A major inquiry into the case of Tom Phillips, a New Zealand man who hid his children in dense forest for years before dying in a police shootout, has criticized officials for not taking the risks to the children seriously enough early in the saga of their disappearance. The public inquiry, an independent investigation, was launched in November 2025 to scrutinize how government agencies handled the case, prompted by outrage that a father involved in court proceedings evaded authorities for almost four years while forcing his children to live in rugged, squalid conditions without access to healthcare or education.
The inquiry's report, released Tuesday, stated that the harms caused by Phillips isolating his children were "underplayed, minimised or overlooked" for "significant periods" by the police and New Zealand's child protection agency, Oranga Tamariki. Concerns raised by the children's mother and her relatives were "often minimised as being part of a parenting dispute,” the report added.
When Phillips vanished with his children in December 2021, it was not the first time he had disappeared with them. The inquiry found that officials did not act with sufficient urgency, missing significant opportunities after the family's first disappearance months earlier. New Zealand Minister of Social Development Louise Upston acknowledged that opportunities were missed by police officers and social workers and that officials did not act quickly enough on a 2023 sighting of the family, nor did they seek surveillance warrants or bring in the military early enough.
"To the Phillips children directly, this report has found that our agencies did not take all practical steps to protect you," Upston said in a statement. "For that we are deeply sorry." The government has pledged to enact all of the report's recommendations, which include changes to how reports of concern about children are made and handled. However, the report does not name individual officials, and a public inquiry lacks the power to impose criminal charges or penalties.
Oranga Tamariki Chief Executive Amanda Malu described the report, which stated that her staff were "largely dismissive" of concerns from the children's mother and older siblings about Phillips, as "difficult and at times harrowing" to read. "I would particularly like to acknowledge the courage shown by the children’s mother and older siblings,” Malu said. “We did not listen in the way we should have, and this family deserved better from us.”
Phillips was shot dead by police officers in September 2025 as he fled a robbery with one of his children. The remaining children were soon discovered along with a cache of guns at a makeshift campsite. The family had not appeared to travel far from their rural home in the Waikato region since their disappearance in December 2021. Details about the children's current living situation and care have not been disclosed by officials.
During the time they were missing, police urged the public to come forward with information, widely publishing the children's names and photographs. However, the inquiry found that before these efforts, police took a "low-key" approach, based on a "misconceived view that there were no concerns for the children’s welfare."
While on the run, Phillips committed armed robberies, and during his fatal shootout, he seriously wounded a police officer. This was not the first time Phillips and his children had vanished. Three months prior to their December 2021 disappearance, a large search operation was launched when his truck was found abandoned on a beach near their home. Phillips and the children later emerged from the forest, stating they had been camping. Phillips was charged with wasting police resources but disappeared again with the children before his court appearance. At the time, he did not have custody of the children. Oranga Tamariki staff had informed a family court hearing between the disappearances that the children were "completely fine," and failed to mention concerns raised by the children's mother and the police, according to the report's author.