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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Social Security Act 2018

General provisions

8: Determinations person is single or in de facto relationship

You could also call this:

“Deciding if someone is single or in a relationship for benefit purposes”

When the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) makes decisions about benefits, they can decide if someone is single or in a relationship. This affects things like whether you can get a benefit, how much money you get, or if you can get help with funeral costs.

If you’re married or in a civil union but living apart from your partner and not in a new relationship, MSD can decide to treat you as single. They can even decide on a date when they think you started living apart.

MSD can also decide that two people who aren’t married or in a civil union are in a relationship. They can choose a date when they think the relationship started or ended.

These decisions about relationships don’t just affect your benefits. They also matter if MSD needs to get money back from you or if they think you’ve broken the rules.

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“The Minister can tell MSD how to do its job”

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Part 1 General provisions

8Determinations person is single or in de facto relationship

  1. This section applies to a decision by MSD so far as the decision does all or any of the following:

  2. determines (that is, grants, or refuses to grant, on any basis) an application for a benefit:
    1. reviews (and suspends, cancels, or varies, from a date determined by MSD) a benefit already granted:
      1. determines the rate of benefit (from a date, or dates, determined by MSD):
        1. grants, or refuses to grant, on any basis, a payment of a funeral grant (see section 90):
          1. grants or refuses to grant, on any basis, a payment under an approved special assistance programme.

            1. MSD may make a determination to regard as single, for the purposes of the decision, an applicant or a beneficiary who is married or in a civil union with the applicant’s or beneficiary’s spouse or partner, but—

            2. is living apart from the applicant’s or beneficiary’s spouse or partner; and
              1. is not in a de facto relationship.

                1. A determination under subsection (2) may include a date, determined by MSD, on which the spouses or partners must be taken for the purposes of the decision to have commenced to live apart.

                2. MSD may make a determination to regard as a party to a de facto relationship, for the purposes of the decision, any 2 people who, not being legally married or in a civil union, have entered into a de facto relationship.

                3. A determination under subsection (4), for the purposes of the decision, may include either or both of the following dates:

                4. a date, determined by MSD, on which the 2 people must be taken as having entered into the de facto relationship:
                  1. a date, determined by MSD, on which the de facto relationship of the 2 people must be taken to have ended.

                    1. Every determination under this section also applies for the purposes of every debt-recovery or offence provision in or under this Act.

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