Phillips Children Inquiry: What the Final Report Found
The Government released the final report of the Public Inquiry into the Disappearance of the Phillips Children on 15 September 2026 and accepted its recommendations.
The release included a formal apology to the children. The Government said "we are deeply sorry", according to RNZ RNZ.
The inquiry examined the almost four-year disappearance of Tom Phillips and his three children. Phillips took the children in September 2021 and did not return for 18 days despite extensive searches. He died in a shootout with police on 8 September 2025 after police were called to reports of a burglary. Phillips was shot and the children were safely recovered, Police said Police statement.
Attorney-General Judith Collins announced the Public Inquiry on 27 November 2025 Beehive. A Public Inquiry is an independent investigation set up by the Government to establish the facts. Louise Upston was the minister in charge of the inquiry. The final report was delivered on 21 July 2026 and presented to the Governor-General's office. The Attorney-General later extended the final report deadline by one month.
The report found a more collaborative approach from NZ Police and Oranga Tamariki could have prevented the disappearance and brought the children home sooner. Oranga Tamariki is the agency responsible for the safety and care of children. Like two search teams working from different maps, the agencies did not join up their information and actions. The report said concerns raised by the children's maternal whānau were minimised or overlooked by agencies for significant periods. It also found the harm caused by Phillips isolating the children from family, friends and society was underplayed and minimised, the Government said in accepting the findings Beehive.
In detail, the report listed a series of missed chances. In May 2023, a woman who had Phillips in her car photographed him, sighted his children, and called police. Police never arrived. Officers sent to that sighting were diverted to a family harm incident. The callout was later recorded as 'no further action required'. Police have been unable to explain to the inquiry why the callout was given that status.
In November 2023, while the children were still unaccounted for, the core investigation team was cut to three people. A police communications plan for how to arrest Phillips if sighted was never passed to police comms staff. It was also never passed to officers on the ground most likely to encounter him.
An August report from the Independent Police Conduct Authority was also critical of communication between police leadership and officers on the ground before Phillips was shot. The Authority is the independent watchdog that checks police conduct. Separately, it found a police officer was justified in shooting Phillips in self-defence. Police acknowledged that finding on 20 August 2026.
Police had earlier released details of the staff and resources used during the search. Investigators said they had located what are believed to be the family's primary campsites.
Both agencies have accepted the inquiry's findings. NZ Police acknowledged the findings and accepted the recommendations, and published a statement on the inquiry on 15 September 2026. Oranga Tamariki said it accepted the recommendations.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers and Oranga Tamariki chief executive Amanda Malu described the failures in the report as missed opportunities. They said they had not offered their resignations over the case. Chambers was appointed Police Commissioner about 10 months before Phillips died.
The broader context here is that the politics have moved from the search to how the findings are followed through. Ministers have taken ownership of the recommendations and both chief executives remain in place. The check will be whether joint work between Police and Oranga Tamariki changes in practice, through agency implementation plans and reports back to Cabinet on progress.
