When a sole mother applies for a benefit from Work & Income they are required to fill out a child support application, and for this child support application to be processed the father’s name must be listed on the child’s birth certificate.

If the father’s name is not listed on the birth certificate, Work & Income can sanction the mother by taking $22 per week per child out of her benefit payments.

After these sanctions have been in place for 13 weeks, Work & Income can then increase these sanctions by $6 per week, making the sanctions $28 per week (per child).