About 2,700 teenagers with a health condition, injury or disability could lose their Jobseeker benefit under a new government policy.

Social Development Minister Louise Upston gave the figure in Parliament on Wednesday. She said 2,733 people aged 18 and 19 were receiving Jobseeker Support because of a health condition, injury or disability as of June 2024. About 69 percent of them — roughly 1,800 — have a psychological or psychiatric condition. (RNZ)

Green MP Ricardo Menendez March asked the minister how many young people were affected and what conditions they had. He then raised the example of young people with cancer. Upston replied that it "doesn't change the fundamental point" and "We don't want them trapped on welfare." She said that for young people losing the benefit, "support should come from their families" and they "should be the responsibility of their parents." (RNZ)

Upston clarified that people assessed as not being able to work at all would get a different payment called the Supported Living Payment, not the Jobseeker benefit. The policy affects young people who have had to stop work or cut their hours because of a health condition or disability. (RNZ)

The Green Party has called for those on the health condition benefit to be excluded from the policy, saying it could make the youth mental health crisis worse. (RNZ)

From November 2026, the government will stop paying Jobseeker benefits to 18 and 19-year-olds whose parents earn more than $65,000 a year. The policy is called "Securing a future for our young people." In an October 2025 announcement, Upston said "young people aged 18 and 19 will no longer be eligible for Jobseeker payments if their parents can support them." (Beehive.govt.nz)

A 2023 estimate put the total number of young people who would lose support under the policy at about 4,300. (RNZ)

The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) confirmed the policy will apply to 18 and 19-year-olds applying for Jobseeker Support and Emergency Benefit. The test works like a parental income check: if a young person's parents earn above the threshold, the young person cannot get the benefit. MSD confirmed the test applies to people on the benefit because of a health condition or disability, not just those looking for work. An MSD report from September 2025 acknowledged that disabled young people and their families may be affected. (MSD) (MSD) (MSD)

The broader context here is that the number of people on the health condition or disability benefit has been growing. At the end of March 2026, 96,852 people were receiving it — up 4,440, or 4.8 percent, from the same time the year before, according to MSD figures. (MSD)

In a separate April 2026 release, Upston said 5,580 more people left the benefit for work during the year ending March 2026 compared to the previous year. (Beehive.govt.nz)

Upston wrote on Facebook in November 2025: "I'm not willing to accept that a life on welfare is as good as it gets for young people." National MP Todd McClay used the same phrasing in a July 2025 post: "National does not accept that a life on welfare is as good as it gets for young people." (Facebook) (Facebook)

The difficulty for the government will be holding that line when the Opposition raises specific cases. Menendez March's decision to raise cancer patients puts a sharp edge on a policy that MSD itself says will affect disabled young people and their families. Upston's response suggests the government does not plan to make exceptions based on a particular diagnosis. Whether the Supported Living Payment is broad enough to cover the people the government says should not be on Jobseeker is an open question for MSD to work through.