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Social Security Act 2018

Administration - Payment of benefits, tax on benefits, debts and deductions - Debts and deductions

357: Restriction on recovering penalty under section 354: decision to be final

You could also call this:

“Once a penalty decision is final, you can't challenge it anymore”

You can’t be asked to pay a penalty under section 354 unless certain things have happened. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) can only make you pay if:

You didn’t ask for a review of the decision within the allowed time, or you asked for more time but didn’t get it. Or, if you did ask for a review, it has been completed.

If you appealed the decision, MSD can only make you pay if you didn’t file your appeal in time (and didn’t get extra time to do so), or if your appeal has finished.

These rules make sure that you have a chance to challenge the penalty before you have to pay it. The decision becomes final only after you’ve had these opportunities to disagree with it.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6783851.

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356: Restriction on imposing penalty under section 354: notice and period to respond, or

“MSD must tell you about a penalty and give you time to respond before making you pay”

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358: Recovery from spouse or partner who misleads MSD of excess amount beneficiary obtained, or

“MSD can make your partner pay back extra money if they lied about your benefit”

Part 6 Administration
Payment of benefits, tax on benefits, debts and deductions: Debts and deductions

357Restriction on recovering penalty under section 354: decision to be final

  1. MSD cannot recover a penalty imposed on a person by a decision under section 354 unless (as the case requires)—

  2. a benefits review committee review under subpart 2 of Part 7 of the decision—
    1. has not been applied for by or on behalf of the person within the time allowed (and no application has been made to allow a further time for an application for a review of that kind); or
      1. has been completed; or
      2. an appeal authority appeal under subpart 3 of Part 7 against the decision—
        1. has not been begun by a notice of appeal being lodged by or on behalf of the person within the time allowed (and no application has been made to allow a further time for lodging a notice of an appeal of that kind); or
          1. has been completed.

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