[4] Considered to be groundbreaking legislation at the time, the Act introduced the Family Group Conference (FGC) as a means of making decisions about a child or young person that did not involve a Court Hearing.

The Act set out procedures for the removal of abused children from their parent's care, making the best interests of the child the first consideration.

[citation needed] The Act determines how the state intervenes to protect children from abuse and neglect, and to prevent and address child and youth offending.

[6] The Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 was one of the significant social service reform legislation implemented by the Fourth Labor Government of New Zealand.

The Act introduced major changes to the way decisions were made about children and young people who were victims of abuse and neglect or who broke the law, and placed New Zealand at the forefront of international legislative best practice.

[citation needed] In April 2007, the Ministry of Social Development called for submissions on a discussion document reviewing how the Act was working, with a view to making improvements.

[10][11][12] In June 2017, the New Zealand Parliament passed the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families (Oranga Tamariki) Legislation Bill 2016, which amended the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989 by renaming it the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 and specified that 17 year olds would be treated as adults by the justice system.

[15] During the lead-up to the 2023 New Zealand general election, the opposition ACT party campaigned on repealing Section 7AA, claiming that it prioritised race-based factors over the safety and well-being of Māori children.

[19] The Tribunal's summons was criticised by New Zealand First MP Shane Jones and ACT leader David Seymour, who accused the body of behaving like a "star chamber" and of alleged "race fanaticism.

Labour MP Willow-Jean Prime, Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick criticised the Government for not engaging with the Māori community and institutions' concerns.