Latest news with #MinistryOfSocialDevelopment
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Morning Report Essentials for Wednesday 6 August 2025
disability environment 5 minutes ago In today's episode, an overhaul of the rules will allow greater catch limits when fish are abundant and stop on-board camera footage from being made public; Unemployment is tipped to reach a nine-year high on Wednesday; A leaked Cabinet paper shows the government was planning to restrict the hours bottle stores and supermarkets could sell alcohol. But the documents obtained by RNZ show it has backed away from those plans to focus on making business easier for the alcohol industry; A blind woman on the Supported Living Payment says she's struggling to use what she describes as the Ministry of Social Development's "impossible system"; A building course for high school kids in Opotiki is giving hard-to-reach students career options they might never have had otherwise.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Neurodiverse man overwhelmed by Jobseeker admin comes off weekly support
Photo: RNZ A young neurodiverse man who was on the Jobseeker benefit says the sheer number of forms to fill, job websites to join and roles to apply for each week was so overwhelming he decided to come off the weekly support. Autism NZ warns that is extremely concerning and common but the Ministry of Social Development said its staff are there to help and support is on offer. The man - who wishes to remain anonymous - has dyslexia and dyspraxia, making administrative tasks taxing and sometimes overwhelming. To show how much paperwork he was required to do, he measured the file holding documents related to being on the Jobseeker benefit. "It is a full centimetre thick, the file that I have. Most of it is from when I was applying, there's a few brochures, my last payslip, a bunch of stuff from Inland Revenue, the MSD job hunter booklet, multiple bank statements, my dad's death certificate." He is in his 20s and was working for his dad, a plasterer, who sadly passed away in March. A few months later, he applied for the Jobseeker benefit but within weeks started to find the admin overwhelming. He needed to update his CV and provide his case manager with regular updates of his job searches, which included taking screenshots and keeping a list of companies, dates and responses - but he does not own a smartphone. "It is a hindrance to me when it comes to dealing with too much paperwork, admin, computers. I struggle with that," he said. "You have to reset one password and then you start getting more passwords wrong because you're frustrated and gets you on a negative loop until it just wears away at your sanity a bit. I can't take that." He told his case manager at Work and Income that the paperwork was too much and he wanted to come off the benefit - he was living at home and had started a part-time job but was hoping to complete a training course while on the benefit with the aim of getting full-time work. He said he believed his ability to cope with admin was the problem, not Work and Income to whom he did not disclose his disability because he felt a bit embarrassed and ashamed. Autism NZ chief executive Dane Dougan said he regularly hears from people who have given up on the benefit process. "It's really concerning. We are hearing a lot, we don't capture those numbers ... but based on the number of people coming to us in these situations it certainly seems quite common." Dougan said most people who came off the benefit by choice had family support - but not all.. "The outcomes ... for our neurodivergent and autistic people who lose access to the benefit and can't pay their bills, they could end up homeless or they could end up incarcerated and all those things are potentially a flow on effect for making it very difficult admin wise for our community to get a benefit so it's extremely concerning." An advocate who helps people navigate the benefit system, Allison Tinsdale, said the number of forms to fill is actually scary for some people. "It's mainly that I see people's reactions ... we have three one-page forms and I don't even like giving that to a client straight off because we've got too many people with writing issues to say fill out a form first, I say can we have a chat first then we'll see if we need to fill out anything." Ministry of Social Development's group general manager client service delivery, Graham Allpress, said people who receive a work-tested benefit may have full or part-time work obligations, or work preparation obligations, depending on their situation. "Obligations will vary depending on the main benefit type and people's individual circumstances, including the number and ages of dependent children, and a person's medically assessed capacity to participate in employment," he said. "Based on discussions with the client, case managers will identify the most appropriate activities that will enable the person to move towards or into employment at the earliest opportunity." Allpress said these activities could include "engaging with available support to create a CV, attending driver license training or an industry specific training programme or applying for suitable jobs and keeping a record of who has been approached". He said MSD staff consider each person's individual circumstances before referring them to a job or an activity. A MSD regional commissioner, Lynda Smardon, said they understand applying for a benefit and meeting the obligations can be challenging for some people. Helping people apply for a benefit and meet their obligations, is a core part of what our case managers do every day." She said when they know a person is neurodiverse they can offer support. "He did not tell us about any disability or health condition which made it difficult for him to search for work or meet any of the activities that may need to be met as part of receiving a benefit." Smardon said the man's case manager followed up to check on his decision to opt out of the benefit and offer support - but the man said he just had a few missed calls. "MSD staff consider each person's individual circumstances before referring them to a job or an activity and have support available if people are having difficulty meeting their obligations," Smardon said. "This includes support with updating a CV, referral to a Work Broker to help with job applications, and referrals to other service providers." She said there are also regional health and disability teams, whose role is to support MSD's frontline staff to ensure that disabled whanau or people with health conditions get the right support. Dougan said there is still stigma attached to neurodiversity in the workplace which could put people off from telling MSD they have a disability. "Stigma is absolutely a problem because it's still quite widely misunderstood, particularly in the employment space. A lot of autistic people we hear from would be reluctant to disclose that they are autistic to work and Income staff and then that makes it difficult to provide extra support." He said some of it came down to training and ensuring Work and Income staff were equipped to recognise when a person needed help. The young man who came off the benefit said all he really needed was direct communication, face to face or over the phone. "It would be more personal interactions I think it would have been better if I'd been able to get all of that information I needed from an actual person." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
