Help and Resources
In an emergency or if a child is in immediate danger:
Call 111
If you think a child or young person may be suffering from harm, abuse or neglect:
Call freephone 0508 326 459 or email [email protected]
Where to go for help
Quick, free, and available 24/7 for immediate support:
- Parent Help – 0800 568 856 (Parenting advice and support)
- Plunket – 0800 933 922 (Early childhood health and support)
- 1737 Helpline – 1737 (Free call or text for emotional support or peer support)
Find help and support for tamariki and families in Aotearoa, including organisations, helplines, and counselling services for preventing or responding to abuse and child harm.
Follow the links below to refer to the Family Services directory for your region:
- Northland / Te Tai Tokerau
- Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau
- Waikato
- Bay of Plenty / Te Moana-a-Toi
- Gisborne / Te Tairāwhiti
- Hawke's Bay / Te Matau-a-Māui
- Taranaki
- Manawatū-Whanganui
- Wellington / Te Whanganui-a-Tara
- Tasman / Te Tai-o-Aorere
- Nelson / Whakatū
- Marlborough / Te Tauihu
- West Coast / Te Tai Poutini
- Canterbury / Waitaha
- Otago / Ōtākou
- Southland / Murihiku
- Chatham Islands / Wharekauri
- Auckland – 09 623 4600
- Wellington – 04 806 2100
- Christchurch – 03 364 0480
- Hamilton – 07 839 8899
- Dunedin – 03 470 9999
10 ways you can create change
#01
Speak up when you’re worried about a child
If a child is in immediate danger, call 111.
For other concerns about a child’s safety or wellbeing, contact Oranga Tamariki on 0508 326 459.
Trust your instincts and talk to someone if you think something isn’t right. You can talk to a community organisation (options available via Family Services Directory) or your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
#02
Keep the conversation going
Talk about child safety with friends, whānau, and colleagues. Share the Dear Children campaign and help build a culture where protecting children is everyone’s business.
#03
Learn about the signs of abuse and neglect
Know what to look for — changes in behaviour, unexplained injuries, withdrawal, or fear. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t ignore it. There is guidance available to help you learn the signs in the Resources section below.
#04
Check in with families and whānau around you
A quick chat or kind gesture can make a big difference. Connection helps reduce stress and isolation.
Remember that parenting and caregiving can be stressful at times, so checking in can make a real difference.
#05
Offer practical help
Drop off a meal, share a hot drink, or lend a hand to a whānau that’s struggling. Small acts of care build safer communities.
#06
Support parents and caregivers
Parenting and caregiving can be tough sometimes. Encourage, listen, and link families to local support services when needed.
#07
Be a safe adult for children
Listen without judgement, believe what children tell you, and take their worries seriously. Take action if you see or think a child is being harmed. If they disclose harm to you, support them to navigate the journey and get the help they need.
#08
Get involved in your community
Volunteer with a local school, club, marae, community organisation or children’s charity — positive adult role models help mokopuna thrive.
#09
Promote child safety where you work or volunteer
Encourage new and ongoing child protection and safeguarding training, support safe policies that prioritise children’s safety, and model respectful behaviour at all times.
#10
Learn more about children’s rights
Explore the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and our resources to understand how to make every child’s right to safety a reality.
Resources for adults
Share Dear Children with your friends and whānau
Please help us reach all adults in Aotearoa New Zealand by sharing the campaign with your friends and whānau.
How friends and whānau can play their part
Practical ways to support tamariki in your life, strengthen safe environments, and speak up early when you think a child is unsafe.
How the wider community can play their part
Simple actions anyone can take to create safer neighbourhoods, look out for tamariki, and help prevent harm before it happens.
How parents and carers can play their part
A resource to help you build safe, loving routines, manage stress, and support your child’s wellbeing through positive, protective actions.
How kaimahi can play their part
Advice for professionals like teachers, coaches and service providers on recognising concerns about children’s safety, responding safely, safeguarding and promoting children’s right to safety.
Guidance to spot abuse, neglect and harm
Key signs, behaviours and situations to learn and watch out for so you can recognise harm early and take action to protect tamariki.
Position statement on child maltreatment in New Zealand
Every child in Aotearoa has the right to grow up safe and well. This paper outlines our position on child maltreatment, the barriers to safety, and the changes needed to ensure all mokopuna are protected.
Overview of the right to safety
This resource provides an overview of children’s right to safety and outlines the United Nations’s recommendations for strengthening this right in New Zealand.
If you are a child or young person
You have the right to be safe and feel safe – at home, at school, kura, in your community and everywhere else you go. If something or someone is making you feel unsafe, scared, worried or if you’re being hurt in some way, it’s always okay to tell someone who you trust, and ask for help.
Talk to a grown-up you trust. This might be a parent, a teacher or kaiako, someone in your family like your grandparents, a friend’s parent, someone from your marae or church, or your doctor. Trusted adults want to help and can help keep you safe from harm.
If you’d rather talk to someone outside your whānau or community, you can contact these helplines:
Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.
Healthline: 0800 611 116
Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm or text 832 Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese,Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and English.
Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254
Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
OUTLine: 0800 688 5463 (6pm-9pm)
Youthline: 0800 376 633 (24/7) or free text 234 (8am-12am), or email [email protected]|
What's Up: free counselling for 5 to 19 years old, online chat 11am-10.30pm 7 days/week or free phone 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787 11am-11pm
Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357
Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO (24/7). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.
Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 (24/7) or text 4202
Samaritans: 0800 726 666 (24/7)
Youthline: 0800 376 633 (24/7) or free text 234 (8am-12am), or email [email protected]|
What's Up: free counselling for 5 to 19 years old, online chat 11am-10.30pm 7 days/week or free phone 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787 11am-11pm
You have the right to be safe — and there are people who want to listen and help. For more information about your rights, visit Mana Mokopuna.
