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Social Security Act 2018

Obligations - Beneficiaries’ obligations - Exemptions: work-preparation, work-test, and other obligations

161: Person who fails to comply with requirement to attend interview is subject to sanction

You could also call this:

“You might lose money if you miss an interview without a good reason”

If you don’t go to an interview when you’re asked to, you might get in trouble. The government department called MSD (which stands for Ministry of Social Development) can give you a punishment if they think you didn’t have a good reason for missing the interview. This punishment is called a sanction. You can find out more about sanctions in section 233(e) of the law.

But there’s an exception to this rule. If you’re a young person who is covered by a special part of the law (subpart 3 of Part 5), you won’t get in trouble for missing the interview.

Remember, it’s important to go to interviews when you’re asked to. If you can’t make it, make sure you have a good reason and let MSD know.

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Part 3 Obligations
Beneficiaries’ obligations: Exemptions: work-preparation, work-test, and other obligations

161Person who fails to comply with requirement to attend interview is subject to sanction

  1. A person (P) is subject to a sanction (see section 233(e)) if MSD is satisfied that P has failed, without a good and sufficient reason, to comply with a requirement under section 158(4) to attend an interview.

  2. However, P is not subject to a sanction under section 233(e) if P is a young person to whom subpart 3 of Part 5 applies.

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