Tēnā koe Rhys Walker

Thank you for your emails received 5 April 2016. Your request has been forwarded to the appropriate officials at National office to respond. You may expect a response to be sent to you as soon as possible.
 
Nā mātou noa, nā

Official and Parliamentary Information team   |  Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Social Development

Our Purpose:
We help New Zealanders to help themselves to be safe, strong and independent
Ko ta mātou he whakamana tangata kia tū haumaru, kia tū kaha, kia tū motuhake

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhys Walker [mailto:[OIA #3858 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 5 April 2016 11:26 p.m.
To: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Subject: Official Information Act request - Temporary Additional Support -- No Dependant Children or Partner

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

I, Rhys Walker, a citizen of New Zealand, request under the Official Information Act, any and all information regarding Studylink's policy of automatically declining Temporary Additional Support when a student doesn't have a dependant child, or a partner.

I have searched the website, searched legislation and haven't been able to find anywhere of this being a valid reason for declining an application, yet, on enquiring with the call centre I was informed that it was policy to automatically decline such applications. Such discriminatory practices aren't in line with WINZ's eligibility criteria, and I request information outlining the reasoning and legality behind this.

I request that this information is provided via reply email so as to be tracked on the FYI website.

Yours faithfully,

Rhys Walker

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an OIA request done via the FYI website.

Please do not send progress updates as PDF files.

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an OIA officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA page.

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-----Original Message-----
From: Rhys Walker [mailto:[email address]]
Sent: Tuesday, 5 April 2016 3:28 p.m.
To: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Subject: Official Information Act request - Temporary Additional Support -- No Dependant Children or Partner

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

I, Rhys Walker, a citizen of New Zealand, request under the Official Information Act, any and all information regarding Studylink's policy of automatically declining Temporary Additional Support when a student doesn't have a dependant child, or a partner.

I have searched the website, searched legislation and haven't been able to find anywhere of this being a valid reason for declining an application, yet, on enquiring with the call centre I was informed that it was policy to automatically decline such applications. Such discriminatory practices aren't in line with WINZ's eligibility criteria, and I request information outlining the reasoning and legality behind this.

Yours faithfully,

Rhys Walker

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an OIA request done via the FYI website.

Please do not send progress updates as PDF files.

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an OIA officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------
This email and any attachments may contain information that is confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this email and attachments is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify the author immediately and erase all copies of the email and attachments. The Ministry of Social Development accepts no responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after transmission from the Ministry.

-------------------------------

hide quoted sections

Tēnā koe Rhys Walker

Thank you for your emails received 5 April 2016. Your request has been forwarded to the appropriate officials at National office to respond. You may expect a response to be sent to you as soon as possible.
 
Nā mātou noa, nā

Official and Parliamentary Information team   |  Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Social Development

Our Purpose:
We help New Zealanders to help themselves to be safe, strong and independent
Ko ta mātou he whakamana tangata kia tū haumaru, kia tū kaha, kia tū motuhake

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhys Walker [mailto:[OIA #3858 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, 5 April 2016 11:26 p.m.
To: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Subject: Official Information Act request - Temporary Additional Support -- No Dependant Children or Partner

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

I, Rhys Walker, a citizen of New Zealand, request under the Official Information Act, any and all information regarding Studylink's policy of automatically declining Temporary Additional Support when a student doesn't have a dependant child, or a partner.

I have searched the website, searched legislation and haven't been able to find anywhere of this being a valid reason for declining an application, yet, on enquiring with the call centre I was informed that it was policy to automatically decline such applications. Such discriminatory practices aren't in line with WINZ's eligibility criteria, and I request information outlining the reasoning and legality behind this.

I request that this information is provided via reply email so as to be tracked on the FYI website.

Yours faithfully,

Rhys Walker

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an OIA request done via the FYI website.

Please do not send progress updates as PDF files.

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an OIA officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhys Walker [mailto:[email address]]
Sent: Tuesday, 5 April 2016 3:28 p.m.
To: OIA_Requests (MSD)
Subject: Official Information Act request - Temporary Additional Support -- No Dependant Children or Partner

Dear Ministry of Social Development,

I, Rhys Walker, a citizen of New Zealand, request under the Official Information Act, any and all information regarding Studylink's policy of automatically declining Temporary Additional Support when a student doesn't have a dependant child, or a partner.

I have searched the website, searched legislation and haven't been able to find anywhere of this being a valid reason for declining an application, yet, on enquiring with the call centre I was informed that it was policy to automatically decline such applications. Such discriminatory practices aren't in line with WINZ's eligibility criteria, and I request information outlining the reasoning and legality behind this.

Yours faithfully,

Rhys Walker

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an OIA request done via the FYI website.

Please do not send progress updates as PDF files.

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an OIA officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------
This email and any attachments may contain information that is confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this email and attachments is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify the author immediately and erase all copies of the email and attachments. The Ministry of Social Development accepts no responsibility for changes made to this message or attachments after transmission from the Ministry.

-------------------------------

hide quoted sections

Dear Rhys,

 

You have requested information about the policy for Temporary Additional
Support as it applies to single students.

 

A full-time student is not eligible for Temporary Additional Support
unless they meet certain criteria. Regulation 7 of the Social Security
(Temporary Additional Support) Regulations 2005 states:

 

“Regulation 7 -  Who is ineligible for support (in part)

 

(d) a person who is a full-time student unless-

(i) the person is a beneficiary; or

(ii) the person, or his or her spouse or partner, is the principal
caregiver of 1 or more dependent children; or

(iii) the person, or a member of his or her family, has disability costs
(as defined in regulation 4)”

 

You can find this legislation  by clicking the following link:

 

[1]http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulatio...

 

Full-time students (and their spouses or partners) can receive Temporary
Additional Support when:

 

·        The client or their spouse or partner is the principal caregiver
of a dependent child

OR

·        The student or any member of their family is receiving the
maximum amount of Disability Allowance and has excess disability costs

OR

·        The client is a beneficiary client (for example Supported Living
Payment) who is studying full-time.

 

Please click the following link to the Work and Income website where you
will find further information about Temporary Additional Support for
full-time students

 

[2]http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/inc...

 

Please let me know if you require any further information.

 

Kind Regards

Nicola Bell

Report Writer

 

------------------------------- This email and any attachments may contain
information that is confidential and subject to legal privilege. If you
are not the intended recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or
duplication of this email and attachments is prohibited. If you have
received this email in error please notify the author immediately and
erase all copies of the email and attachments. The Ministry of Social
Development accepts no responsibility for changes made to this message or
attachments after transmission from the Ministry.
-------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulatio...
2. http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/inc...