These regulations, which come into force on 17 October 2019, amend regulation 18 and Schedule 3 of the Residential Care and Disability Support Services Regulations 2018. That regulation and that schedule list income exempt from a means assessment as to income, and exempt assets for the purposes of conducting a means assessment, to determine a person’s eligibility for financial support for long-term residential care under the Residential Care and Disability Support Services Act 2018. The amendments relate to an MSD lump sum payment, which means a lump sum payment—
of a benefit (which, for this purpose, includes special assistance granted under a programme approved under section 100 or 101 of the Social Security Act 2018); and
that was made on or after 17 October 2019 by MSD; and
that is not a lump sum payment made by MSD of a kind specified in any other clause of that schedule.
The amendments ensure that the amount of the payment and related income are, for the first 12 months after the payment is made, income exempt from a means assessment as to income, and an exempt asset for the purposes of the means assessment.