Pursuant to section 124(1)(d) and section 5 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 16th day of February 2011.
HON PAULA BENNETT, Minister of Social Services and Employment.
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P r o g r a m m e
1. Title-This programme is the Temporary Accommodation Assistance (Canterbury Earthquake) Programme.
2. Commencement-This programme comes into effect on the day after the date on which it is established and approved.
3. Expiry-This programme expires:
(a) subject to paragraph (b), on the close of the day that is 24 months after the date on which it is established and approved; but
(b) if that day is not a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, on the close of the first Friday following that day.
4. Purpose-The purpose of this programme is to provide special assistance to homeowners and certain other people:
(a) whose usual homes situated in an affected area were damaged by the Canterbury earthquake; and
(b) who intend (or trustees intend) to have remediation work carried out in respect of their usual homes; and
(c) who either:
(i) have had to vacate their usual homes until that remediation work is carried out; or
(ii) need to vacate their usual homes on a temporary basis to enable that remediation work to be carried out; and
(d) who require assistance to meet the costs of their temporary accommodation during the period they need to vacate their usual homes; and
(e) either:
(i) whose insurance cover for temporary accommodation has expired; or
(ii) who have no insurance cover for temporary accommodation and have exceptional circumstances.
5. Interpretation-(1) In this programme, unless the context otherwise requires:
accommodation benefit means an accommodation benefit under the Student Allowances Regulations 1998.
accommodation supplement means an accommodation supplement under section 61EA of the Act.
Act means the Social Security Act 1964.
affected area means any district of the following territorial authorities:
(a) Ashburton District Council;
(b) Christchurch City Council;
(c) Hurunui District Council;
(d) Selwyn District Council;
(e) Waimakariri District Council.
affected premises means premises located in an affected area that were damaged by the Canterbury earthquake.
applicant:
(a) means a person who applies or on whose
behalf an application is made for temporary accommodation assistance; and
(b) where the context requires, includes a person who is granted temporary accommodation assistance.
Canterbury earthquake or earthquake means the earthquake that occurred on 4 September 2010 in Canterbury, and includes all of its aftershocks.
damage, in relation to any premises, means damage to any of the following:
(a) the building or buildings comprising the premises or in which the premises are located;
(b) the land on which the premises are located;
(c) any infrastructure required to provide essential services to the premises.
essential services means services required to make any premises habitable and includes electricity, gas, paving, roading, sewerage, stormwater collection, and water supply.
insurance cover, in relation to a beneficiary of a specified trust, includes any insurance cover effected by the trustees of the trust.
premises, in relation to any person, means:
(a) the place that he or she owns and occupies as a home or would occupy as a home but for damage from the earthquake or remediation work being carried out; or
(b) the place that he or she occupies as a home as a beneficiary of a specified trust or would so occupy as a home but for damage from the earthquake or remediation work being carried out.
remediation work, in relation to any premises, means any of the following:
(a) repair to or refurbishment of:
(i) any building comprising the premises or in which the premises are located; or
(ii) the land on which the premises are located; or
(iii) any infrastructure required to provide essential services to the premises;
(b) demolition and rebuilding of any building comprising the premises or in which the premises are located.
specified trust means a trust (whether created by will
or deed of trust or otherwise) whose trustees own any place occupied (or normally occupied) as a home by a beneficiary of the trust.
temporary accommodation costs, in relation to a person, means the costs of any temporary accommodation for the person and the members of his or her family who usually reside with the person being either:
(a) in relation to premises temporarily rented by the person, the amount paid for rent of the premises, excluding any service costs included in that rent and any arrears; or
(b) in relation to premises in a which the person is a temporary boarder or lodger, the amount paid for board or lodgings (excluding any arrears); or
(c) in relation to any other person, the costs of
short-term accommodation in a holiday park, motel, hotel, or serviced apartment (excluding any arrears).
temporary accommodation assistance or assistance means the special assistance under clause 8(2) of this programme.
(2) Terms otherwise defined in sections 3(1) and 61E of the Act have the same meanings in this programme.
(3) A reference in this programme to the expiry of a person’s insurance cover for temporary accommodation is
a reference to the expiry of the period for which the person’s insurance company paid for the person’s temporary accommodation, irrespective of the amount or form of that payment.
6. Application of the Act-(1) Sections 12, 61EB, 62, 63, 63A, 74, 74A, 76, 77, 80A, 81, 82 (except 82(6) to 82(6D)), 84, and 86J apply to the following as if temporary relocation assistance under this programme were a benefit under the Act:
(a) this programme;
(b) an applicant;
(c) the spouse or partner of an applicant.
(2) Nothing in subclause (1) limits the application of any other provision of the Act.
7. Application requirements-Temporary accommodation assistance must not be granted to an applicant unless the department has received:
(a) an application form (provided by the chief executive for the purpose) completed by or on behalf of the applicant and his or her spouse or partner (if any) to the chief executive’s satisfaction; and
(b) any supporting evidence reasonably required by the chief executive.
