Social Security (Temporary Additional Support) Regulations 2005

For the purposes of these regulations and of section 61G of the Act, allowable costs—

• (a) means the regular essential expenses (as defined in clause 2) (if any) of the applicant and his or her family reckoned on a weekly basis; and therefore

• (b) does not include an expense that is not an essential expense (as so defined).

In clause 1, essential expense means an expense of a kind, and within the relevant limits (if any), specified in clause 3, and that (unless the expense is one referred to in clause 3(b), (c), (e)(i), (h), or (i) and is in respect of an item acquired in accordance with clause 4), in the chief executive’s opinion,—

• (a) is essential for a person to pay or incur in order to meet the daily living needs of the person, of members of the person’s family, or of both; and

• (b) could not, when the expense or the liability for the expense was incurred, readily be avoided or varied.

The kinds of expenses and limits referred to in clause 2 are as follows:

• (a) the person’s accommodation costs (as defined in clause 5) less $23.34:

• (b) agreed period payments (as defined in clause 6), not exceeding the maximum weekly amount in column 3 of the following table, and made in connection with the acquisition of any of the items in column 1 of that table (within the maximum number of those items in column 2 of that table):

  Payments for essential household items

  Column 1		Column 2		Column 3
  Essential household item		Maximum number of items		Maximum weekly amount ($)
  Beds (including mattresses)				28.68
  Combined refrigerator-freezer		1		22.70
  or		or		or
  Separate refrigerator and separate freezer		1 of each if separate items		22.70 in total if separate items
  Dining suite		1		28.68
  Lounge suite		1		28.68
  Portable heaters				15.53
  Washing machine		1		22.70
  Stove		1		22.70
  Television set		1		21.51

• (c) revolving credit payments (as defined in clause 7) for any of the items in column 1 of the table in paragraph (b) (being items acquired in accordance with clause 4 and within the maximum numbers in column 2 of that table) and not exceeding (in terms of the rate of the payments, and either on a monthly or a weekly basis) the lesser of the maximum monthly payment (as defined in clause 8) and the maximum weekly payment in column 3 of that table:

• (d) costs for laundry or laundrette services, being costs incurred instead of regular payments for a washing machine or within a period during which the applicant could reasonably arrange to have repaired a washing machine available to the applicant, and not exceeding $22.70 per week:

• (e) disability costs (as defined in regulation 4),—

  • (i) including any disability costs that are payments to which clause 9 or clause 10 applies; but

  • (ii) excluding in all cases any costs of residential care services in respect of which temporary additional support must not be granted under section 61G(4) of the Act:

• (f) for a person who is eligible for assistance under the Telephone Costs Payment Programme approved by the Minister under section 124(1)(d) of the Act, and if paragraph (m) of this clause does not apply, the weekly amount of telephone rental costs (as defined in clause 11) that were, immediately before 1 April 1999,—

  • (i) claimed by the person; and

  • (ii) treated by the chief executive as an additional expense under section 69C(2A)(a) of the Act:

• (g) running costs, at a per kilometre rate set by the chief executive, for a motor vehicle where no suitable public transport is available for the purpose of transporting the applicant and his or her spouse or partner to and from their places of employment and where the vehicle is essential for that purpose:

• (h) agreed period payments (as defined in clause 6) not exceeding $61.35 a week made in connection with the acquisition of a motor vehicle or other vehicle (for example, a bicycle)—

  • (i) for the applicant and his or her spouse or partner (if any) (whether or not either or both of them are beneficiaries), where no suitable public transport is available for the relevant purpose and the vehicle is essential—

    • (A) for the purpose of transporting the applicant and his or her spouse or partner to and from their places of employment; or

    • (B) for the purpose of transporting the applicant or a member of his or her family who is chronically ill or has a disability; or

  • (ii) for an applicant who is a beneficiary where—

    • (A) there is no public transport reasonably available to the applicant; and

    • (B) the contract or arrangement to acquire the vehicle was entered into before the applicant became a beneficiary:

