Oranga Tamariki has confirmed staff were present during the assault of a young person by his peers in a ritual attack known as 'walking the line'.
By Lillian Hanly of RNZ
The ministry told RNZ the "action or inaction" in this case was being addressed and it could not provide further details about why staff did not stop the assault.
RNZ revealed last month that a young person had been slapped and hit by other teenagers as he was discharged from youth justice residence Korowai Manaaki in March.
Official Oranga Tamariki (OT) documents seen by RNZ confirmed that a 'walking the line' assault took place.
That was explained as a situation where young people stand either side of the internal door of the main entrance to the unit and wait to farewell the young person being discharged.
In this instance, three young people stood on one side and two on the other.
The document described the young person being discharged as standing at the top of the line. It said "he appeared nervous and was hesitant to walk towards the door".
The incident was referred to police and an employment investigation had commenced.
RNZ requested further information about the assault, and was told that at the time of the incident in question, "kaimahi were present in the unit with the rangatahi".
OT also confirmed police had closed their investigation with no charges made and no further action, advising OT they found "no evidence of criminal offending by either the rangatahi involved or the kaimahi".
At the time of the request made to OT for further information in mid-August, OT said an employment process was still underway regarding the matter.
RNZ then asked why staff did not stop the assault from happening.
Oranga Tamariki Youth Justice Services and Residential Care deputy chief executive Dean Winter responded, saying "staff action or inaction in this case is being addressed appropriately and we cannot provide further details".
"We have already taken steps with Korowai Manaaki kaimahi to reinforce expectations for incident reporting," he said, adding that any harm to rangatahi or kaimahi in their residences was unacceptable.
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