New Zealand Legislation: Regulations
Regulations are laws made under Acts
This note is not part of the regulations, but is intended to indicate their general effect.
These regulations, which come into force on 3 November 2008, are made under the Social Security Act 1964 (the Act). They declare certain items of income or cash assets not to be a person's income or cash assets for the purposes of the Act.
The exempted income and cash assets are compensation or ex gratia payments made to a person by the Crown in recognition of harm, or in respect of a claim of harm. Income derived from such payments is also exempted.
Harm is defined as illness, injury, or both, and as including physical harm, mental harm, humiliation, and injury to feelings. Harm does not, however, include economic loss, loss of property, loss of future benefits, or loss of employment.
The exemptions apply only in respect of the first 12 months after the payment is made.
Such payments are also—
assets exempt from means assessment under Part 4 of the Act, because of the related exemption in regulation 10(1)(k) of the Social Security (Long-term Residential Care) Regulations 2005; and
excluded from cash assets used in determining eligibility for temporary additional support, because of the related exclusion in regulation 8(3)(j) of the Social Security (Temporary Additional Support) Regulations 2005.
