IN-CONFIDENCE

Tēnā koe Joshua Pietras,

Thank you for your email received 20 January 2026, under the Official Information Act 1982. Your request has been forwarded to the appropriate officials at National Office to respond.

The information you have requested may contain the names and contact details of our staff. Please let us know by 23 January 2026 whether you require these names and contact details. We will need to consult our staff before deciding whether we can release this information, and this will take a bit more time. If we do not hear from you, we will assume that you do not require staff names and contact details.

Ngā manaakitanga,

Official Information Team | Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Social Development

Our Purpose:
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

-----Original Message-----
From: Joshua Pietras <[FOI #33564 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 20 January 2026 7:33 pm
To: OIA_Requests (MSD) <[MSD request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Exercise of Powers under s 203 of the Social Security Act 2018

[You don't often get email from [FOI #33564 email]. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

Since 28 November 2018, how many times has MSD:

(a) issued a warning under s 203 of the Social Security Act 2018 to refuse, vary or cancel a person's benefit for not pursuing a tenable claim under the Family Protection Act 1955;

(b) exercised its powers under s 203(2) of the Social Security Act 2018 to refuse, vary, or cancel a person's benefit for not pursuing a tenable claim under the Family Protection Act 1955.

Yours faithfully,

Joshua Pietras

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #33564 email]

Is [MSD request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to Ministry of Social Development? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This email and any attachments may contain information that is confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this email and attachments is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify the author immediately and erase all copies of the email and attachments. The Ministry of Social Development accepts no responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after transmission from the Ministry.

hide quoted sections