Social Development Minister Louise Upston says she is yet to determine what circumstances might allow an 18 or 19-year-old to receive an unemployment benefit after the Government decided to cut access.

Budget 2025, released yesterday, promises to remove income support through the Jobseeker Support and the Emergency Benefit for 18 and 19 year olds who aren’t engaged in work or training, shifting that responsibility to their parents.

The change would come into effect from July 2027 and was expected to impact nearly 9000 young people. It would also save the Government more than $160m in the two years following the change.

Some in that age bracket would be exempt, determined by a parental assistance test that would consider whether a person could “reasonably be expected to rely on their parents or guardians for support”, according to Budget documents.

Speaking to the Herald today, Upston said there would “always be a safety net” for those with “real need” but reiterated the Government’s expectation families who could support their teenage children should do so.

However, Upston was reluctant to outline in what circumstances exemptions would be made, noting Cabinet would be making decisions in the coming months.

“We’ve got to do some more detail around what that threshold is and what the exceptions are and I don’t want to come out too early and get it wrong.”

Finance Minister Nicola Willis (centre) delivered Budget 2025 yesterday. Photo / Mark Mitchell

She did liken the future arrangement to the student allowance scheme accessible to tertiary students.

Under the scheme, a person’s allowance could be changed depending on their parents’ income, except in some circumstances, including not having parental support due to a family breakdown or living alone as an orphan.

Upston clarified she wanted to test those exemptions publicly before deciding whether to adopt them.

Asked whether an 18-year-old not connected to their parents would be exempt, Upston said it would “depend on the circumstances” and maintained it would be “irresponsible” for her to say ahead of Cabinet’s decision.

Green Party social development spokesman Ricardo Menéndez March said he was concerned the Government had assumed all 18 and 19 year olds could be supported by parents or caregivers.

“I have no confidence that [the Ministry of Social Development] will be able to accurately test this when we already know that almost half of benefit entitlements are incorrectly assessed.

“The end result of this will be 18 and 19 year olds facing hardship and households having to go to food banks to survive as a result of being stripped of the support.”

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.