20319 (2026). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Minister for Social Development and Employment

20319 (2026). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: By how many dollars per week will the maximum rate of Temporary Additional Support be reduced under the changes announced on 21 May 2026; what assumptions were used in the modelling underlying the $195.6 million in forecast savings, including (a) the dollar value of the reduction in the TAS maximum, (b) whether automatic reductions in TAS arising from higher Accommodation Supplement counting as income were modelled separately from the deliberate reduction in the TAS maximum, (c) the take-up rate assumed for the higher Accommodation Supplement maximums, and (d) the assumed effective date of each change for the purpose of calculating four-year savings; and will the Minister release the underlying Regulatory Impact Statement or modelling memo before Budget day?

Hon Louise Upston: I am advised by the Ministry of Social Development that there are multiple Temporary Additional Support (TAS) maximum rates, which will vary based on benefit and family type. As an example, the TAS maximum rates for Jobseeker Support estimated at 1 April 2027 are in the attached table. These use the Treasury’s Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) 2025 consumers price index (CPI) forecast, which can be found on the Treasury’s website. Automatic reductions to TAS arising from increases to the Accommodation Supplement maxima were modelled together with the reduction to the TAS maximum. No take-up rates were assumed for the higher Accommodation Supplement maximums. The number of people expected to have an increase in Accommodation Supplement was estimated based on: • individual circumstances of current clients • HYEFU 2025 macroeconomic forecasts provided by the Treasury • HYEFU 2025 benefit forecasts. The assumed effective date used for each change was 1 April 2027.