Photo: RNZ / Quin Tauetau
The number of benefits that were cut more than doubled in the September quarter compared to the same time last year, mainly due to missed appointments.
Quarterly data from the Ministry of Social Development shows the number of sanctions issued in the latest quarter rose 133 percent to 14,409, compared with 6177 in 2023.
It was also more than before the pandemic. The September 2019 quarter had about 4000 fewer cuts to benefits.
MSD data showed the main reasons for the sanctions were people not attending appointments and to a lesser degree, failing to prepare for work.
The quarter included a change to the traffic light system in August. That alerts people when they are not meeting their work obligations.
A sanction is a reduction in a person's benefit as a result of not fulfilling work obligations.
Earlier this week, Social Development Minister Louise Upston said monthly data showing a drop in sanctions from August to September this year indicated more beneficiaries were doing what was required of them.
She said it was encouraging to see a decrease in the number of failures to meet obligations.
With just one full calendar month of data, it was not possible to track trends or draw conclusions, with the traffic light system having taken effect on 12 August.
The September quarter data showed there were 391,224 people on a main benefit, eight percent more than the same period last year.
Of those, 204,765 people were receiving Jobseeker Support, up 23,256 or 12.8 percent when compared to September 2023.