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Social Security Act 2018

Obligations - Beneficiaries’ obligations - Specific obligations: work-test obligations

153: Person who fails to comply with work-test obligations is subject to sanction

You could also call this:

“You might lose some benefits if you don't follow the work rules”

If you don’t follow the work-test rules, you might get in trouble. This can happen in two ways:

First, if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do for your work-test, and you don’t have a good reason why, you could be punished.

Second, if another rule (called section 154) says you didn’t follow the work-test rules and you didn’t have a good reason, you could also be punished.

The punishment for not following these rules is called a sanction. You can learn more about sanctions in section 233(d) of this law.

The work-test rules that you need to follow are explained in sections 144 and 146 of this law. MSD (which stands for the Ministry of Social Development) decides if you have broken these rules and if you should be punished.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6783407.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Money and consumer rights > Savings and retirement
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Part 3 Obligations
Beneficiaries’ obligations: Specific obligations: work-test obligations

153Person who fails to comply with work-test obligations is subject to sanction

  1. A person is subject to a sanction (see section 233(d)) for a breach of a work-test obligation under section 144 or 146 if MSD is satisfied that the person—

  2. has failed without a good and sufficient reason to comply with the obligation; or
    1. is under section 154 deemed to have failed without a good and sufficient reason to comply with the obligation.

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