Nature and scope of functions
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We help New Zealanders to help themselves to be safe, strong and independent.
Ko ta mātou he whakamana tangata kia tū haumaru, kia tū kaha, kia tū motuhake.
Our purpose
The Ministry of Social Development helps New Zealanders to help themselves to be safe, strong and independent.
We have a presence in almost every town in New Zealand and our people have connections to every community. Our work touches the lives of nearly every New Zealander, across all stages of life.
Our role and functions
We achieve our purpose through providing:
- statutory care and protection of children and young people, youth justice services and adoption services
- funding for community service providers
- employment support
- income support including payments, entitlements and New Zealand Superannuation
- social housing assessments and services
- access to concessions and discounts for senior citizens, families and low-income New Zealanders
- student allowances and student loans
- information, knowledge and support for families and communities
- campaigns that challenge antisocial attitudes and behaviour
- services to uphold the integrity of the welfare system and minimise the debt levels of people we work with
- leadership across the social sector.
Better Public Services
The Ministry’s Chief Executive, as Chair of the Social Sector Forum, has responsibility for leading the cross-agency effort to achieve the following four Better Public Services (BPS) results:
- Reduce the number of people who have been on a Jobseeker Support benefit for more than 12 months (Result 1)
- Increase participation in early childhood education (Result 2)
- Increase infant immunisation rates and reduce the incidence of rheumatic fever (Result 3)
- Reduce the number of assaults on children (Result 4).
The Ministry also contributes to the following four Better Public Services results:
- Increase the proportion of 18-year-olds with NCEA Level 2 or an equivalent qualification (Result 5)
- Reduce the rates of total crime, violent crime and youth crime (Result 7)
- Reduce reoffending (Result 8)
- New Zealanders can complete their transactions with the Government easily in a digital environment (Result 10).
Our scope
We administer over $23.3 billion 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 (Chair of the Cabinet Social Policy Committee)
- 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 two Votes
- Vote Senior Citizens
- Vote Social Development.
We monitor four Crown entities
- Children’s Commissioner
- Families Commission
- New Zealand Artificial Limb Service
- Social Workers Registration Board.
We support statutory tribunals and advisory committees
- Expert Advisory Group on Information Security
- 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.
Our structure
Service Delivery cluster
This cluster provides services to people through the following service lines: Work and Income (including social housing and services to students and seniors); Child, Youth and Family (CYF); and Family and Community Services.
Policy cluster
This cluster provides social sector-wide policy advice, including advising on welfare reform, employment skills and income support, child, family and community policy, youth policy, social housing policy and older people’s policy.
The policy cluster includes the Office of the Chief Policy Advisor, the Ministry of Youth Development, the Office for Disability Issues and the Office for Senior Citizens.
Corporate cluster
This cluster supports the policy and service delivery clusters through the People, Capability and Resources, Risk and Assurance (including Integrity Services), and Corporate and Governance business groups.
Insights MSD provides data and information as well as monitoring and evaluation functions in support of the Ministry’s advice, policy development and operational delivery.
The Property Management Centre of Expertise (PMCOE) provides all-of-government property management services.
Legislation we manage and administer
We operate in a complex environment governed by many key pieces of legislation. This provides the framework to support the decisions we make and ensure a fair system for all who use it.
A full list of legislation that the Ministry administers can be found here on the MSD website:
