Earlier changes

What's new

9 June 2025

Guaranteed Childcare Assistance Payment

The Guaranteed Childcare Assistance Payment content has been updated to clarify:

  • activity requirements for young parents
  • when payment can continue during child absences

The residency requirements have also been updated to remove out-of-date information.

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30 May 2025

Accommodation Supplement and Temporary Additional Support - Boarding and renting

Map has been updated to provide more guidance and clarity about:

  • who is a boarder and who is a renter
  • how to treat services costs and water rates

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26 May 2025

Traffic Light System

Some changes have been introduced to the Traffic Light System from 26 May 2025.

These changes include:

  • the introduction of non-financial sanctions in some circumstances as an alternative to a financial sanction following an obligation failure
  • increasing the period an obligation failure counts for working-age clients from 12 to 24 months
  • requiring clients who are applying for certain benefits to complete a Jobseeker Profile before their benefit can be granted
  • some technical changes to the current sanction regime

Non-financial sanctions

Non-financial sanctions have been introduced as an alternative to a Grade 1 financial sanction for some clients.

These non-financial sanctions are Money Management and Community Work Experience.

Money Management: a client will have 50% of their main benefit payment put onto a payment card for four weeks that can only be used on essential expenses.

Community Work Experience: clients will work with a community or voluntary organisation for at least five hours a week for a period of four weeks.

Only clients who meet certain criteria will be able to have a non-financial sanction imposed.

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Legislation

The following welfare programmes have been updated, effective from 26 May 2025:

These are also available in a hard-copy (PDF) format. See welfare programmes

Student Allowance - When scholarships are personal income

Map has been updated to clarify when scholarships are considered personal income for Student Allowance. Scholarships are personal income, unless:

  • the scholarship is specifically exempted or
  • the scholarship is paid for tuition fees, as set out in the scholarship agreement (any part of the scholarship not paid for tuition fees is personal income)

The separate "Student scholarships" section has also been removed, and its remaining content updated and included as part of Student Allowance.

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Student Allowance - ACC weekly compensation for a sensitive claim

Map has been updated to clarify that ACC weekly compensation paid for a sensitive claim is personal income for Student Allowance. ACC weekly compensation is paid to compensate for the person's loss of earnings or loss of potential earning capacity from their injury.

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