• (i) revolving credit payments (as defined in clause 7) for a motor vehicle or other vehicle (for example, a bicycle) acquired in accordance with clause 4 and where paragraph (h)(i) or paragraph (h)(ii)(A) applies to the applicant and vehicle, and not exceeding (in terms of the rate of the payments, and either on a monthly or a weekly basis) the lesser of the maximum monthly payment (as defined in clause 8) and $61.35 per week:

• (j) the costs of public transport of the applicant and his or her spouse or partner to and from their places of employment:

• (k) the net costs of essential childcare (that is, the gross costs of essential childcare, as defined in clause 12, minus any childcare assistance payable under section 61GA of the Act or by way of special assistance under section 124(1)(d) of the Act):

• (l) essential expenses in respect of a child in the care of the applicant or his or her spouse or partner for whom an orphan’s benefit or an unsupported child’s benefit is paid that are not able to be met from the total of that benefit and any disability allowance payable in respect of the child:

• (m) telephone rental costs (as defined in clause 11) for an applicant for whom, in the opinion of the chief executive, a telephone is a necessity—

  • (i) because of his or her special family circumstances (for example, to enable an applicant living in a rural location to be contacted by the school that his or her children attend); or

  • (ii) to help to ensure his or her personal safety or security (for example, a frail person living on his or her own, or a separated person with a protection order against a spouse or partner); or

  • (iii) because of his or her employment conditions (for example, an electrical worker on call 24 hours per day).

Schedule 2 clause 3(a): amended, on 1 April 2011, by regulation 4 of the Social Security (Temporary Additional Support) Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2011 (SR 2011/17).

Schedule 2 clause 3(b) table: amended, on 1 April 2011, by regulation 4 of the Social Security (Temporary Additional Support) Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2011 (SR 2011/17).

Schedule 2 clause 3(d): amended, on 1 April 2011, by regulation 4 of the Social Security (Temporary Additional Support) Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2011 (SR 2011/17).

Schedule 2 clause 3(h): amended, on 1 April 2011, by regulation 4 of the Social Security (Temporary Additional Support) Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2011 (SR 2011/17).

Schedule 2 clause 3(i): amended, on 1 April 2011, by regulation 4 of the Social Security (Temporary Additional Support) Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2011 (SR 2011/17).

An item is acquired in accordance with this clause for the purposes of clauses 2, 3(c) and (i), and 10 if,—

• (a) when the item was acquired, neither the applicant, nor his or her spouse or partner (if any), was a beneficiary (whether or not either of them was a beneficiary, or both of them were beneficiaries, at any time before the item was acquired); and

• (b) at the time of the application for temporary additional support, the applicant or his or her spouse or partner (if any) is a beneficiary, or both of them are beneficiaries, or neither of them is a beneficiary at that time but one or both of them became a beneficiary after the item was acquired.

For the purposes of clause 3(a), a person’s accommodation costs are that person’s accommodation costs as defined in regulation 4 but—

• (a) do not include the following costs:

  • (i) any costs of residential care services in respect of which temporary additional support must not be granted under section 61G(4) of the Act; and

  • (ii) any Canterbury earthquake-related temporary accommodation costs (as defined in regulation 4) of the person if he or she is eligible for, and he or she and any members of his or her family who usually reside with him or her are granted (or the chief executive has not yet declined to grant them), assistance under the Canterbury Earthquake TAA Programme (as so defined), even if those costs exceed the rate of, or are paid or incurred after the ending of, or are otherwise not met or not to be met by, assistance of that kind; and

  • (iii) any Canterbury earthquake-related temporary accommodation costs (as defined in regulation 4) of the person if he or she and any members of his or her family who usually reside with him or her are not granted assistance under the Canterbury Earthquake TAA Programme (as so defined) because he or she is not eligible for, or the chief executive has in his or her discretion declined to grant them, assistance of that kind; and

• (b) include arrears except any that were incurred while the person or his or her spouse or partner was in receipt of—

  • (i) an accommodation benefit under the Student Allowances Regulations 1998; or

  • (ii) an accommodation supplement, a rent rebate allowance, or a tenure protection allowance under the Act; or

  • (iii) an income-related rent (as defined in section 42(1) of the Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters Act 1992).

