80645 (2024). Hon Carmel Sepuloni to the Minister for Social Development and Employment

80645 (2024). Hon Carmel Sepuloni to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: How many distinct individuals, if any, have accessed (Unsupported Child's Benefit) since October 2023; what is the total budget expenditure, if anything, on this initiative since October 2023, listed against the original budget allocation?

Hon Louise Upston: The Unsupported Child’s Benefit does not have its own Budget appropriation but sits under a wider appropriation called Orphan’s/Unsupported Child’s Benefit. Therefore, the Ministry of Social Development is unable to provide a comparison of the actual spend against Budget. I refer the Member to the attached table, which provides the number of Unsupported Child's Benefit recipients as at month ending October 2023 and November 2024 by month ending and benefit type.