(No 2) 2005
Pursuant to section 124 (1) (d) of the Social Security Act 1964, the Minister for Social Development and Employment establishes and approves the following amendment to the Training Incentive Allowance Programme (as established and approved on 30 November 1998).
Dated at Wellington this 19th day of December 2005.
DAVID BENSON-POPE, Minister for Social Development and Employment.
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A m e n d m e n t
1. Title—(1) This amendment is the Training Incentive Allowance Amendment (No 2) 2005.
(2) In this amendment, the Training Incentive Allowance Programme is called “the programme”.
2. Commencement—This amendment comes into effect on 1 January 2006.
3. Interpretation—(1) Clause 2.1 of the programme is amended by revoking the definition of allowance, and substituting the following definition:
“allowance means a training incentive allowance under Part 1”.
(2) Clause 2.1 of the programme is amended by revoking
the definition of applicant, and substituting the following definition:
“applicant means a person who makes an application for—
(a) an allowance under Part 1; or
(b) childcare payments under Part 2”.
(3) Clause 2.1 of the programme is amended by inserting, in their appropriate alphabetical order, the following definitions:
“childcare payments means young parent childcare payments under Part 2
composite school and correspondence school have the same meanings as in section 2 of the Education Act 1989
eligible child, in Part 2, has the meaning in clause 13.1.2
Regulations means the Social Security (Childcare Assistance) Regulations 2004 (S.R. 2004/268)
secondary school has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Education Act 1989”.
(4) Clause 2.2 of the programme is amended by inserting, after the word “Act”, the words “or the Regulations”.
4. Objects—Clause 3 of the programme is revoked.
5. New Part heading and clause inserted—The programme is amended by inserting, after clause 4,
the following heading and clause:
“Part 1
Training incentive allowances
4A Purpose of this Part
The purpose of this Part is to provide financial assistance to people receiving certain benefits to enable them to undertake employment-related training appropriate to their personal circumstances and labour market conditions in order to—
(a) enhance and improve their work skills; and
(b) thereby increase their prospects of obtaining employment and gaining independence from the benefit system.”.
6. New Part added—The programme is amended by adding the following Part:
“Part 2
Teen parent pilot
11 Purpose of this Part
The purpose of this Part is to make provision on a trial basis for payment of financial assistance for childcare to certain teenage parents selected by the chief executive to encourage those parents to remain in, or return to, secondary education.
12 Period for which this Part is effective
This Part continues in effect until the earlier of the following dates and then expires:
(a) the date on which the amount of money expended under it equals the sum of—
(i) the total amount of money appropriated
for the purposes of this Part; and
(ii) the total amount of money appropriated
for the purposes of this programme and approved for expenditure under this Part:
(b) 31 December 2008.
13 Young parent childcare payments
13.1 This clause applies to an applicant if the applicant is not eligible for an allowance under Part 1 and—
13.1.1 is—
(a) single, not receiving an income-tested benefit in his or her own right, and is the dependent child of his or her parent or guardian; or
(b) aged 16 or 17 and is married to or in a civil union with another person; and
13.1.2 has the primary responsibility for
the day to day care of a child of the applicant (an eligible child) or for more than one eligible child; and
13.1.3 is (or is about to be) enrolled in a course of education at secondary
level in a composite school, a correspondence school, or a secondary school.
13.2 Where clause 13.1 applies to an applicant, the chief executive may, in his or her discretion having regard to the matters set out in clause 13.3, grant young parent childcare payments under this Part—
(a) for each eligible child of the applicant for whom no payment of childcare assistance under section 61GA of the Act is being made; and
(b) for the attendance of the eligible child at an approved early-childhood programme during the applicant’s attendance at the school or (in the case of a correspondence school) equivalent study and for not more than 40 weeks in a year.
13.3 The matters referred to in clause 13.2 are:
13.3.1 the level of the applicant’s educational qualifications;
13.3.2 the likely benefit to the applicant of participating in secondary education;
13.3.3 whether the applicant is likely to participate or continue to participate in secondary education without the assistance of childcare payments;
13.3.4 whether it is reasonable to expect the applicant, or the applicant’s spouse or partner (if any), or the applicant’s parents to provide financial support or other support towards the applicant’s childcare needs to enable the applicant to participate in secondary education;
13.3.5 the availability of any suitable secondary education or early childhood education places, or both; and
13.3.6 any other matters the chief executive considers relevant.
