An Auckland teenager who has spent much of his life in state care is warning poor quality caregivers are responsible for filling our jails with criminals.

A doctor's certificate is often a ticket to social welfare. From this week it becomes a recipe for work. At least - that's the hope.

Mentally ill people will be moved off state-funded benefits and into work using private employment agencies who will earn hefty fees for the service.

Prisoners in privately run Mt Eden Corrections Facility were able to access the internet through faulty computer kiosks a security review of public sector computer systems has found.

A review of Government information systems' security found weak points in 12 agencies which have now been addressed.

A drug and alcohol educator says P-making chemicals are often stored in food and drink containers, within reach of unsuspecting children.

People who apply for a state house may be directed instead to a charitable housing provider under a bill introduced in the wake of this week's Budget.

The couple alleged to be at the centre of a $375,000 benefit scam can be named for the first time.

From drug-dealing grannies with a penchant for diamond rings to white collar fraudsters, those who profit from crime are in the crosshairs of police.

A couple alleged to have ripped off taxpayers to the tune of $375,000 in Work and Income payments have been allowed to keep their names secret for now.

A couple are alleged to have ripped off taxpayers by hundred of thousands of dollars in welfare payments for dental treatments that never happened.

Two people will appear in court in Auckland tomorrow charged over a benefit fraud involving up to $375,000.

An immigration fraudster stripped of his citizenship and barred from New Zealand owes taxpayers more than $150,000.

An advocacy service helping beneficiaries, believed to be the only one of its kind in Auckland, may have to shut after running for 22 years, following a cut in government funding.

To be a truly free and democratic society there must be respect for the autonomy of individuals, writes Tim McBride. and limits on the activities of both state and private agencies which may intrude on that autonomy.

A government employee who was sacked after she accessed client records of Facebook 'friends' has won her job back until a full hearing can be held next year.

Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff has described the Ministry of Social Development as a "megastore of personal details" which needs to lift its game to ensure confidence in the public sector is not harmed.

The Ministry of Social Development is set to roll out new public computers from May next year to replace the kiosks closed after a security hole was revealed in October.

Two important points appear to be missing from the debate about child poverty.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says she left a meeting with hunger striker Sam Kuha with respect for the man and his passion for the problem of child poverty.

An eighty-three-year-old's theft of almost $215,000 in benefit payments was only uncovered when she was seriously injured in a crash with a fuel tanker.

A Masterton woman who defrauded Work and Income of $91,000 was yesterday sentenced to home detention and community work.