Social Security Act 2018

Enforcement: sanctions and offences - Sanctions for breach of young person or young parent obligations - Sanctions: young person obligations

278: Sanctions for failure by young spouse or partner of specified beneficiary to comply with obligations: other cases

You could also call this:

“Consequences for young partners of beneficiaries who don't follow the rules”

If you’re a young person between 16 and 19 years old and you’re married to or living with someone who gets a special benefit, this law might affect you. It applies if you don’t have money management rules for your benefit.

If you don’t follow the rules without a good reason, you might get in trouble. The rules you need to follow are in sections 166(2) or 167(2) and (3) of the law.

If you break these rules, it’s treated the same as if you didn’t follow work test rules or work preparation rules. This means you could lose some or all of your benefit money.

If you’re supposed to be working or preparing for work, and you don’t follow the rules, you might lose some extra payments you get. These extra payments might be stopped for a while or cancelled completely.

The person in charge of giving out benefits (called MSD) decides what happens if you don’t follow the rules. They can stop your extra payments until you start following the rules again, or they can cancel them completely if your main benefit is cancelled.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6959008.

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277: Sanctions for failure by young spouse or partner of specified beneficiary to comply with obligations: money management, or

“Money management rules for young partners of benefit recipients”


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279: Sanction for failure to comply with young parent obligation, or

“Young parents getting help must follow rules or face punishment”

Part 5 Enforcement: sanctions and offences
Sanctions for breach of young person or young parent obligations: Sanctions: young person obligations

278Sanctions for failure by young spouse or partner of specified beneficiary to comply with obligations: other cases

  1. This section applies to a young person—

  2. who is—
    1. aged 16 or 17 years, without dependent children, and is the spouse or partner of a specified beneficiary; or
      1. aged 16 to 19 years, with a dependent child or children, and is the spouse or partner of a specified beneficiary; and
      2. whose benefit is not subject to money management; and
        1. who MSD is satisfied has, without good and sufficient reason, failed to comply with an obligation that applies to the young person under section 166(2) or 167(2) and (3).
          1. MSD must treat the young person’s failure referred to in subsection (1)(c),—

          2. in the case of a young person who would, but for section 166(4) or 167(5), be subject to the work test, as a failure to comply with the work test for the purposes of sections 233 and 236 to 239; and
            1. in the case of a young person who would, but for section 166(4) or 167(5), be required to comply with section 124, as a failure to comply with a work-preparation obligation under section 124 or 125 for the purposes of sections 233 and 236 to 239.
              1. MSD must, in the case of a young person who is subject to a sanction under sections 233 and 236 to 239 for a failure that subsection (2)(a) or (b) of this section requires to be treated as having occurred,—

              2. suspend the young person’s incentive payments (if any) (if that sanction is a reduction or suspension of the young person’s benefit) until the young person recomplies; or
                1. cancel the young person’s incentive payments (if any) (if that sanction is the cancellation of the young person’s benefit).
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