Greg O'Connor to the Minister for Courts

25906 (2026). Greg O'Connor to the Minister for Courts: How do delays, if any, in obtaining court‑ordered mental health and specialist reports affect case progression, and how does the Minister plan to mitigate them, broken down by court type and jurisdiction?

Hon Nicole McKee: I have interpreted your request as relating to court-ordered mental health reports in the criminal jurisdiction of the High Court and District Court, and to specialist reports directed by the Family Court. The time taken for a matter to be heard is influenced by a range of factors, including the availability of evidence and reports. This may include the time required for court-ordered mental health reports and specialist reports to be completed and filed before a matter can progress to hearing. Family Court psychological reports The Ministry is developing new standards for Family Court psychological reports under section 133 of the Care of Children Act 2004 and section 178 of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989. Having standards will strengthen the quality and usefulness of reports for decision-making, while reducing report preparation time. The Ministry of Justice is working collaboratively with the judiciary, NZ Psychology Board, report writers, and legal professionals to design the standards. The standards are currently in draft, and the Ministry will undertake targeted consultation to ensure the document is fit for purpose later this month. The Ministry expect to finalise the standards before the end of 2026. Forensic Report Services There is a shortage of psychiatrists and psychologists in New Zealand available to write court ordered forensic reports, which is contributing to delays. In response, in 2024 the Ministry, working with the judiciary, Health NZ, Ministry of Health and Department of Corrections, established the National List of Forensic Report Writers. This provided courts with a list of psychiatrist and psychologist report writers who could complete adult forensic reports in a private capacity when Health NZ were unable to. The National List has since been relaunched as the Panel of Forensic Report Writers. The Ministry is taking steps to expand the Panel, to increase available capacity and support more timely delivery of forensic reports in both the High Court and the District Court. In addition, the Ministry worked with the judiciary and Health NZ to develop a forensic report prioritisation framework which sets out the priority of different types of adult forensic report and guidelines for completion times for reports. This has been circulated to all courts and Health NZ forensic mental health services. The Ministry of Justice has undertaken work to improve the timeliness of forensic reports for adult defendants in the District Court, including centralising the booking and invoicing of report writers to support greater consistency and national oversight.