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Social Security Act 2018

Administration - Commencement, stand downs, ending, and expiry and regrant - Commencement of benefits

317: Minister may consent to backdating

You could also call this:

“Minister can allow benefits to start from an earlier date”

The Minister can allow you to get a benefit from an earlier date than when you applied for it. This is called backdating. However, the Minister can’t backdate it to before you were eligible for the benefit.

The Minister can give permission for backdating to a single person or to a group of people. When the Minister allows backdating for a group, it doesn’t mean everyone in that group will get their benefit from the same date.

The Minister can let MSD (Ministry of Social Development) make decisions about backdating. If MSD makes a decision about backdating, or refuses to backdate, you can ask for a review or appeal of that decision.

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316: Start and calculation of stand-down period, or

“When your benefit payments start and how long you have to wait”

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318: No consent unless benefit not granted earlier because of error, or

“You can get a benefit from an earlier date if MSD made a mistake that stopped you from applying”

Part 6 Administration
Commencement, stand downs, ending, and expiry and regrant: Commencement of benefits

317Minister may consent to backdating

  1. A benefit (or a benefit of a stated kind) may, with the Minister’s consent, commence at a time—

  2. earlier than the time at which an application for it was made; but
    1. not earlier than the time at which the person to whom it is granted became eligible for it.

      1. The Minister may give consent in relation to a particular applicant, or applicants of a stated kind or description.

      2. Consent in relation to applicants of a stated kind or description does not necessarily allow all the benefits concerned to commence at the same time.

      3. If the Minister delegates to MSD the exercise of the power to consent conferred by subsection (1), its exercise by MSD (or a refusal by MSD to exercise it) is a decision under this Part for the purposes of subparts 2 to 5 of Part 7 (reviews and appeals).

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