Pursuant to section 124(1)(d) of the Social Security Act 1964, the Minister for Social Development and Employment establishes and approves the following welfare programme for special assistance.
Dated at Wellington this 27th day of August 2010.
HON PAULA BENNETT, 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 Temporary GST Assistance Programme.
2. Commencement-This programme comes into effect on 1 October 2010.
3. Expiry-This programme expires on the close of
31 March 2011.
4. Purpose-The purpose of this programme is to provide time-limited special assistance to compensate for the effect of the increase in the rate of goods and services tax on the purchasing power of specified payments.
5. Interpretation-(1) In this programme, unless the context otherwise requires:
Act means the Social Security Act 1964.
eligible period means a period (within the period that commences on 1 October 2010 and ends on 31 March 2011) in respect of which an instalment of a specified payment is payable.
eligible recipient:
(a) means a person who:
(i) is ordinarily resident in New Zealand; and
(ii) is entitled to be paid a specified payment in respect of an eligible period;
(b) includes a person who is entitled to be paid, in respect of an eligible period, an emergency benefit granted under:
(i) section 74A(1) of the Act on or before
28 November 2010; or
(ii) section 74A(1A) of the Act on or after
29 November 2010.
goods and services tax has the same meaning as in the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985.
net rate, in relation to an eligible recipient and an eligible period, means the rate of specified payment that is payable to that recipient in respect of that period after the deduction of income tax (if any) at the rate stated
in Tax Code M stated in section 24B of the Tax Administration Act 1994 but before:
(a) any abatement on account of income; and
(b) any deduction or reduction under any other provision of the Act or the Regulations or any other enactment.
NZSRIA means the New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act 2001.
regulations means the Student Allowances Regulations 1998.
specified Pacific country has the same meaning as it has in section 30 of the NZSRIA or, as the case requires, section 74N of the WPA.
specified payment means any of the following:
(a) A domestic purposes benefit, an emergency benefit, an independent youth benefit, an invalid’s
benefit, an orphan’s benefit, a sickness benefit, an unemployment benefit, an unsupported child’s benefit, or a widow’s benefit payable under the Act;
(b) New Zealand superannuation or a veteran’s pension;
(c) a basic grant or an independent circumstances grant payable under the Regulations.
temporary GST assistance payment means the special assistance under this programme.
WPA means the War Pensions Act 1954.
(2) Terms otherwise defined in section 3(1) of the Act have the same meanings in this programme.
6. Application of the Act-(1) Sections 12, 62, 63A, 64, 74, 74A, 76, 77, 80A, 81, 82 (except 82(6)) and 84 of the Act apply to and in respect of the following as if the special assistance under this programme were a benefit under the Act:
(a) This programme;
(b) every eligible person;
(c) every person granted assistance under this programme;
(d) the spouse or partner of a person referred to in paragraph (b) or (c).
(2) Nothing in subclause (1) affects the application of any other provision of the Act.
7. Temporary GST assistance payment: Eligibility-(1) If any instalment of a specified payment is payable to an eligible recipient during the period beginning on 1 October 2010 and ending with 31 March 2011, the chief executive must grant that recipient a temporary GST assistance payment calculated in accordance with clause 9.
(2) Subclause (1) is subject to subclause (3) and to clause 8.
(3) Despite the definition of specified payment in clause 5(1), a person is not entitled to a temporary GST assistance payment in respect of a specified payment if, in respect of an eligible period, the amount of overseas pension deducted from the specified payment under section 70 of the Act equals or exceeds the rate of that payment.
8. Temporary GST assistance payment: Eligibility when eligible recipient overseas-(1) No temporary GST assistance payment may be granted to a person who is resident in any overseas country or specified Pacific country and receiving:
(a) New Zealand superannuation under section 26(2)(a) or 31 of the NZSRIA; or
(b) a veteran’s pension under section 74J(2)(a) or 74O of the WPA; or
(c) a benefit under a reciprocal agreement in force under section 19 of the Social Welfare (Transitional Provisions) Act 1990.
(2) A temporary GST assistance payment may be granted to:
(a) a person receiving New Zealand superannuation under any of sections 22 to 24 or 26(2)(b) of the NZSRIA; or
(b) a person receiving a veteran’s pension under any of sections 74F to 74H or 74J(2)(b) of the WPA; or
(c) a person receiving a specified payment overseas under section 77(2) to (4) of the Act or Regulation 26 of the Regulations.
(3) This clause is to avoid doubt.
9. Amount of assistance-(1) The amount of a temporary GST assistance payment is 2.02% of the amount of the net rate of the specified payment.
(2) If an instalment of a specified payment includes a payment in respect of a period before 1 October 2010 or after 31 March 2011, the amount of the temporary GST assistance payment is calculated only on the proportion of the instalment (calculated over a 7-day period) that is payable in respect of an eligible period.
(3) The calculated amount of a temporary GST assistance payment must be rounded to the nearest cent.
10. Payment of assistance-The chief executive must pay any temporary GST assistance payment to or on account of the eligible recipient.
11. Commencement of assistance-No temporary GST assistance payment may be made to an eligible recipient earlier than the commencement of that person’s specified payment.
12. End of assistance-Assistance under this programme ends on the earlier of the following dates:
(a) If an eligible recipient ceases to be entitled to receive a specified payment (payment A) and does not on that cessation become entitled to receive another specified payment, on the date on which payment A ends;
(b) 31 March 2011.
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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 October 2010, provides time-limited special assistance until 31 March 2011 to compensate for the effect of the increase in the rate of goods and services tax on the purchasing power of specified payments. This term is defined as meaning any
of the main benefits under the Social Security Act 1964,
New Zealand superannuation and veterans’ pensions, and student allowances.
The special assistance is in the form of temporary GST assistance payments calculated on 2.02% of the net-of-tax amount of the specified payment payable.