Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Social Security Act 2018

Administration - Notices and communications, services, and preferred suppliers - Goods or services, for beneficiaries or others, supplied by preferred suppliers

369: Preferred suppliers: paying them disability allowance: exception if total benefit payments less than amount required

You could also call this:

“Paying suppliers when there's not enough money in your disability allowance”

Sometimes, a preferred supplier needs to be paid a part of your disability allowance for goods or services they provide to you. This payment is usually made on your regular pay day. However, there might be times when the money you’re supposed to get on your pay day (after other deductions) is not enough to pay the supplier.

If this happens, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) doesn’t have to pay the supplier on that day. Instead, they can pay the supplier later, using your disability allowance or other benefit payments from future pay days.

It’s important to know that if MSD doesn’t pay the supplier on time because of this, it doesn’t change what you owe the supplier. It also doesn’t mean that MSD or the government has broken your agreement with the supplier.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6783878.

Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Healthcare services
Money and consumer rights > Banking and loans
Previous

368: Preferred suppliers: paying them disability allowance, special assistance, or advance payment, or

“Rules for buying special items from chosen shops using government money”

Next

370: Preferred suppliers: paying them disability allowance: exception if allowance granted at maximum rate, or

“Special rule for using the highest disability allowance: choosing your own suppliers”

Part 6 Administration
Notices and communications, services, and preferred suppliers: Goods or services, for beneficiaries or others, supplied by preferred suppliers

369Preferred suppliers: paying them disability allowance: exception if total benefit payments less than amount required

  1. This section applies if—

  2. a preferred supplier is required under section 368(4)(a) to be paid, on a pay day, an amount that is all or the specified part of a disability allowance granted under section 85 to a person in respect of the supply of the goods or services; and
    1. the person’s net total benefit payments due to be paid on that pay day (after deducting any reduction or deduction required to be made from the person’s benefit payments for another purpose (for example, under an attachment order or a deduction notice)) are less than the amount required to pay the preferred supplier on that pay day.

      1. MSD—

      2. is not required by section 368(4)(a) to pay to the preferred supplier on the pay day referred to in subsection (1) of this section all, or the specified part, of the person’s disability allowance due on that pay day; and
        1. may pay the amount due to the preferred supplier on 1 or more later pay days from amounts of disability allowance or other benefit payments due to the person on those 1 or more later pay days.

          1. Non-payment, or deferred payment, under this section does not reduce any amounts due to the preferred supplier from the person under, or make MSD or the Crown liable for breaching, the person’s contract of purchase.

          Compare