A children's support charity says a mix of heightened awareness and more abuse could be the reason for more reports to Oranga Tamariki. 

The Ministry for Children estimates its seen a 45 percent increase in reports of concern in the year to April.

It comes as Newstalk ZB reveals more than a-thousand children are overdue to be assigned a social worker. 

Child Matters Chief Executive Jane Searle told Ryan Bridge it's aware of a large volume of under-reporting - especially in serious cases. 

She says increased reporting is certainly not indicative of just more awareness. 

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