Pursuant to section 124 (1) (d) of the Social Security Act 1964, the Minister of Social Services and Employment establishes and approves the following amendment to the Special Needs Grant welfare programme (as established and approved on 18 December 1998).
STEVE MAHAREY, Minister of Social Services and Employment.
Dated at Wellington this 13th day of November 2000.
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A m e n d m e n t
1. Title-(1) This is the Special Needs Grant Amendment (No 10).
(2) In this Amendment, the Special Needs Grant Programme is called "the programme".
2. Commencement-This Amendment comes into effect on the day after the date on which the Minister gives his approval to it.
3. Special Assistance to Applicants applying for a residence permit in New Zealand who have lost the financial support of their sponsors-(1) Clause 4.1 of the programme is amended by adding the words "or 15B.1".
(2) The programme is amended by inserting, immediately before clause 16, the following heading and clauses:
15B Applicants applying for a residence permit in
New Zealand who have lost the financial support of their sponsors
15B.1 The chief executive may from time to time, in the chief executive's discretion, make non-recoverable Grants on account of hardship to any Applicant-
(a) who is in New Zealand; and
(b) who either-
(i) lodged an application with the New Zealand Immigration Service for a residence permit under the Immigration Act 1987 under the Family category on the ground of marriage or living in a stable de facto relationship; or
(ii) entered New Zealand on a temporary visa under that Act issued under the policy "Entry to New Zealand for the purpose of marriage"; or
(iii) can demonstrate to the satisfaction of an Immigration officer under that Act that he or she otherwise entered New Zealand for the purpose of marriage to a New Zealand citizen or resident; and
(c) who is living apart from, and has lost the financial support of his or her partner; and
(d) whose relationship with the partner ended solely or principally because of domestic violence by the partner; and
(e) whose application for a Grant is supported by a written statement by a member of the
New Zealand Police confirming that domestic violence by the partner has occurred; and
(f) who is the holder of a temporary work permit issued under the Immigration Act 1987 on the ground that the person is a victim of domestic violence; and
(g) whose application for a Grant is supported by a written referral by the New Zealand Immigration Service, which corroborates the matters set out in paragraphs (b) and (f); and
(h) whom the chief executive considers is in need of financial support, including financial support for the Applicant's dependent children (if any).
15B.2 For the purpose of clause 15B.1 the following provisions of this programme do not apply and the chief executive must not take them into account, namely clause 5 (b) and clause 6.
15B.3 Grants under clause 15B.1 may be made to an Applicant on a weekly basis from the date of the application for the Grant until the earliest of the following dates:
(a) if the Applicant receives a residence permit under the Immigration Act 1987, the date on which that occurs:
(b) if the Applicant marries or enters into a relationship with a partner, the date on which that occurs:
(c) if the Applicant leaves New Zealand, the date on which that occurs:
(d) 30 September 2001.
15B.4 The weekly amount of a Grant under clause 15B.1 is the appropriate rate of a community wage set out in the Ninth Schedule of the Act and, for the avoidance of doubt, is subject to abatement on account of income in accordance with Income Test 3.
15B.5 The chief executive may, in the chief executive's discretion, increase the weekly amount of a Grant under 15B.1 by an amount no more than the weekly amount of an accommodation supplement under the Act that would be payable to the Applicant-
(a) if the Applicant were a beneficiary; and
(b) if section 74A of the Act did not apply to the Applicant.
15B.6 For the purposes of clause 15B.1 and 15B.3-
domestic violence has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Domestic Violence Act 1995
partner, in relation to an Applicant, means a person who either-
(a) is legally married to the Applicant; or
(b) in the chief executive's opinion, has, or as the context requires, had a relationship in the nature of marriage with the Applicant (whether they are of opposite sexes or the same sex, and even if they are not able to be legally married to each other)
relationship has the meaning in paragraph (b) of the definition of partner
Definitions benefit, chief executive, community wage, dependent child, Income Test 3, Social Security Act 1964 section 3; permit, Immigration Act 1987.
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Explanatory Note:
This note is not part of the amendments, but is intended to explain their general effect.
These amendments, to the Special Needs Grant Programme under section 124 (1) (d) of the Social Security Act 1964, allow special assistance equivalent to the rate of a community wage and accommodation supplement for a single person, or a single person with a dependent child or children, to be granted on account of hardship to certain people who are not New Zealand residents and have lost the support of their partners because of their partner's domestic violence. The Department of Work and Income administers the programme.