Number of benefits cut more than doubles in a year

Missed appointments and failing to prepare for work are among the factors in 14,409 sanctions being issued in the past three months. Photo / Quin Tauetau, RNZ

• The number of benefits cut in the September quarter rose 133% to 14,409, mainly due to missed appointments.
• Social Development Minister Louise Upston noted a drop in sanctions from August to September, indicating more compliance.
• The September quarter had 391,224 people on a main benefit, an 8% increase from last year.

By Amy Williams of RNZ

The number of benefits that were cut more than doubled in the September quarter compared with the same time last year, mainly because of missed appointments.

Quarterly data from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) shows the number of sanctions issued in the latest quarter rose 133% to 14,409, compared with 6177 in 2023.

It was also more than before the pandemic. The September 2019 quarter had about 4000 fewer cuts to benefits.

MSD data showed the main reasons for the sanctions were people not attending appointments and to a lesser degree, failing to prepare for work.

The quarter included a change to the traffic light system in August. That alerts people when they are not meeting their work obligations.

A sanction is a reduction in a person’s benefit as a result of not fulfilling work obligations.

Earlier this week, Social Development Minister Louise Upston said monthly data showing a drop in sanctions from August to September this year indicated more beneficiaries were doing what was required of them.

She said it was encouraging to see a decrease in the number of failures to meet obligations.

With just one full calendar month of data, it was not possible to track trends or draw conclusions, with the traffic light system having taken effect on August 12.

The September quarter data showed there were 391,224 people on a main benefit, 8% more than the same period last year.

Of those, 204,765 people were receiving Jobseeker Support, up 23,256 or 12.8% when compared to September 2023.

- RNZ

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.