This Government bill amends the Social Security Act 2018 with the stated aim of supporting fiscal sustainability by targeting financial assistance to those most in need: it tightens eligibility criteria for jobseeker support and the equivalent emergency benefit for young people, and targets the accommodation supplement more tightly for some homeowners. It is still before Parliament.
A government bill that tightens welfare rules under the Social Security Act 2018 in the name of targeting help to those most in need. It makes it harder for 18- and 19-year-olds to get Jobseeker Support or the youth emergency benefit by testing their parents' income first. It also narrows the Accommodation Supplement — a government housing top-up payment — for some homeowners.
Introduced by Social Development Minister Louise Upston, the bill would require many 18- and 19-year-olds to show their parents cannot support them — or that they are estranged — before they qualify, and would raise the housing-cost threshold homeowners must reach before the supplement is paid. The government says it makes the system fairer and more sustainable and steers young people off long-term welfare. Critics, including unions and anti-poverty groups, say it will push some low-income families and young people into deeper hardship.
See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.