Children's Commissioner Act 2003


The Children's Commissioner Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand. It reformed the office of the Children's Commissioner and implemented the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is attached as schedule three of the act.
Before the act, Children's Commissioners were established under the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989.
The Children's Commissioner, an office equivalent to that known in other countries as the Children's Ombudsman, conducts investigations as to whether the rights or welfare of a child or children have been prejudiced. The investigations can cover almost anything, except courts or tribunals, their actions and their decisions. The Commission has the power to require information or documentation as part of their investigation, but this appears to be rarely used.
Holders of the office have been of differing opinions on the controversy over the autopsy images of Ngatikaura Ngati.

Children's Commissioners

Andrew Becroft

1 July 2016 – date
Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Judge Becroft was made a District Court Judge in 1996. In 2001, he became the Principal Judge of the Youth Court of New Zealand.

Russell Wills

1 July 2011 – 30 June 2016
Russell Wills is a Hastings-based paediatrician who was Head of Paediatrics at Hawke's Bay District Health Board before his appointment.

John Angus">John Angus (children's advocate)">John Angus

April 2009 – June 2011

[Cindy Kiro]

1 September 2003 – 1 September 2008
Cynthia Kiro is an Associate Professor at Massey University in Te Mata o Te Tau an interdisciplinary and intersectoral Māori Academy.

[Roger McClay]

1998–2003