Three government agencies are to work closer together to protect children from abuse.
Police, Child Youth and Family and the Ministry of Health have signed a memorandum of understanding to share information on abuse cases and vulnerable children.
The agreement is in response to child abuse statistics, which show two children are abused every hour.
Police Commissioner Peter Marshall says more than half of all child abuse cases are family related.
He says the three agencies have learned they need to coordinate their response to better protect children.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says that even though the three agencies took a long time to come to an agreement, they realised it was vitally important.
