[1] The Domestic Purposes Benefit, or DPB, was first introduced in New Zealand in 1973[2] by the country's Third Labour Government led by Prime Minister Norman Kirk.
The court could, at its discretion, set the rate that it thought appropriate for the father to pay the mother in respect of the child.
The Act provided State financial support for single mothers, irrespective of whether the father was contributing to maintenance payments.
The numbers of ex nuptial children being adopted had started to fall in 1962, before the introduction of State financial support.
In the 2011 New Zealand general election, the ruling centre-right National Party campaigned on, among other policies, welfare reform.
[5][6] Upon winning power in 2011, National's Minister for Social Development and Employment Paula Bennett started implementing the policies.
[15] As of 1 April 2014, the Domestic Purposes Benefit – Care of Sick or Infirm, has been replaced by the Supported Living Payment.
[citation needed] There is no dedicated category now for single women over 50: those applying after 15 July 2013 will receive the Jobseeker Support payment for those aged 25+, together with the obligations to find work that brings.
[19] At the end of December 2012, 109,000 working-age people (aged 18–64 years) were receiving a Domestic Purposes Benefit.