# 2026 Cabinet Committee Profile — Cabinet Social Outcomes Committee

| Field              | Detail                                 |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------- |
| **Type**           | Cabinet Committee Profile              |
| **Status**         | Final                                  |
| **Date**           | June 2026                              |
| **Classification** | Neutral business/campaign intelligence |

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## Committee Details

| Attribute     | Detail                                                                        |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Full Name** | Cabinet Social Outcomes Committee (SOC)                                       |
| **Chair**     | Hon Louise Upston (National) — Minister for Social Development and Employment |
| **Status**    | Standing Cabinet Committee                                                    |
| **Source**    | DPMC — cabinet committees page                                                |

## Purpose and Terms of Reference

The Cabinet Social Outcomes Committee considers policy and budget proposals relating to:

- Social policy and social development
- Health and disability services
- Housing and urban development
- Education and training
- Child welfare and family support
- Justice and corrections policy (social aspects)
- Māori and Pacific social development
- Women's affairs
- Sport and recreation
- Social sector coordination

## Members (Where Known)

| Member                    | Role                                           | Party    | Portfolio Relevance to Seniors       |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------ |
| Hon Louise Upston (Chair) | Minister for Social Development and Employment | National | NZ Super, MSD, income support        |
| Hon Dr Simeon Brown       | Minister of Health                             | National | Health services, aged care, dementia |
| Hon Chris Bishop          | Minister of Housing                            | National | Housing supply, social housing       |
| Hon Paul Goldsmith        | Minister of Justice                            | National | Elder abuse, legal protections       |
| Hon Casey Costello        | Minister for Seniors                           | NZ First | **Primary seniors portfolio**        |
| Hon Matt Doocey           | Associate Minister of Health                   | National | Primary care, mental health          |
| Hon Tama Potaka           | Associate Minister of Housing                  | National | Social housing                       |
| Hon David Seymour         | Deputy PM / Minister for Regulation            | ACT      | Regulatory oversight                 |

_(Note: Full membership may vary. Other ministers attend when their portfolios are discussed.)_

## Why This Committee Matters to Seniors

**This is the single most important Cabinet committee for seniors' interests.** Almost every policy decision that directly affects older New Zealanders passes through this committee before reaching Cabinet:

| Policy Area                   | Senior Impact                                   | Frequency                              |
| ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| NZ Super rate and eligibility | Affects 800,000+ seniors                        | Annual (indexation) + policy decisions |
| Health funding and services   | Hospital access, primary care, aged care        | Multiple decisions per year            |
| Aged residential care funding | Care quality, bed availability                  | Annual Budget + policy                 |
| Housing policy                | Social housing, downsizing, retirement villages | Multiple decisions per year            |
| Winter Energy Payment         | Heating cost support for seniors                | Annual Budget                          |
| SuperGold Card                | Transport and service concessions               | Policy decisions as needed             |
| Disability support            | Services for seniors with disabilities          | Annual Budget + policy                 |
| Child and family policy       | Grandparents raising grandchildren              | As needed                              |
| Dementia care strategy        | Growing dementia population                     | As needed                              |
| Elder abuse prevention        | Legal protections, support services             | As needed                              |

## Decisions It Shapes

| Decision Type                   | Description                                     | Example                               |
| ------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| **NZ Super indexation**         | Annual decision on Super payment rates          | April 2026 rate adjustment            |
| **Health Budget bids**          | Funding approvals for health services           | Aged care bed funding                 |
| **Housing policy changes**      | Social housing, Kainga Ora settings             | Seniors housing allocation            |
| **Social sector reform**        | MSD service delivery changes                    | Senior services coordination          |
| **Disability support settings** | Funding and eligibility for disability services | Support for seniors with disabilities |
| **Better Later Life strategy**  | Cross-government seniors strategy               | Implementation monitoring             |
| **Regulatory changes**          | Aged care, retirement village regulation        | Regulatory impact assessments         |

## Documents to Monitor

| Document                                    | Source                    | Frequency          |
| ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Cabinet committee membership (SOC)          | DPMC website              | After reshuffles   |
| Cabinet papers released under OIA           | DPMC / agency websites    | As released        |
| Cabinet minute extracts                     | DPMC website              | As released        |
| Ministerial press releases on SOC decisions | beehive.govt.nz           | After meetings     |
| Budget initiatives in social portfolio      | Treasury Budget documents | Annual             |
| Regulatory Impact Statements                | Treasury website          | With new proposals |
| Social sector reports and evaluations       | MSD, Health NZ, HUD       | Ongoing            |

## Business Implications

| Factor                      | Implication                                                       |
| --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Aged care funding decisions | Directly affects operator revenue, staffing, bed availability     |
| Health budget allocations   | Affects private hospital referrals, elective surgery volumes      |
| Housing policy              | Retirement village development pipeline, social housing contracts |
| SuperGold Card decisions    | Affects transport operators, retailers with discount programmes   |
| NZ Super settings           | Affects seniors' disposable income and spending patterns          |
| Disability support          | Affects home care and community support providers                 |
| Social housing policy       | Affects property managers, community housing providers            |

## Search Terms for Monitoring

```
"SOC" site:dpmc.govt.nz
"Social Outcomes Committee" site:beehive.govt.nz
"Upston" "Social Outcomes" site:beehive.govt.nz
"seniors" "Cabinet" site:beehive.govt.nz
"Cabinet paper" health site:health.govt.nz
"aged care" "Cabinet" site:beehive.govt.nz
"NZ Super" "Cabinet" site:beehive.govt.nz
```

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_Part of the NZ Seniors Knowledge Base — Political & Campaign Intelligence layer_
_Last updated: June 2026_