Report of Concern online form

The Report of Concern (RoC) process is a key entry point for raising concerns about the safety and wellbeing of tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people). It is used by both the public and professionals, often in urgent and emotionally complex situations.

Demand on the system has increased significantly, with over 95,000 reports of concern received in 2024. As demand grows, the ability to respond effectively relies on having clear, complete, and consistent information at the point of capture.

Historically, reports were received via phone and email. While these channels are important, they do not consistently capture information in a structured way. This can lead to gaps, follow-up work, and variability in how reports are assessed.

The challenge was to design a digital form that supports people in providing the right information, while ensuring it is usable, secure, and reliable in a mission-critical environment.

The work involved a large number of stakeholders and sits within a broader technology programme, requiring alignment across multiple teams and systems.

We worked closely with Oranga Tamariki to build a strong understanding of how Reports of Concern are handled in practice. This included the different roles involved, how information is assessed, and the realities of working in high-pressure situations.

This allowed us to move beyond form design and focus on how the service works end to end, ensuring the solution reflects real-world use rather than assumptions.

The form was designed to guide users through a structured set of questions, helping them provide the information intake teams need while keeping the experience clear and manageable.

Balancing competing needs was a key part of the work, including social work practice, privacy and security requirements, accessibility, and usability.

Particular attention was given to reliability. The system is designed with redundancy and fail-safes to ensure reports are not lost, even in the event of downstream issues or outages.

The result is a bespoke solution that reflects the complexity of the service while remaining practical to use.

Structured data capture means intake teams receive more complete and consistent information, reducing the need for follow-up and helping reports be assessed more effectively.

Users are better supported to understand what information is needed, improving the overall quality of submissions.

The system provides a more reliable pathway for submitting concerns, with safeguards in place to reduce the risk of lost or delayed reports.

In a system experiencing increasing demand and pressure on frontline services, improving how information is captured supports more consistent and timely responses.

Ultimately, this contributes to a stronger foundation for protecting children at risk.