8. Temporary accommodation assistance-(1) Subclause (2) applies to a person if the chief executive is satisfied that:
(a) either:
(i) the person has been required to vacate any affected premises because the premises are uninhabitable and the person cannot reoccupy the premises until remediation work is carried out; or
(ii) the person is or has been required to temporarily vacate any affected premises
to enable remediation work to be carried out; and
(b) the person intends or, in the case of premises owned by the trustees of a specified trust, the trustees intend to have remediation work carried out in respect of the affected premises; and
(c) the person is incurring costs in respect of his or her temporary accommodation in respect of the period that he or she has been required to vacate the affected premises; and
(d) either:
(i) the person’s insurance cover for temporary accommodation has expired; or
(ii) the person did not have insurance cover in respect of the affected premises or for temporary accommodation while the affected premises are uninhabitable or remediation work is being carried out, and has exceptional circumstances to justify the provision of financial assistance.
(2) The chief executive may grant an applicant to whom this subclause applies, from a date and for a period the chief executive determines, temporary accommodation assistance to assist in meeting the applicant’s temporary accommodation costs if the chief executive is satisfied that the applicant:
(a) intends to resume occupation of the affected premises as his or her home as soon as remediation work is carried out; and
(b) is not receiving, and his or her spouse or partner is not receiving, an accommodation supplement or an accommodation benefit in respect of his or her temporary accommodation costs; and
(c) has taken all reasonable steps to minimise the person’s liability to pay temporary accommodation costs and the amount of those costs.
(3) Subclause (2) is subject to clause 10.
(4) In determining whether an applicant referred to in subclause (1)(d)(ii) has exceptional circumstances, the
chief executive must without limitation have regard to
the following matters:
(a) The reasons that the applicant has no insurance cover in respect of the affected premises or for temporary accommodation, or for both;
(b) the financial position of the applicant and his or her spouse or partner (if any);
(c) whether the applicant has any alternative to incurring temporary accommodation costs while absent from the affected premises;
(d) the source of the financing of the remediation work in respect of the affected premises.
9. Rates of temporary accommodation assistance-The amount of temporary accommodation assistance granted under clause 8(2) is:
(a) For a person who is married or in a civil union or in a de facto relationship and has 1 or more dependent children, or for a sole parent with 2 or more dependent children, $330.00 a week;
(b) for a person who is married or in a civil union or in a de facto relationship and has no dependent children and, or for a sole parent with 1 dependent child, $275.00 a week;
(c) for any other person, $180.00 a week.
10. Commencement of assistance-Temporary accommodation assistance must not be granted in
respect of a period earlier than the latest of the
following dates:
(a) The date on which the applicant ceased to occupy the affected premises as a home;
(b) the date on which the applicant’s insurance cover for temporary accommodation (if any) expired;
(c) the date on which the completed application form referred to in clause 7 was received by the department.
11. Ending of assistance-Temporary accommodation assistance ends on the close of the earliest of the following dates:
(a) The end of the period set by the chief executive under clause 8(2);
(b) the date on which the applicant ceases to incur temporary accommodation costs;
(c) the date on which the applicant or his or her spouse or partner (if any) re-occupies the affected premises as a home;
(d) the later of the following dates:
(i) The date on which the affected premises becomes available for occupation as a home following the completion of remediation work;
(ii) the last day of a reasonable period allowed
by the chief executive following that date for the applicant to reoccupy the affected premises as a home;
(e) the date on which this programme expires.
12. Review of assistance-Every grant of temporary accommodation assistance made under this programme
must be reviewed under section 81 of the Act as soon as possible after 18 months from the commencement of that assistance.
13. Direction in relation to Special Benefit amended-Clause 14 amends the Direction in relation to Special Benefit given on 10 February 1999*.
14. Definitions-Paragraph (f)(ii) of the definition of chargeable income in clause 2.1 is amended by inserting "the Temporary Accommodation Assistance (Canterbury Earthquake) Programme," after "Telephone Costs Payment Programme,".
Explanatory Note
This note is not part of the programme but is intended to indicate its general effect.
This welfare programme, which comes into effect on the
day after it is established and approved, enables financial assistance towards temporary accommodation costs to be granted to certain people in the Canterbury area whose homes were damaged by the September 2010 earthquake or its aftershocks and who are in temporary accommodation because they have been required to vacate their homes
until, or while, remediation work is carried out and their insurance cover for temporary accommodation has expired. It also allows people with no insurance cover to be granted assistance in exceptional circumstances.
Clause 14 amends the Ministerial Direction in relation to Special Benefit so that payments of assistance under the programme are not counted as chargeable income.
*New Zealand Gazette, 16 December 1999, No. 193, page 4599