A social worker assigned to three children under Oranga Tamariki’s care secretly fathered a child with their mother, Ms X, and repeatedly misled supervisors about the nature of their relationship.
Despite revealing romantic feelings in 2021, the social worker assured Oranga Tamariki he “hadn’t acted on them”. Oranga Tamariki took minimal steps initially, only reassigning Ms X to a different social worker. A year later, after a complaint from another agency disclosed the pregnancy, the matter was escalated to the Social Workers Disciplinary Tribunal.
In a recent ruling, the tribunal found the social worker’s actions highly inappropriate, noting the power imbalance and the potential harm to the mother and children involved.
The tribunal cancelled his license, imposed $22,000 in legal costs, and censured him for breaching ethical and professional standards.
