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Residential Care and Disability Support Services Act 2018

Schedule 3: Means assessment for home-based disability support services

You could also call this:

"How much you can afford to pay for home-based disability support services"

Illustration for Residential Care and Disability Support Services Act 2018

You need to know what 'specified outgoings' means. It refers to the total amount of money you spend each year on certain things. This includes the maximum rate of a supported living payment, $10 per week for home help costs, and some employment-related expenses. It also includes your accommodation costs, telephone rental, medical expenses, and other essential expenses. When the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) works out how much you can contribute to your home-based disability support services, they calculate your annual income and specified outgoings. They then subtract your specified outgoings from your annual income. If the result is $0 or less, you do not have to contribute anything towards your home-based disability support services. If the result is greater than $0, you have to contribute that amount towards your services, but only up to the total cost of the services. The MSD will convert the amount you have to contribute into a weekly amount. They use a formula to work out how much you can afford to pay for your home-based disability support services, as outlined in the Residential Care and Disability Support Services Act 2018, which is empowered by sections 60 and 61, and also refers to section 65AAA of the Social Security Act 2018 for accommodation costs, and subpart 10 of Part 2 and Part 7 of Schedule 4 of that Act for the accommodation supplement.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS41730.

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Schedule 2: Means assessment for long-term residential care, or

"How Much You Pay for Long-Term Care"

3Means assessment for home-based disability support services Empowered by ss 60, 61

1Specified outgoings defined

In this schedule, specified outgoings, in relation to a person, means the annual total of—

  • the maximum rate for the time being of a supported living payment that would be payable to the person if the person was qualified to receive a benefit of that kind:
    1. an amount of $10 per week (for the purpose of paying costs incidental to the provision of home help):
      1. the following employment-related expenses of the person and the person’s spouse or partner, calculated on an annual basis:
        1. fees or subscriptions payable on an annual or regular basis to any union:
          1. contributions to any superannuation scheme:
            1. contributions to any employee welfare fund:
              1. any other essential costs of that employment (not including travel to and from work) to the extent that they are not reimbursed by the employer:
              2. the person's accommodation costs (as defined in section 65AAA of the Social Security Act 2018 for the purposes of subpart 10 of Part 2 and Part 7 of Schedule 4 of that Act (accommodation supplement)):
                1. the person's telephone rental (being the standard line charge and base user charge including hire of a basic telephone applicable to a person living in the place where the person lives), calculated on an annual basis:
                  1. the cost of the person's ongoing and regular medical and pharmaceutical expenses, calculated on an annual basis:
                    1. the cost of the person's regular essential expenses (being expenses other than the cost of food, clothing, travel, running a motor vehicle, life insurance, house and contents insurance, hire purchase, entertainment, and personal savings), calculated on an annual basis.

                          1. Notes
                          • Schedule 3 clause 1(d): amended, on , by section 18 of the Social Assistance Legislation (Accommodation Supplement and Income-related Rent) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 27).

                          2Calculation

                          MSD must calculate the amount of the person's annual income and specified outgoings, and must deduct the amount of the specified outgoings from the annual income.

                            3If result is $0 or less than $0

                            If the result of the calculation specified in clause 2 is $0 or less than $0, MSD must assess the amount the person is required to contribute towards the cost of the home-based disability support services supplied to that person as $0.

                              4If result is greater than $0 but less than total cost of services supplied

                              If the result of the calculation specified in clause 2 is greater than $0 but less than the total cost of the home-based disability support services supplied to the person, MSD must assess that result as the amount the person is required to contribute towards the cost of those services.

                                5If result is equal to or greater than total cost of services supplied

                                If the result of the calculation specified in clause 2 is equal to or greater than the total cost of the home-based disability support services supplied to the person, MSD must assess the amount the person is required to contribute towards the cost of those services as the total cost of those services.

                                  6Conversion to weekly amount

                                  MSD must convert an assessment made under clauses 3 to 5 to a weekly amount.