Benefit Sanctions series (2013-14) 

In response to wholescale welfare changes, including the introduction of punitive benefit sanctions, CPAG released three reports monitoring the government policies.  

Report 1 | Benefit Sanctions: creating an invisible underclass of children? (Oct 2013) 

The first report showed that the government’s monitoring systems were lacking and created confusion over the numbers of families affected by the sanctions. The authors argued the government had introduced wholescale changes without robust systems of accountability or public scrutiny in place.  

 CPAG spokesperson Professor Mike O’Brien asked whether the government’s system was “creating additional hardship by churning people in and out of the benefit system”? 

In the report, CPAG urged monitoring of the sanctions, particularly for sole parents, and recommended the sanctions be repealed in order to safeguard children’s wellbeing.  

Read Benefit Sanctions: creating an invisible underclass of children? (PDF) 

 Report 2 | Benefit sanctions: Children - not seen, not heard (June 2014)  

The second report was published 8 months later and stated the welfare of children affected by the sanctions remained a deep concern.  

In response to an Official Information Act Request, the Ministry of Social Development provided only minimal information about how sanctions were impacting clients with children. The information did not include the number of children affected by benefit sanctions, or how long the sanctions lasted. 

Spokesperson Mike O'Brien said, "The government has argued that welfare reform is 'good for children' but children's needs are invisible in this picture. The critical question must be the number of children affected by benefit sanctions and for how long. When families spend time on a very reduced income, with benefits cut by half, it inevitably has major consequences for children." 

In the report CPAG called for transparent monitoring of benefit sanctions, particularly for sole parents. This would help the public to assess the extent of churn in the welfare system and the effect sanctions had on children. 

Read Benefit Sanctions: Children not seen - not heard (PDF) 

Report 3 | Benefit sanctions and children: an urgent need for greater clarity (Sep 2014) 

In the third policy monitoring report, CPAG said the Ministry of Social Development was still providing only minimal information about benefit sanctions and called on government to provide robust and transparent information about the number of children affected and the impact on their wellbeing. 

CPAG spokesperson Donna Wynd said, "The lack of data means the public has little idea of whether the government's "relentless focus on work" is actually improving outcomes for children, or protecting vulnerable children - something the government claims is a goal of welfare reform.” 

“Living on a greatly reduced income, with benefits cut by half, has major consequences for children, so it's critical to know the number of children affected by sanctions and for how long. The public deserves to know the impact of pouring millions of dollars into reforming social assistance." 

Read Benefit sanctions and children: an urgent need for greater clarity (PDF). 

Outcome of the benefit sanction campaign  

Although this campaign did not result in any immediate changes to the policies, subsequent campaigning by CPAG and other advocates like Auckland Action Against Poverty kept the issue on the political agenda in the years to come. In 2019 the Welfare Expert Advisory Group also recommended the removal of sanctions. 

 In 2019 the government scrapped the sanction that penalised sole parents who did not name the other parent. And in 2021 the government ended the subsequent child policy, which had previously required parents to return to work earlier if they had an additional child while receiving the benefit.  

CPAG continues to campaign for the removal of all sanctions. CPAG believes that no sanctions, including sanctions for failing drug tests, should ever be applied where they impact on the lives of children, or create deeper poverty for those who are reliant on welfare assistance for their basic needs.