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About the Commissioner
John Angus
Children's Commissioner
John Angus is New Zealand’s Children’s Commissioner. The Governor-General appointed him to the role on 2 May 2009. John will serve as the Commissioner until December 2010.
John Angus began his career as an historian after obtaining a doctorate in history from Otago University. He went on to complete a diploma in social work and spent almost 10 years as a social worker in Dunedin. John’s career then moved into social policy where he worked on policies and programmes for children and families. From 1987 to 2006 he worked at a senior level for the Ministry of Social Development and its predecessors.
John has led policy work on child support, the care and protection of children and support for vulnerable families. He played a leading role in the development of several family support initiatives such as Family Start and SKIP.
Since early 2008 he headed up work on the prevention of child abuse and neglect for the Taskforce for Action on Violence Within Families.
John’s motivation during his career has been to improve the lives and the well being of children in New Zealand. As a children’s care and protection expert he has been asked to speak at a number of conferences and seminars.
John Angus is from Otago and is married with two adult sons.