27859 (2025). Kahurangi Carter to the Minister for Social Development and Employment

27859 (2025). Kahurangi Carter to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What mitigations, if any, have been put in place to ensure disabled people are not adversely impacted by the Government's new "non-financial" sanctions?

Hon Louise Upston: I have been advised by the Ministry of Social Development that non-financial sanctions have been designed in a way that they will only apply to individuals for their first obligation failure when a particular non-financial sanction is found to be the most appropriate option for the person’s circumstances. The design of non-financial sanctions also ensures that there is no impact on the supplementary assistance clients get, such as for their ongoing disability or accommodation costs, to help manage their essential expenses during the sanction period. Two of the four non-financial sanctions (Community Work Experience and Report Job Search) will only apply to people who are required to actively look for work. This means that disabled people who have a current deferral of or exemptions from work obligations, or have been assessed as not having capacity to work, will not receive either of these sanctions.