Schedule 2 clause 5(a): substituted, on 11 March 2011, by regulation 6 of the Social Security (Temporary Additional Support―Canterbury Earthquake TAA Programme) Amendment Regulations 2011 (SR 2011/42).

Schedule 2 clause 5(b)(iii): amended, on 1 July 2006, by section 5(2)(i) of the Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters (Information Matching) Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 34).

Agreed period payments, in relation to an item referred to in any of clauses 3(b) and (h) and 9, means payments, during the agreed period, under a consumer credit contract or other arrangement that—

• (a) is evidenced in writing to the satisfaction of the chief executive; and

• (b) requires regular payments over an agreed period; and

• (c) was entered into to acquire the item or to repay debt incurred in acquiring the item; and

• (d) is not a revolving credit contract, an arrangement relating to an advance payment of a benefit under section 82(6) of the Act, or an arrangement relating to a recoverable grant of assistance under section 124(1)(d) of the Act.

Revolving credit payments, in relation to an item referred to in any of clauses 3(c) and (i) and 10, means payments—

• (a) under a revolving credit contract (for example, a credit card contract) that requires regular payments and that was used to acquire the item; and

• (b) not exceeding (in total) the lesser of the cash price of the item and the amount owing under the contract at the time of the application for temporary additional support; and

• (c) for the period of 20 months after the acquisition of the item, if the amount owing under the contract at the time of the application for temporary additional support is equal to or greater than the cash price of the item; and

• (d) for whichever of the following periods ends first, if the amount owing under the contract at the time of the application for temporary additional support is less than the cash price of the item:

  • (i) the period of 20 months after the acquisition of the item; and

  • (ii) the period in whole months that the chief executive estimates is necessary for that amount owing to be repaid fully at a rate of payment that is the maximum monthly payment (as defined in clause 8).

The maximum monthly payment, in relation to an item to which clause 3(c) or (i) or clause 10 applies, means 5% of the cash price of the item.

The payments (referred to in clause 3(e)(i)) to which this clause applies are agreed period payments (as defined in clause 6) not exceeding $22.70 per week made in connection with the acquisition of 1 clothes dryer for a person for whom the costs of acquiring a clothes dryer are additional costs arising from the person’s disability.

Schedule 2 clause 9: amended, on 1 April 2011, by regulation 4 of the Social Security (Temporary Additional Support) Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2011 (SR 2011/17).

The payments (referred to in clause 3(e)(i)) to which this clause applies are revolving credit payments (as defined in clause 7) for 1 clothes dryer, acquired in accordance with clause 4, for a person for whom the costs of acquiring a clothes dryer are additional costs arising from the person’s disability, and not exceeding (in terms of the rate of the payments, and either on a monthly or a weekly basis) the lesser of the maximum monthly payment (as defined in clause 8) and $22.70 per week.

Schedule 2 clause 10: amended, on 1 April 2011, by regulation 4 of the Social Security (Temporary Additional Support) Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2011 (SR 2011/17).

In clause 3(f) and (m), telephone rental costs—

• (a) means the regular and ongoing costs of renting a basic telephone, or of telephone line rental, or of both, as well as any wiring maintenance charges paid; and therefore

• (b) does not include toll charges.

In clause 3(k), gross costs of essential childcare, in relation to an applicant for temporary additional support, means the costs, up to a maximum of $6 per child per hour, of childcare—

• (a) that enables the applicant, or his or her spouse or partner, or both, to take part in employment; or

• (b) that is required because the applicant is, or his or her spouse or partner is, or both of them are, seriously disabled or seriously ill.