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Residential Care and Disability Support Services Act 2018

Means assessment - Factors affecting means assessment: deprivation of income or property

39: Deprivation of income or property: means assessment as if deprivation had not occurred

You could also call this:

"If you give away money or property on purpose, it still counts when the government works out how much you have."

Illustration for Residential Care and Disability Support Services Act 2018

When you apply for a means assessment, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) looks at your income and property. If MSD thinks you or your spouse or partner has gotten rid of some income or property on purpose, they can still count it when they work out how much you have. The MSD does this by pretending you still have the income or property you got rid of. They do not count some special kinds of property, called exempt assets, when they do this.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS41605.

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38: Content of income assessment, or

"What you pay for care services is based on your income and assets"

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40: Deprivation of income or property: inclusion in review of means assessment, or

"What happens if you get rid of money or property on purpose when your income is being checked"

Part 6Means assessment
Factors affecting means assessment: deprivation of income or property

39Deprivation of income or property: means assessment as if deprivation had not occurred

  1. This section applies where MSD is satisfied that a person who has applied for a means assessment (P), or P’s spouse or partner, has directly or indirectly deprived himself or herself of any income or property.

  2. In conducting P’s means assessment, MSD may include the income or property as if the deprivation had not occurred.

  3. In this section, property does not include an exempt asset.

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