4180 (2026). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Associate Minister of Housing

Written Question

Published date: 04 Mar 2026

Metadata

Document type:	Written Question
Parliament number:	54
Question number:	4180 (2026)
Question asked:	15 Feb 2026
Member asking:	Hon Kieran McAnulty
Portfolio:	Associate Minister of Housing
Minister replying:	Hon Tama Potaka
Answer received:	26 Feb 2026
Status:	Question Answered
Reply type:	Reply
Document ID:	WQ_04180_2026
Document guid:	6a7d4610-3dff-4517-abed-2c5d2eb72793

4180 (2026). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Associate Minister of Housing: Further to WPQ 612 (2026), how does the Ministry of Social Development define “sleeping rough” for reporting purposes, and what verification processes, if any, are used to confirm this status?

Hon Tama Potaka: The Ministry of Social Development (the Ministry) has advised me that they do not define rough sleeping, however generally operates according to the Stats NZ definitions of homelessness and severe housing deprivation. Please see: https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Retirement-of-archive-website-project-files/Methods/New-Zealand-definition-of-homelessness/nz-definition-homelessness-2015-update.pdf The options to verify that a person is sleeping rough are limited but may include information from a third-party provider or another agency such as Police or Council.