Overview
- A 211-page independent inquiry published in September 2026 found New Zealand agencies repeatedly downplayed warnings about Tom Phillips and did not take all practical steps that might have protected his three children.
- The report says a credible sighting on 28 May 2023 was not properly investigated after the first police unit was diverted to a family-harm call, a delay the inquiry calls avoidable.
- Investigators found critical information was not shared or followed up, including police fears after a September 2021 disappearance that were not passed to the Ministry for Children and an unread affidavit from an older step-sibling.
- The inquiry also criticises failures to identify and seize Phillips’s firearms after he lost his licence, a lapse the report says could have contributed to recovering the children sooner; Phillips was located and shot dead by police in a September 2025 shootout and the children were recovered.
- Ministers and agency leaders have publicly apologised and acknowledged the report’s findings, and the government and agencies are now considering policy, operational and disciplinary responses while the long-term welfare needs of the recovered children remain a central concern.