All three expressed the fear of “backlash” or being the focus of bullying if they spoke up. The organisation found the woman had behaved in an undermining, bullying and harassing manner toward staff, and concluded the behaviour amounted to serious misconduct. Oranga Tamariki issued a final written warning and demoted her to a social worker, at her request, with salary protection. In a recent decision, authority member Davinnia Tan found Oranga Tamariki’s process was fair and the woman had full disclosure, representation and multiple opportunities to respond. “When I step back and assess the process in its entirety, I find that Oranga Tamariki met its obligations.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 14, 2026 08:31 UTC