Getting more people out of welfare dependency and into sustainable work

Work is at the heart of a better quality of life for New Zealanders and their families. We have taken an investment approach by targeting services and support to those most at risk of long-term welfare dependency.

Supporting those on welfare

People want to better their lives and those of their families.

By implementing the Government’s comprehensive welfare reform programme, we have continued to support New Zealanders to become independent.

Reducing welfare dependency

Through work-focused case management (WFCM) we are able to work more closely with clients, tailoring and investing our services where they will have the biggest long-term impact.

The service delivery model that was introduced in July 2013, combined with the policy changes introduced with Welfare Reform, is delivering results. In the year ending 30 June 2015, 30,500 people who received WFCM left the benefit system and went into work. They also spent an average of 17 days less on benefit before obtaining work than if they had not been receiving an intensive case management service.

During 2014/2015 we strengthened our focus on reducing the number of Jobseeker Support clients on benefit for longer than 12 months.

At 30 June 2015 there were 65,555 Jobseeker Support clients who had been on benefit for more than 12 months. This is 1,976 fewer than the previous year.

In February 2015 the Government announced two new targets in relation to reducing welfare dependency – to reduce working-age client numbers by 25 percent, and the long-term cost of benefit dependency by $13 billion, between June 2015 and June 2018.

To achieve this we are increasing the number of clients in intensive case management services (including additional employment services) from 80,000 to 120,000 by September 2015. We are also broadening our focus to include Sole Parent Support and Jobseeker Support clients with a health condition.

To give us a better understanding of the needs of our clients, we are running five trials on how to work with these clients effectively to help them move into work. The trials will be evaluated yearly.

How we used the Investment Approach

We introduced the Investment Approach in 2013 to ensure we invest our support where we can make the biggest difference.

This year we continued to implement the WFCM approach in order to give case managers the capacity to work more intensively with their clients.

This approach allows us to target the right support at the right time, to have the greatest long-term impact.

The latest valuation of the welfare system, at 30 June 2014, puts the lifetime liability of the benefit system at $69.0 billion – a decrease of $7.5 billion from the 2013 figure. Of this decrease, $2.2 billion can be attributed to management interventions.

Supporting the Investment Approach is the funding flexibility that makes it possible for us to reprioritise funding to areas that will have the greatest impact. This increased flexibility gives us the means to trial new ways of providing wrap-around support to our clients.

This flexibility also allows us to be more responsive to client needs, to test in other areas what works in one place, and to be more innovative with interventions.

Working with youth

The actuarial valuations of benefit liability have identified that the earlier in life a person comes onto benefit, the higher their estimated lifetime liability. For example, a client who enters the benefit system before reaching 18 is significantly more likely to be on a benefit when they are in their thirties.

This is why we must target our interventions to where we know we will have the biggest impact.

Youth Service

Through our Youth Service we have been able to support at-risk youth aged between 16 and 19 to complete education, training or work-based learning.

The proportion of Youth Service participants engaged in education, training or work-based learning continued to increase to 87.4 percent. This is 9.4 percentage points better than at the same time last year.

The proportion of participants who do not require a benefit after leaving the Youth Service was 49.5 percent. This is 3.3 percentage points better than at the same time last year.

Support for teen parents

Teen parents have the highest lifetime liability costs of all groups in the benefit system, and their children are more likely to experience poor outcomes. We continued to provide support for teen parents through initiatives such as intensive case workers, volunteer neighbourhood supporters, and support for teen fathers. We also supported vulnerable teen parents to access adequate housing.

Through the Guaranteed Childcare Assistance Payment, we helped young parents on benefit to meet their obligations, and supported those who are not on a benefit to return to or remain in secondary education.

We have been working alongside other government agencies to review the services provided to teen parents and their children to ensure the right services are being delivered and are easily accessible.

Working with the disabled community

Disabled people and people with health conditions tell us how important getting a job is for them. Having a job helps them to build a better future for themselves and their families. It is also a positive way for them to connect with their community.

Health and Disability Long-term Work Programme 2014-2018

In 2014/2015 we began implementing the Health and Disability Long-term Work Programme. By 2018 we will:

• embed an individualised approach to supporting people to find and stay in work
• build our capability to support disabled people to find and stay in work
• provide accessible information, forms and tools
• improve employment supports and services for disabled people
• work with employers so they can be more confident employing disabled people
• change the way we work with health professionals
• remove financial disincentives to working.

Highlights from 2014/2015 include:

• availability of intensive case management to 8,000 health and disability clients
• increased engagement with stakeholders to inform training for our staff, including a training needs analysis
• implementation of the Young Supported Living Payment and Post Placement Support trials
• implementation of the electronic lodgement of the Work Capacity Medical Certificate

• an internal online resource about Reasonable Accommodations and improved accessibility of some Ministry information and forms.

Project 300

Launched in April 2015, Project 300 is a trial in Christchurch to assist an extra 300 disabled people and people with health conditions into work over the next year.

Disability Action Plan 2014-2018

The Disability Action Plan sets out a vision that all New Zealanders have equal rights of citizenship. It outlines strategies for implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the New Zealand Disability Strategy.

In 2014/2015 we co-ordinated the first year of implementing the Action Plan and successfully established working groups and governance mechanisms.

Over the next year we will continue to support the Action Plan working groups and carry out the four action areas we share responsibility for. These are to:

• increase employment and economic opportunities
• ensure personal safety
• transform the disability support system
• promote access in the community.

Working with older New Zealanders

It is estimated that by 2051 one in three people over 65 will still be working and will make up an estimated 13 percent of the workforce.

Carers’ Strategy Action Plan

Over 400,000, or almost one in ten, New Zealanders are carers. The Carers’ Strategy vision for New Zealand is a society that values people who support others in their everyday living.

To improve carers’ access to information, we supported the redevelopment of the carers’ website www.carers.net.nz, run by Carers New Zealand.

In 2014/2015 we involved carers and carers’ organisations in the implementation of the Action Plan by facilitating focus groups and working alongside the Carers Alliance and Carers New Zealand. We will continue to do this.

Elder abuse and neglect prevention

In 2014/2015 we provided $1.9 million to community organisations to deliver 27 elder abuse and neglect services around New Zealand. We also established new services in Wairoa, Rotorua and Kawerau.

We helped to raise awareness of elder abuse and neglect prevention through the promotion of World Elder Abuse Awareness Week in June 2015.

Positive Ageing Strategy

The New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy was first released in 2001 and included 10 aspirational goals towards a healthy, happy and engaged older population.

In April 2015 the Minister for Senior Citizens released the 2014 Report on the Positive Ageing Strategy. The report indicated that New Zealand is progressing well against the Strategy and also outlined the steps that need to be taken to make this country the best it can be for older people.

We continue to promote the vision and goals of the Strategy through different channels. These range from our Facebook page, with over 4,300 followers, to presentations such as our talk at the Population Association of New Zealand biennial conference at the University of Waikato in June 2015. The Strategy continues to inform our work including our latest report on the Business of Ageing, which highlights the significant economic contribution of older people in the paid and unpaid workforce.

SuperGold Card

An additional 865 business partners joined the SuperGold Card programme in the year to 30 June 2015, bringing the total number of participating businesses to more than 8,000 around the country.

In the year we issued over 290,000 SuperGold Cards. More than 666,000 New Zealanders can now use their SuperGold Card to access concessions and discounts for everyday goods and services.