09-07-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Government wants unemployed people to help with flood clean-up
The work could include clearing debris and fencelines, as well as repairing buildings and waterways. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The government plans to bring in jobseekers to help with the response to the recent flooding in Tasman and Marlborough. Social Development Minister Louise Upston has announced the activation of an Enhanced Task Force Green. This allows the use of funding for training, supplying, transporting and paying people on the Jobseeker benefit to help with the cleanup. Upston said the work could include clearing debris and fencelines, as well as repairing buildings and waterways. She said the programme would put jobseekers where they will be of most help to farmers and growers cleaning up their properties. "Across the affected areas, damage assessments are being carried out. The Ministry of Social Development will work with agencies to make sure Enhanced Task Force Green assistance is provided as soon as possible to farmers and growers in need of this support," she said. The taskforce has been an option for governments for many years, and also provides some funding for local councils, to assist with administration costs. Upston said it would also provide "support to enable public assets such as community halls and gardens, playgrounds and public spaces to be returned to the same condition they were prior to the event". "We know these are resilient communities which are pulling together to help each other. ETFG is designed to support those efforts and to lend a hand." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Times of Oman
05-07-2025
- Health
- Times of Oman
Oman's National Autism Center earns landmark accreditation
Muscat: The National Autism Center (NAC) has achieved a historic milestone as it becomes the first organisation in the Arab region to receive full membership status with Qualified Applied Behavior Analysis Credentialing Board (QABA), a prestigious U.S.-based authority in the field of applied behavior analysis. Officially accredited by QABA, the Ministry of Social Development, NAC's recognition underscores its leadership in specialised training and certification for autism services. The membership grants NAC exclusive standing to administer and oversee professional development programs, including certifications such as the ABAT (Applied Behavior Analysis Technician), QASP-S (Qualified Autism Services Practitioner-Supervisor), and QBA (Qualified Behavior Analyst). This accreditation signals NAC's readiness to build international partnerships and strengthen its infrastructure for behavioral services, positioning it as a central hub for QABA's expansion efforts across the region.
RNZ News
03-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Thames MSD staff refuse to work at mould, sewage smelling office any longer
The temporary Ministry of Social Development office operated out of the Wintec Building in Queen Street, Thames until Monday. Photo: Googlemaps More than a dozen Ministry of Social Development staff walked off the job over what they say is an unsafe office with a ''strong mould and sewage smell". Staff stopped working in the ministry's Thames office on Monday, leaving 12,000 clients without a face-to-face service. The office was supposed to be a temporary space, after the Ministry of Social Development closed its main office in Pollen Street in November 2023 due to damage. But there's been ongoing issues with the temporary building. Staff moved out for a period of time last year, and last month it was closed for three days for security and privacy upgrades. The Public Service Association has now issued MSD with a Provisional Improvement Notice under the Health and Safety at Work Act, which requires the employer to address concerns about health and safety. MSD has redeployed staff to Paeroa which was 33km away. Thames Community Board chairperson Adrian Catran told Checkpoint the situation for clients trying to go to MSD was "terrible". "Twelve thousand clients in and around Thames and in the Coromandel Peninsula are unable to have face-to-face contact with MSD in Thames." Catran said it was "wrong" that clients wanting to visit MSD in person would have to travel to Paeroa. "There is no actual transport available to just travel to Paeroa at the moment, so that means they have to find their own way." MSD staff have been working in the temporary office for 18 months, despite the space originally being used as a solution for four weeks. Catran said the temporary office has had a number of issues over a long period of time. "The building is not really fit-for-purpose and had shortcomings anyway. Now it appears that has manifested itself to a point that staff won't work there. "It's had other problems in terms of the space is too small for 13 staff for example, client privacy is not available within the building to the extent that a lot of clients wanted." He said on a previous occasion the ceiling had collapsed in another room in the building. The original building had been vacated due to black mould and water leaks, but had now reopened as a fruit shop, Catran added. Last year local MP Scott Simpson issued a statement saying it was unacceptable for people to have to travel to Paeroa to see MSD staff in person, which Catran said was still relevant today. The Ministry of Social Development told Checkpoint the Thames Service Centre was temporarily closed on Monday and staff were redeployed to Paeroa Service Centre. They had access to vehicles for travel. Acting Regional Commissioner, Sharlene Horne, said MSD was working through concerns about the building in conjunction with the landlord, while also working on securing new long-term premises that met the ministry's requirements. Horne said MSD was working to reopen the Thames Service Centre as soon as possible but many of the client conversations in Thames already happened over the phone, and she expected clients should still be able to complete their appointments. PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons told Checkpoint there had been long-standing issues with the working environment at the Thames office which was supposed to be a temporary site. These concerns came to a head on Monday and health and safety representatives at the office had since issued MSD with a Provisional Improvement Notice under the Health and Safety at Work Act. She said the PSA was working on ensuring workers were not disadvantaged by any alternative options proposed and that they would continue to support workers through this. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
