The Social Security Amendment Bill w/ the University of Auckland's Honorary Associate Professor Susan St John: 5th March, 2026

Late last year, the High Court ruled against the Ministry of Social Development on one of their practices in recovering welfare payments. MSD had, for the last twenty years, required that successful ACC claimants pay back any supplementary assistance they had received while waiting for their claim to be resolved, such as through the accommodation supplement. 

This approach would often mean claimants would be left with a significantly reduced payout, and even debt.

Last month, the government began passing legislation that would retroactively make these practices legal, slashing any hopes of forgiving the outstanding debts that were - until recently - unlawful.

The Social Security (Accident Compensation and Calculation of Weekly Income) Amendment Bill has been pushed through parliament in urgency, limiting scrutiny. However, despite a narrow timeframe to submit on the select committee, over eight hundred responses were received.

Producer Theo spoke to Dr Susan St John, Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Auckland - and one of the submitters to the bill’s select committee - about the consequences this legislation will have.