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Social Security Act 2018

Other provisions - Regulations

442: Regulations: payments

You could also call this:

“Rules for how the government pays social security benefits”

The Governor-General can make rules about payments related to social security benefits. These rules can do several things:

They can say how benefits should usually be paid, and when there can be exceptions to this.

They can say when the government can pay benefits directly to a supplier of goods or services that you need.

They can set up ways for you to ask for your benefit to be paid to a supplier for a set time.

If you get a benefit in an emergency, the rules can say that this payment might be temporary. If it turns out you shouldn’t have received it, you might have to pay it back.

The rules can also split up benefit payments between you and your partner, except for some specific benefits like the supported living payment and youth support payment.

If your benefit is split with your partner, the rules can say that the part you get counts as your income for tax purposes.

These rules, when made, are a type of law called secondary legislation.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6784014.

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441: Regulations: expiry and regrant of specified benefits, or

“Rules for when some benefits stop and how to get them again”

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443: Regulations: payments during epidemic in New Zealand, or

“Special rules for giving out benefits during an epidemic”

Part 8 Other provisions
Regulations

442Regulations: payments

  1. The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, make regulations for the purposes of section 337.

  2. Regulations made under subsection (1) may (without limitation) do all or any of the following:

  3. specify default determinations, and exceptions, for the purposes of section 340 (required manner of payment: general):
    1. specify when MSD may or must pay an advance payment of a benefit to a preferred supplier of goods or services:
      1. provide for redirection arrangements for requested fixed period preferred supply of goods or services:
        1. provide for payments made in respect of a benefit granted under section 64 to be provisional only, and, if MSD believes on reasonable grounds that the benefit should not have been granted (or that too much was paid in respect of it), for the person granted it to be liable to repay the amount paid (or what MSD considers to be the amount of the excess) under regulations made under section 444:
          1. provide for apportionment, between a beneficiary and spouse or partner, of all or any of the following (other than benefits specified in subsection (3)):
            1. a benefit payable at a rate prescribed for a person who is in a relationship (a couple rate):
              1. any other benefits payable under this Act:
              2. provide that, when a benefit is apportioned under the regulations, the proportion paid to a person is for the purposes of the Income Tax Act 2007 income of that person.

                1. No regulations made under subsection (1) or (2)(e) can provide for apportionment of—

                2. a benefit paid under clause 5 or 6 of Part 3 (supported living payment) of Schedule 4; or
                  1. a supported living payment that, under section 38(2) or (3), is not apportioned; or
                    1. a youth support payment, or of any other benefit payable to a person receiving a youth support payment.

                      1. Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

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                      Notes
                      • Section 442(4): inserted, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).