The Ministry of Social Developments says its technology has stood up to "robust testing". Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Tests show the old technology that sits behind the benefits system is good enough to support the government's crackdown on unemployed people, officials say.
This is despite a briefing describing the Ministry of Social Development's systems as so "outdated, hard to use and at risk of failure" that they posed a risk of doing "serious harm" to beneficiaries.
That description was made in a briefing in late 2023, and the ministry told RNZ on Thursday that "no further IT advancements have been made since" then - despite the ministry having embarked on a $2 billion-plus upgrade of its tech and wider systems.
It has also spent tens of millions of dollars on consultants already.
The government's new 'traffic light' warnings to beneficiaries began this week, and extra sanctions kick in next year.
"In preparing to implement the changes we completed robust testing to ensure the system works as the government intends," the ministry said in a statement.
It also had time to make any tech changes it might need to before the extra sanctions next year, it added.
The accuracy of the ministry's processes has been called into question.
An accountant on a JobSeeker benefit earlier told RNZ that the ministry emailed him to say it would cut his benefit in half based on a meeting he did not go to, which he said he had no record of being asked to attend.
Internal surveys have shown the systems were failing to pay up to half of beneficiaries the right amount, and they were receiving either too little or too much.
The late 2023 briefing to Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston said the old tech put so much pressure on ministry staff that they had less time to support clients to find work.
Although the ministry said it had felt compelled to test its IT systems recently, it also said that "our social sector IT systems are and have been capable of making such changes for many years".