Pursuant to section 124 (1) (d) of the Social Security Act 1964, the Minister for Social Development and Employment establishes and approves the following programme for special assistance.
Dated at Wellington this 23rd day of June 2005.
STEVE MAHAREY, Minister for Social Development and Employment.
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P r o g r a m m e
1. Title—This programme is the Employment Transition Programme.
2. Commencement—This programme comes into effect on 1 July 2005.
3. Purpose—The purpose of this programme is to support people with disabilities who were formerly in receipt of an invalid’s benefit to remain in employment following the completion of an employment trial.
4. Interpretation—(1) In this programme, unless the context otherwise requires:
Act means the Social Security Act 1964
applicant means a person who applies for assistance or a person on whose behalf an application for assistance is made
assistance means employment transition assistance, being the special assistance under this programme
earner levy means the levy payable under subsections (1) and (2) of section 219 of the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001
expiry date means the date referred to in clause 10
employment trial means the undertaking, by an invalid’s beneficiary granted that benefit on the ground of permanent and severe restriction of capacity for
work, of a period of open employment agreed with the chief executive under section 44A (2) of the Act to establish whether he or she could sustain that employment
net specified income, in relation to a person, means:
(a) the amount of the person’s income (within the meaning of section 3 (1) of the Act) after
the deduction of income tax and the earner levy; and
(b) includes the amount (after abatement on account of income) of any of the following benefits payable to the person and the person’s spouse or partner:
(i) an unemployment benefit or a sickness benefit, a widow’s benefit, a domestic purposes
benefit, an invalid’s benefit, an independent youth benefit, or an emergency benefit; or
(ii) New Zealand superannuation or a veteran’s pension.
(2) Terms otherwise defined in the Act have the same meanings in this programme.
5. Application of Social Security Act—(1) Sections 12, 62, 66, 74, 74A, 76, 77, 80 (1), 80A, 80BD, 81, 82 (1) and (4), 84, 84A and 86J of the Act apply to this programme and to any applicant as if the special assistance under it were a benefit.
(2) Nothing in subclause (1) limits or affects the application of any other provision of the Act.
6. Employment transition assistance—(1) This clause applies to an applicant who:
(a) as a result of undertaking an employment trial, had his or her invalid’s benefit cancelled on the grounds that he or she was capable of regularly working
15 or more hours a week in open employment; and
(b) applies for assistance under this programme more than 28 days before the expiry date, and:
(i) within 28 days after the cancellation of the benefit, if the benefit was cancelled on or after 1 July 2005; or
(ii) within 60 days of 1 July 2005, in any other case.
(2) The chief executive may grant an applicant to whom this clause applies employment transition assistance if satisfied that:
(a) the applicant is regularly working 15 or more hours a week in open employment (whether or not
the employment is the same employment as the applicant undertook during the employment trial); and
(b) the applicant’s income would not be sufficient to disentitle the applicant from receiving an invalid’s benefit under the Act; and
(c) the applicant’s net specified income is less than the average amount of the applicant’s net specified income over the period of the employment trial; and
(d) without the assistance, the applicant would not be able to sustain the employment referred to in paragraph (a).
(3) This clause is subject to clause 8 (4).
7. Rate of assistance—(1) The amount of assistance payable in respect of any week is:
a – b but not more than c
(2) No assistance is payable in respect of any week in which b is greater than a.
(3) In this clause:
a is the average amount of the applicant’s net specified income over the period of the employment trial;
b is the amount of the applicant’s net specified income in respect of the week concerned: and
c is the amount of an invalid’s benefit that would be payable to the applicant and the applicant’s spouse or partner if the applicant were granted that benefit.
8. Period of grant of assistance—(1) Assistance granted under clause 6 (2) commences on the later of the following dates:
(a) The date of application for the assistance; or
(b) 1 July 2005.
(2) Assistance granted under that clause ceases if:
(a) for 8 consecutive weeks, the applicant’s income is equal to or more than the amount that would disentitle the applicant from receiving an invalid’s benefit under the Act; or
(b) the applicant has received no income from employment for 4 consecutive weeks; or
(c) the applicant is again granted an invalid’s benefit.
(3) If it has not ceased earlier, assistance ceases with the close of the expiry date.
(4) Where assistance has ceased under subclause (2), an applicant is not entitled to receive any further assistance under this programme unless the applicant is again granted an invalid’s benefit and completes a further employment trial.
9. Reviews of assistance—Without limiting section 81 of the Act, the chief executive must review an applicant’s eligibility for assistance:
(a) 6 months after the assistance commences; and
(b) at 6 monthly intervals thereafter.
10. Expiry—This programme expires on 31 July 2007.
Explanatory Note
This note is not part of the programme, but is intended to indicate its general effect.
This programme, which comes into effect on 1 July 2005, provides financial support to support people with disabilities who were formerly in receipt of an invalid’s benefit to remain in employment following the completion of an employment trial.