Parliament has passed legislation allowing the Ministry of Social Development to use automated electronic systems for benefit decisions, with the bill rushed through under urgency on Friday.
The Social Security (Modernisation) Amendment Bill permits MSD to approve automated electronic systems for making decisions, exercising powers, complying with obligations, or taking related actions under specified provisions, with safeguards required. The ministry confirmed the changes will not involve generative AI such as ChatGPT.
National MP Scott Simpson, who introduced the bill, said: "Automated decision-making will be used for simple, rules-based decisions, and human judgement will remain where it is needed. That means faster decisions, more consistency, and a system people can trust."
Social Development Minister Louise Upston said the legislation would cut delays and errors, reduce unwarranted debt, and allow staff to focus more on helping clients. The government said protections would continue, including human oversight and measures to guard against bias.
MSD makes millions of decisions every year. Simpson said: "That's not good enough for the clients of MSD, or taxpayers. This bill fixes that."
Labour MP Helen White said the regulatory impact statement had redacted the section describing what problem the bill was meant to address. She said: "You're talking about the very group of people who are most disconnected, and it's very, very important we safeguard that connection."
Labour MP Ingrid Leary said the move represented the government's approach to replacing workers who might be made redundant after the Budget.
Greens MP Ricardo Menéndez March said: "This is a carte blanche expansion to basically allow a robot, a machine, to have power of people's lives." He said he found it deeply troubling that the bill was proceeding without public consultation or proper examination.
New Zealand First MP Jamie Arbuckle called the bill a "significant step towards a more efficient, modern welfare system that serves both the taxpayer and those in genuine need".
ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar said her party backed the legislation, contending that workers would gain capacity to assist people in finding employment, and that sufficient protections were built in. "Of course there will be humans there to help... nobody's taking that human element out."