Source: Radio New Zealand
Social Development Minister Louise Upston said the accommodation supplement calculation had not changed for 33 years RNZ / Mark Papalii
A critic says a change to the accommodation supplement rules is expected to push some households further into poverty.
The Social Security Amendment Bill was introduced in Parliament on Thursday.
It introduces changes that were signalled in the 2025 Budget, which the government said were designed to better target financial assistance and ensure the sustainability of the welfare system.
It introduces a parental assistance test for 18- and 19-year-old JobSeeker applicants and adjusts the calculation for the accommodation supplement.
Homeowners will be assessed based on contributing 40 percent – not 30 percent – of their income to housing costs before they are eligible for a subsidy.
Child Poverty Action Group spokesperson Isaac Gunson said even households that could meet that threshold would experience “deeper after-housing-cost poverty”.
He said they would probably have to defer things like home maintenance, which could have a flow-on effect to worse health outcomes.
Social Development Minister Louise Upston said the accommodation supplement calculation had not changed for 33 years, and those with unsubsidised housing costs now generally paid a higher proportion of their income towards housing.
“This rebalances that. This will target the accommodation supplement to those with the greatest need, while continuing to support the most vulnerable groups.”
The amount that people are allowed to have in assets and still qualify for the supplement has also not been changed in more than 30 years. A couple or a sole parent could have cash assets up to $16,200.
She said she did not have the details of how many people would be affected or how much it would save.
“The bill has been tabled, they are Budget ’25 measures so there won’t be any surprise there.”
The change does not apply to renters and boarders, nor homeowners who are likely to require longer-term social assistance, including those on superannuation, veteran’s pension, supported living payment, or emergency benefit equivalent of supported living payment.
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