Pursuant to section 5 of the Social Security Act 1964, the Minister for Social Development and Employment makes the following instrument.
I n s t r u m e n t
1. Title-This instrument is the Ministerial Direction-Disability Allowance Amendment 2011.
2. Commencement-This instrument comes into effect on the day after its publication in the New Zealand Gazette.
3. Principal direction amended-This instrument amends the Ministerial Direction-Disability Allowance given on 28 March 19991.
4. Preamble amended-The preamble is amended:
(a) by inserting "or reviewing" after "granting"; and
(b) by inserting "a" before "disability allowance".
5. Clause 1 amended-Clause 1 is amended by
revoking the definition of approved alarm company2 and substituting the following definitions:
"accredited alarm company means a supplier of medical alarm services for the time being accredited under the accreditation process
accreditation process means the process established under clause 8B".
6. Clause 5A amended-Clause 5A(a)3 is amended by omitting "approved" and substituting "accredited".
7. Clause 6 amended-Clause 6 is amended by inserting "and the matters in clause 6A" after "matters".
8. New clause 6A inserted-The following clause is inserted after clause 6:
"6A Except in exceptional circumstances, you should not consider justified a grant of a disability allowance for the supply of medical alarm services from a supplier that is not an accredited alarm company."
9. New headings and clauses 8A to 17 substituted-Clauses 8 and 93 are revoked and the following headings and clauses substituted:
"Accreditation of alarm companies
8A The purpose of clauses 6A and 8B to 17 is to ensure that the Government’s expenditure on disability allowances for medical alarm services is spent on services that meet quality standards and the needs of the persons to whom the services are supplied.
8B As soon as practicable after the commencement
of this clause, you are to establish and maintain processes for:
(a) the accreditation of suppliers of medical alarm services; and
(b) the review of the accreditation of suppliers (including review at least once every two years); and
(c) the revocation of accreditation.
9A The processes referred to in clause 8B must be based on requiring suppliers to compete for accreditation based on your assessment that the services are of high quality and cost efficient, will meet the needs of persons intended to be supplied with the services, and meet any other criteria that you consider relevant.
10 You must publish details of the accreditation process on the department’s internet site.
11 If an accredited alarm company’s approval is revoked under the accreditation process, you must before or as soon as practicable after that revocation takes effect:
(a) review the disability allowances of persons being supplied with medical alarm services by that company having regard to clause 6A; and
(b) take reasonable steps to assist those persons
to obtain medical alarm services from another accredited alarm company and confirm or
vary the rate of their disability allowances accordingly.
Transitional arrangements in relation to approved alarm companies
12 In clauses 13 to 17, approved alarm company means a company that was, immediately before the commencement of this clause, an approved supplier of medical alarm services under the processes established under the former clause 84 of this direction (as in force immediately before that commencement).
13 As soon as practicable after the establishment of the accreditation process, you must give notice to every approved alarm company:
(a) stating that the approval process under which that company was approved as an approved supplier of medical alarm services has been replaced by an accreditation process and that approvals under the approval process will accordingly lapse; and
(b) stating that the company’s approval as a supplier of medical alarm services will remain in force until that company has had a reasonable opportunity to apply for accreditation under the accreditation process; and
(c) giving details of the accreditation process and how to apply for accreditation under it; and
(d) stating the period within which that company must apply for accreditation; and
(e) stating the date on which the company’s approval as a supplier of medical alarm services will lapse.
14 The date set under clause 13(e) must not be before the expiry of the initial period set under the accreditation process for evaluating and deciding on accreditation applications and notifying applicants of the chief executive’s decisions.
15 Subject to clause 16, a person who was receiving all or part of a disability allowance in respect of the supply of medical alarm services from an approved alarm company immediately before that company’s approval lapses in accordance with clause 13(e) should not by reason only of the lapsing of that approval cease to receive that allowance or part during the current period of the person’s contract with that company.
16 You must, as soon as practicable after an approved alarm company’s approval has lapsed in accordance with clause 13(e):
(a) review the disability allowances of persons being supplied with medical alarm services by that company having regard to clause 6A; and
(b) take reasonable steps to assist those persons
to obtain medical alarm services from an accredited alarm company (whether or not from the same company) and vary the rate of their disability allowances accordingly.
17 Before the expiry of the initial period set under the accreditation process for evaluating and deciding on accreditation applications and notifying applicants of the chief executive’s decisions, the references in clauses 5A(a) and 6A to an accredited alarm company must be read as references to an approved alarm company."
Dated at Wellington this 29th day of September 2011.
HON PAULA BENNETT, Minister for Social Development and Employment.
Explanatory Note
This note is not part of the instrument but is intended to indicate its general effect.
This instrument, which takes effect on the day after its publication in the New Zealand Gazette, amends the Ministerial Direction-Disability Allowance under the Social Security Act 1964 by revoking the provisions relating to approval of suppliers of medical alarm services and replacing them with new provisions relating to accreditation of suppliers on a competitive basis. Approvals under the former process will lapse after approved suppliers have had a reasonable opportunity to apply for accreditation under the new process.
The lapse of an approval will not affect the disability allowances of people who receive services from the formerly approved supplier during the current terms of their contracts with those suppliers, but the chief executive is directed to review those allowances having regard to new clause 6A and assist the person concerned to obtain medical alarm services from an accredited supplier and to vary the rate of the disability allowance accordingly.
In accordance with new clause 6A of the direction, disability allowances for supply of medical alarm services from suppliers that are not accredited alarm companies will only be granted in exceptional circumstances.
Annotation of Notes
1New Zealand Gazette, 1 April 1999, No. 41, page 983
2 3 4All New Zealand Gazette, 5 July 2001, No. 69, page 1630