This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as part of its examination of the first periodic report of New Zealand (CRPD/C/NZL/1) at its 143rd and 144th meetings, held on 15 and 16 September 2014.

This webinar presentation by Professor Marie Connolly of the University of Melbourne introduces the history and background of Family Group Conference (FGC) in New Zealand and Australia and discusses the influence of FGC on the development of formal or statutory kinship care in the region.

This article highlights the efforts of a lobby group in New Zealand, CCS Disability Action, which is demanding an amendment as part of sweeping child protection reforms, arguing that children with high needs are being abandoned and denied their right to a family life.

This article provides an outline of the early development of care and protection in Australia and New Zealand as a backdrop to an overview of child protection systems and policies and the current child protection profile in both countries. An overview of trends in relation to out of home care, including routes into care, care arrangements and permanency policies is provided.

Although the relationship between child sexual abuse and mental disorders life has been well established, the health consequences of other forms of child maltreatment, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect have not been systematically examined. This study summarizes the evidence relating to the possible relationship between child physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect, and subsequent mental and physical health outcomes.

First published in 1999, this work draws together a multi-national collection of papers, and aims to stimulate the development of policy and practice in this often neglected area.