A review of security at the Ministry of Social Development, prompted by last year's deadly shooting at the Ashburton Work and Income office, has found tighter security would not have prevented the incident.

A tough new policy cracking down on beneficiaries with unresolved arrest warrants has resulted in the issuing of thousands of alerts.

The ten largest amounts of wrongly acquired benefits totaled more than $2.14m last year - but advocates say most of the $23 billion paid out was genuinely needed.

The number of core public servants has fallen well below the Government’s cap.

The Families Commission is rebranding today taking a name which almost identical to that of a French supermarket chain.

Convicted murderer and paedophile Phillip John Smith swindled thousands of dollars from the taxpayer, using false documents when studying in prison.

A beneficiary has been awarded more than $20,000 after Housing New Zealand was found to have been over-collecting private information about him.

The Ministry of Social Development has signalled a need to “explore options relating to the age of eligibility” for NZ superannuation, and wants a review of benefit rates to tackle child poverty.

Nearly 100 jobs are set to go at Work and Income - but the government says even more new roles will be created.

A public servant is under investigation over allegations that he said beneficiaries were "stupid" for having children.

A further 3500 young people on welfare could have their spending tightly controlled by an adult supervisor if National is re-elected.

The Government is to extend its control of spending by young beneficiaries to all teen parents and many 18 and 19-year-olds.

A Hastings woman who died following an overdose made two calls to emergency helplines that went unanswered before her death.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has released plans to restore some incentives for solo parents who take up full-time study.

An Auckland mother with terminal cancer who is sharing a two-bedroom flat with her four sons is worried they won't cope in the small space as her condition deteriorates.

A single parents' group says "a complete change of mindset" has helped reduce the number of people on the sole parent benefit to the lowest level in more than 20 years.

Beneficiary advocates say Social Development Minister Paula Bennett is unfairly trying to paint beneficiaries as extravagant after she disclosed how many had benefits suspended for unapproved trips abroad.

Of 8,001 beneficiaries sent for jobs requiring drug testing, only 22 tested positive or refused to take tests, a result that has been greeted as a victory by the Social Development Minister.

NZ's child abuse rates are higher than anyone ever realised, officials admit, after bureaucrats bungled the numbers for more than two years.

New powers allowing welfare officials to secretly approach beneficiaries' banks or workplaces if they suspected them of committing fraud are being questioned.

Fast-food giant McDonald's has been paid $272,000 by the Government to help unemployed people get back to work.

Former residents of a home for troubled kids have launched a $500,000 lawsuit against the Govt for claims of physical and sexual abuse.

Nearly 100 beneficiaries on the run from police have had their welfare cut in the six weeks since the policy was introduced, says Social Development Minister Paula Bennett.

A major law change which will introduce compulsory security screening of up to 376,000 people working with children has been unanimously backed in Parliament.

Crusading doco-maker Bryan Bruce returns to TV screens this week to claim that New Zealand's middle class is subsidising the rich and the poor through a terrible tax burden.

The amount fines and reparations owed has dropped to the lowest level in almost a decade.

Funding for talk therapy is drying up just as increasing numbers of Kiwis are feeling comfortable talking about their problems.