51762 (2024). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Minister for Children

51762 (2024). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Minister for Children: Further to Written Parliamentary Question 2911 (2024), has Oranga Tamariki's hiring freeze been lifted and when, and if not, when will it be?

Hon Karen Chhour: I am advised that Oranga Tamariki has implemented a hiring freeze as part of preparing for organisational change and in line with government expectations around financial sustainability. Note this did not include core Children’s Worker roles and roles such as Social Workers, Social Work Supervisors, Family Group Conference Coordinators, Residential Youth Workers, Residence Managers, and Site Managers (or equivalent operational frontline managers). I am further advised that this will be lifted once implementation of the organisational change is complete.