29739 (2026). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Minister for Social Development and Employment

29739 (2026). Hon Kieran McAnulty to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: How many benefit sanctions did the Ministry of Social Development apply in each region during the 2025/26 financial year, and what relationship do these have to the Jobseeker Support reduction measure in Regional Commissioner performance agreements?

Hon Louise Upston: I am advised that the Ministry of Social Development does not use benefit sanctions data when determining Jobseeker Support reduction targets for Regional Commissioner performance agreements. I refer the Member to the attached tables, which provides the Number of sanctions applied to working age main benefit clients during the period 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2026.