Northland beneficiaries owe almost $30 million to Work and Income, according to official figures, with a budget adviser urging people not to rack up more debt this Christmas.
As of June 30, 11,148 recipients of a main benefits in Northland owed $29,905,959.20 to the Ministry of Social Development, the umbrella organisation of Work and Income. Main benefits included welfare such as Jobseeker and Sole Parent support but did not include Superannuitants.
The debtors - 66.6 per cent of main benefit recipients in Northland - owed an average of $2682.63. This was more than $100 more than the national average of $2532.86.
January and February is always a busy time for us because people overspend at Christmas.
Mid North Budgeting Service Trust co-ordinator Kane Lyden said most people needing help at the service had beneficiary debt.
"A lot get advance payments because they're in rent arrears, or power arrears and have had their power disconnected or are about to have their power disconnected," Ms Lyden said.
"They also get advanced payments for optometry, dental care, and to buy whiteware and school supplies. We try to emphasise to people that they're still a debt they need to pay back. They're a much better debt than debt with a loan shark because they're interest-free but they're still a debt."
Advance payments, known as "recoverable assistance", helped people pay for something they needed urgently when they have no other way of paying for it.
Most beneficiaries who owed money to the ministry also had other debt, she said.
"Rent and power arrears are common. People also have hire purchase and some get debts buying from truck shops. We encourage people to put 'do not knock' signs on their doors to keep sellers away but they don't always or the sellers knock anyway."
Ms Lyden cautioned against building up any more debt at Christmas.
"January and February is always a busy time for us because people overspend at Christmas. There's also lots of costs involved in going back to school; stationery, uniforms and now a lot are expected to have Chromebooks [budget laptops] which are about $500."
Nationally, $627,780,079 was owed by beneficiaries at the end of the financial year.
Almost 60 per cent of 18 to 64-year-olds on a main benefit were in debt, with an average individual debt of $2532.86.
Ministry of Social Development spokesman Carl Crafar said the ministry worked hard to "protect the integrity of the system to ensure it remains fair to all New Zealanders".
Clients could owe money to the ministry because of overpayment, "recoverable assistance" or as a result of being prosecuted for fraud. Most overpayments occurred because clients failed to inform Work and Income of a change in their circumstances, such as accommodation costs, Mr Crafar said.