Statement of Intent 2005 - Our Responsibilites - Ministry of Social Development

The Ministry of Social Development has over 6,000 staff and a presence in many locations, with more than 170 local offices.

We manage a departmental budget of over $720 million and administer approximately $14 billion in payments to New Zealander’s, including New Zealand Superannuation ($6.3 billion), social security benefits ($5.7 billion) and Student Loans, Allowances and related payments ($1.434 billion).

Our service delivery, policy advice, research and evaluation improves the lives of New Zealanders by:

helping people move into sustainable employment
providing services for families
improving the wellbeing of young people, senior citizens, people with disabilities
strengthening the relationship between government and the community and voluntary sector
providing income support and other services to almost 1.2 million New Zealanders
leading social development
advising the Government on social policy
leading social research to produce evidence on what delivers best results
working collaboratively with other government agencies and community organisations to achieve better social outcomes for all New Zealanders.

The Ministry provides services to the following Ministers:

Minister for Social Development and Employment and Associate Ministers for Social Development and Employment.
Minister of Veterans’ Affairs.
Minister for Senior Citizens.
Minister for Disability Issues.
Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector.
Minister of Youth Affairs.

We also administer the following Votes:

Vote: Social Development.
Vote: Veterans’ Affairs – Social Development.
Vote: Senior Citizens.
Vote: Youth Development.

Crown Entity responsibilities

We provide advice and support on appointments, outputs, accountabilities, and performance for five Crown Entities:

Children’s Commissioner.
Families Commission.
New Zealand Artificial Limb Board.
Retirement Commissioner.
Social Workers Registration Board.

Legislative responsibilities

The key pieces of legislation we manage and administer include the:

Social Security Act 1964.
New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001, Parts 1 and 4.
Department of Child, Youth and Family Services Act 1999.
Children’s Commissioner Act 2003.
Families Commission Act 2003.
Disabled Persons Community Welfare Act 1975 (except Parts 2 and 2A).
Social Workers Registration Act 2003.
Social Welfare (Transitional Provisions) Act 1990.