27118 (2025). Takutai Tarsh Kemp to the Associate Minister of Housing

27118 (2025). Takutai Tarsh Kemp to the Associate Minister of Housing: What changes, if any, has the Government made to the emergency housing grants criteria in its current term?

Hon Tama Potaka: I am advised on 26 August 2024, the Ministry of Social Development (the Ministry) introduced changes to the Emergency Housing gateway. Those changes shifted emergency housing (EH) to a more rules-based approach and ensures EH grants are targeted to those in genuine need, who have met their responsibilities. Amongst other things, the changes: • introduced new information requirement powers to enable the Ministry to verify applicant eligibility and whether they have met their responsibilities. • established responsibilities as eligibility criteria, and a non-entitlement period of 13-weeks if an applicant has not met their responsibilities, after two warnings and when no good or sufficient reason for exemption applies. • revoked the Ministry’s ability to make emergency housing grants recoverable. • removed the Ministry’s discretion to grant, despite responsibilities not being met, on the basis that declining a grant would worsen the applicant’s position, increase risk to the applicant’s (or immediate family’s) welfare, or cause serious hardship. The Ministry also strengthened the verification processes for those entering emergency housing, reviewing eligibility settings, and introducing new obligations. The Ministry now looks more closely at whether someone applying for Emergency Housing have contributed to their housing need, if they can stay in their current accommodation, whether they have previously paid their emergency housing contribution, and have met their responsibility to look for and accept offers of suitable accommodation, including private rentals and transitional housing.