Government response to the Moore Inquiry

On 15 September 2026, the Government released the final report of the Public Inquiry into the Disappearance of the Phillips Children near Marokopa in 2021.

The Government acknowledged the findings of the report and accepted all the recommendations.

Tom Phillips initially took his children into the bush for 18 days in September 2021. He took them back into the bush in December 2021 and evaded the authorities for nearly four years until 8 September 2025 when he was killed in an exchange of gunfire with Police. A Police officer was critically injured.

A Public Inquiry into the two disappearances of the children was established on 24 November 2025, with former High Court justice Hon Simon Moore KC as the sole member. The Moore Inquiry delivered its report on 21 July 2026.

The Inquiry was asked to investigate whether government agencies took all practicable steps to protect the safety and welfare of the Phillips children, including steps to prevent the children’s disappearance; and whether they responded appropriately and in a timely way to locate the children once they had disappeared.

The Inquiry also considered whether agencies engaged appropriately with the Family Court and looked into how Tom Phillips obtained and maintained a firearms licence, weapons and ammunition.

The nine recommendations were directed at the NZ Police, Oranga Tamariki, NZ Defence Force and the Ministry of Education. These were translated into actions for agencies.

Agencies have identified 20 primary actions to meet the recommendations, while three actions include ongoing follow-up activity, such as training delivery, to support sustained implementation.

The Government and agencies are now driving a coordinated programme of work to implement the changes needed and the Government will monitor agencies’ response to the Inquiry to ensure change happens.

October 2026 update

The first update on agency progress in implementing the 20 primary actions was released on 15 October.

The four actions identified as completed to date were:

• Action 1: Firearms-related operational guidance has been amended to explicitly remind staff to make a Report of Concern where information obtained through firearms activities indicates risk to a child’s safety, wellbeing or care.
• Action 3: Oranga Tamariki, Police and Health NZ have finalised and signed the refreshed Child Protection Protocol to recognise deliberate concealment, prolonged isolation, and controlling access to children as forms of harm. Training for staff to support collaborative practice and consistent application for the refreshed Child Protection Protocol will be finalised by the end of the year, and begin rolling out in early 2027.
• Action 4: Police Missing Persons policy has been updated so that suspected deliberate or prolonged concealment of a child is clearly treated as a child protection matter, and clarifies that child protection concerns must be assessed even where criminal offending or parenting order breaches are not identified.
• Action 20: The Letter of Expectations issued from the Associate Minister of Justice to the incoming Chief Executive of Firearms Safety and Education NZ will develop operational guidance addressing key issues identified by the Inquiry.

Work is now focusing on developing a cross-agency Information Sharing Action Plan, to go to Ministers in mid-October. Two further primary actions are due for completion in October: Oranga Tamariki is working with the Ministry of Education on mandatory child protection training to ensure it includes awareness of parental alienation and coercive control; and Oranga Tamariki will finalise new guidance on report writing to the Family Court.

Link to other work on improving child protection

The improvements being made following the Moore Inquiry are being coordinated with the important reforms arising from the Poutasi Review of the children’s system and Recommendation 88 of the Royal Commission on Abuse in Care to strengthen protections for children and young people.

This work forms part of the Government’s priorities aimed at ensuring children and young people in New Zealand experience a good life, in particular, preventing harm against children.

Further information

Information releases

Family violence assistance

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