The Salvation Army says sanctions on beneficiaries which force people to find volunteer work for a few hours a week isn't the best use of resources.

New 'non-financial' sanctions are set to come into force for beneficiaries who don't meet their obligations - including having part of their weekly benefit put on a payment card or finding volunteer work for at least 5 hours a week.

But Salvation Army principal social policy analyst Paul Barber doesn't believe that's the right way to go for people who are struggling to find work.

"There are already a lot of sanctions available... we're talking about a relatively small group of people within the total number of people who are receiving welfare."

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