IN-CONFIDENCE

Tēnā koe Rhys Lewis

Thank you for your email received 8 February 2026, under the Official Information Act 1982. Your request has been forwarded to the appropriate officials at National Office to respond.

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: Rhys Lewis <[FOI #33650 email]>
Sent: Sunday, 8 February 2026 9:22 am
To: OIA_Requests (MSD) <[MSD request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Checks for income viability when cancelling a benefit

[You don't often get email from [FOI #33650 email]. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

I would like to ask two questions about the due diligence carried out by WINZ when a benefit is stopped. I am curious about whether it is similar to the situation where a power company cannot stop supplying power to a person who is medically dependent on electricity.

1. What checks does WINZ do to establish the financial position of a person before cutting their benefit. For example is there a minimum amount of other income or available savings that a person must have before a benefit is cut, or are there no checks on a person's financial viability?

2. How many cases were there where a person had a benefit cut between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2026, and of those cases how many people were left with less than $300 a week of income, or WINZ did not establish the financial position of the person who had the benefit cut?

Yours faithfully,

Rhys Lewis

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