To: The Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social Development.

Pursuant to section 5 of the Social Security Act 1964, the Minister for Social Development makes the following instrument.

I n s t r u m e n t

1. Title—This instrument is the Ministerial Direction on Debt Recovery Amendment 2015.

2. Commencement—This instrument comes into force on 31 July 2015.

3. Principal Direction—The instrument amends the Ministerial Direction on Debt Recovery (given on 30 June 2014)¹ (the principal direction).

4. Clause 6 amended (deduction notices)—(1) Revoke clause 6(3).

(2) In clause 6(4):

(a) delete “second”; and

(b) replace “third” with “a further”.

(3) In clause 6(6), after “amount of the deduction”, insert “set out in the notice”.

(4) In clause 6(9), delete “written”.

(5) In clause 6(11), insert in its appropriate alphabetical order:

consent means consent in writing or, if given orally, confirmed by the department in writing.

Dated at Wellington this 6th day of July 2015.

Hon ANNE TOLLEY, Minister for Social Development.

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Explanatory Note

This note is not part of the instrument but is intended to indicate its general effect.

This instrument comes into force on 31 July 2015. It amends the Ministerial Direction on Debt Recovery under the Social Security Act. The effect of this instrument is to make changes to the requirements for issuing deduction notices. The number of written notices that must be sent to an unresponsive debtor before a deduction notice may be issued is reduced from 3 to 2 (the overall timeframe, from the date when the first written notice is sent and the date when a deduction notice may be issued, is also reduced by one week). The requirements for determining the amount of the lump sum or instalments are reworded, to make it clearer that the chief executive is not required to recheck the debtor’s bank balances and outgoings every time an instalment is deducted. The consent of the debtor required to waive the application of clause 6(2) to (6) to the issue of a deduction notice is also amended to include an oral consent that the Ministry of Social Development has confirmed in writing.

¹New Zealand Gazette, 10 July 2014, No. 73, page 2061