Nature and scope of functions
Our purpose
We help New Zealanders to be safe, strong and independent.
We have a presence in almost every town, our staff have connections to every community and we touch the lives of most New Zealanders.
The scope of our work
We administer over 20 billion dollars in government expenditure and provide services and assistance to more than 1.1 million New Zealanders and 110,000 families.
The Ministry provides services to the:
- Minister for Social Development
- Minister of Youth Affairs
- Minister of Health
- Minister of State Services
- Associate Ministers for Social Development
- Minister of Veterans’ Affairs
- Minister for Senior Citizens
- Minister of Revenue
- Minister for Disability Issues.
We administer three votes
These include:
- Vote Senior Citizens
- Vote Social Development
- Vote Veterans’ Affairs – Social Development.
Our role
We provide:
- the statutory care and protection of children and young people, youth justice services, adoption services and funding to community service providers
- employment and income support services, New Zealand Superannuation and the administration of New Zealand’s international welfare portability arrangements
- family services, providing support, information and advice for families and communities
- student allowances and student loans
- access to affordable health care for older people, families and lower-income New Zealanders
- services to uphold the integrity of the welfare system and minimise the debt levels of our clients
- leadership across the social sector, and funding to community service providers
- access to concessions and discounts for senior citizens and people with low incomes
- campaigns that challenge antisocial attitudes and behaviour.
We have three clusters
These include the:
- Policy cluster – provides social sector-wide policy advice. The group advises on welfare reform, employment skills and income support, child, family and community policy, youth policy, and older people’s policy. The group’s evaluation, research and information unit provides a strong evidence base in support of the Ministry’s advice, policy development and operational delivery. The policy cluster includes the Ministry of Youth Development (supporting the Minister of Youth Affairs), the Office for Disability Issues (supporting the Minister for Disability Issues) and the Office for Senior Citizens (supporting the Minister for Senior Citizens).
- Service Delivery cluster – provides services to clients through four service lines: Work and Income, students, Seniors and Integrity Services, Child, Youth and Family, and Family and Community Services.
- Corporate cluster – supports the policy and service delivery clusters through the People, Capability and Resources, Risk and Assurance, and Corporate and Governance business units.
Advice on four Crown entities
We provide advice on the:
- Children’s Commissioner
- Families Commission
- New Zealand Artificial Limb Board
- Social Workers Registration Board.
Support on statutory tribunals and advisory committees
We provide advice on the:
- Social Security Appeal Authority
- Student Allowance Appeal Authority
- Social Workers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal
- Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families
- Work and Income Board
- Nine Child, Youth and Family Residence Grievance Panels.
Legislation we manage and administer
We operate in a complex environment within many key pieces of legislation. These give the framework to support the decisions we make and ensure a fair system for all who use it (see Appendix A).