13.4 Nothing in this Part obliges the chief executive to grant childcare payments to any particular applicant.
14 Rate of childcare payments
14.1 The amount of childcare payments payable in respect of any week is:
a – b but not more than c
14.2 No childcare payment is payable in respect of any week in which b is greater than a.
14.3 In this clause—
a is the weekly cost—
(a) of the eligible child’s attendance at the approved early?childhood programme based on—
(i) the actual hourly fee payable; or
(ii) if a periodic flat fee is payable, the average hourly fee payable obtained by dividing the periodic flat fee by the number of hours during the period concerned for which the child is enrolled to participate in the programme; or
(b) where clause 15 applies, for keeping open the eligible child’s place in that programme
b is any payment made by a person other than the applicant towards a calculated on a weekly basis
c is $6.00 per hour multiplied by the number of hours per week for which the child is enrolled to participate in the programme but not more than $180 a week.
15 Payment during absences of eligible child
15.1 If an approved early-childhood programme charges a fee for holding open the places
of eligible children who are absent from
the programme when the programme is available—
(a) childcare payments may continue to be paid for an eligible child for any continuous period of not more than
30 working days when the child is absent from the programme because—
(i) the child or applicant is injured or ill; or
(ii) of a family bereavement; or
(iii) the child is on holiday; or
(iv) of other reasonable circumstances; and
(b) childcare payments may be ceased where an eligible child is absent from the programme for a continuous period of
15 working days or more and none of the circumstances in paragraph (a) (i) to (iv) exist.
16 Notification of absences of eligible child
16.1 It is a condition of any grant of childcare payments under this Part that, within a reasonable time after an eligible child for whom childcare payments are granted is absent from the approved early-childhood programme concerned,—
(a) the applicant must notify the approved early?childhood service or early-childhood care arranger (as the case may be) of the child’s absence; and
(b) the approved early-childhood service or approved early-childhood care arranger in respect of the programme to whom any payment of assistance is made under clause 17.1 must notify an officer of the department and the appropriate Family Start or Early Start worker of the child’s absence.
16.2 Nothing in clause 16.1 (a) limits the applicant’s obligations under section 80A of the Act
(as applied to this programme by clause 4.1).
17 Childcare payments usually payable to approved early?childhood service or early?childhood care arranger
17.1 Childcare payments under this Part must be paid for each eligible child (as the case may be) to—
(a) the approved early-childhood service providing the approved early-childhood programme; or
(b) the approved early-childhood care arranger that arranged the scheme under which the approved early-childhood programme is provided.
17.2 Clause 17.1 does not prevent the chief executive from paying a lump sum childcare payment directly to an applicant if—
(a) the sum represents an underpayment
of the amounts—
(i) that should have been paid to
the approved early?childhood service in respect of the eligible child’s participation in the approved early?childhood programme it provides; or
(ii) that should have been paid to
an approved early?childhood care arranger in respect of the eligible child’s participation in an approved early-childhood programme provided under a scheme it arranged; and
(b) the applicant has already paid the
amount of the underpayment to
the respective approved early-childhood service or approved early-childhood care arranger.
18 Overpayments recoverable
If, because an eligible child has ceased to be enrolled or has been absent from an approved early-childhood programme, childcare payments under this Part have been paid in excess of the amount the applicant was entitled to under this Part, the amount of the excess is recoverable from—
(a) the applicant; and
(b) to the extent it was paid to an approved early?childhood service or early-childhood care arranger under this programme, from that service or arranger.
19 Application of clauses 7 and 8
19.1 Clauses 7 and 8 apply to this Part as if young parent childcare payments were an allowance under Part 1.
19.2 Despite clause 19.1, childcare payments granted under this Part end (if they have not ended earlier) on the date that is the first of the following dates:
(a) In the case of a single applicant, the date on which the applicant ceases to be a dependent child of his or her parent or guardian.
(b) The date on which the applicant turns 18.
(c) The date on which the applicant becomes eligible for an allowance under Part 1.
19.3 Childcare payments that end in accordance with clause 19.2 cannot be granted again or renewed, but the applicant may apply for an allowance under Part 1.”
Explanatory Note
This note is not part of the amendment, but is intended to explain its general effect.
This amendment to the Training Incentive Allowance Programme provides for a pilot to make provision for payment of young parent childcare payments to encourage certain teenage parents selected by the chief executive to remain in, or return to, secondary education. These provisions come into effect on 1 January 2006.