ACT's welfare plan pushes further than government's existing reforms

ACT released a welfare policy on 28 June treating benefits as temporary support with stricter work requirements and tougher penalties for non-compliance. The package goes beyond the government's 2024 reforms, signalling structural change rather than tightening existing settings. David Seymour frames it as cost-of-living relief and coalition differentiation on an issue where National holds the Social Development portfolio.