A major review of changes to child discipline laws has found agencies such as police and Child, Youth and Family have responded appropriately to safety concerns.
The three-person panel examined the impact of controversial changes to Section 59 of the Crimes Act and released its findings on Monday.
The Government ordered the review following an anti-smacking referendum held in August this year.
The referendum question asked: Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand.
Some 87% (1.47 million) of the 1.68 million people who voted in the referendum were against light smacking of children being a criminal offence, according to official figures on the Election NZ website.
Prime Minister John Key says the panel's findings reinforce his view that the law is working and parents are not being criminalised for lightly smacking their children.
The panel found that police and Child, Youth and Family have effective guidelines for ensuring that good parents are treated as Parliament intended.
But it believes more can be done to assure parents that they will not be criminalised or unduly investigated for lightly smacking their children.
The review recommends that a new parent support helpline be established within Child, Youth and Family for parents who have questions about how they are being treated.
The review also recommends that police and social workers be required to provide families with specific information about their rights and what to expect when they have to deal with police or Child, Youth and Family.
Panel member and psychologist Nigel Latta says changes to child discipline laws have not made any difference to the way police and social workers operate.
Mr Latta says he looked into several cases highlighted by opponents of the law change and believes that police and Child, Youth and Family have responded appropriately and proportionately to concerns about child safety.
Mr Latta says he is not aware of any cases in which the police and Child, Youth and Family became involved just because of the law change.
