2384 NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 100 30 JUNE 2005

2. Commencement—This programme comes into effect
   on 1 July 2005.

3. Purpose—The purpose of this programme is to support
   people with disabilities who were formerly in receipt of an
   invalid’s benefit to remain in employment following the
   completion of an employment trial.

4. Interpretation—(1) In this programme, unless the
   context otherwise requires:

Act means the Social Security Act 1964

applicant means a person who applies for assistance or a
person on whose behalf an application for assistance is
made

assistance means employment transition assistance,
being the special assistance under this programme

earner levy means the levy payable under subsections
(1) and (2) of section 219 of the Injury Prevention,
Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001

expiry date means the date referred to in clause 10

employment trial means the undertaking, by an
invalid’s beneficiary granted that benefit on the ground
of permanent and severe restriction of capacity for
work, of a period of open employment agreed with the
chief executive under section 44A (2) of the Act to
establish whether he or she could sustain that employment

net specified income, in relation to a person, means:

(a) the amount of the person’s income (within the
meaning of section 3 (1) of the Act) after
the deduction of income tax and the earner levy; and

(b) includes the amount (after abatement on account of
income) of any of the following benefits payable to
the person and the person’s spouse or partner:

(i) an unemployment benefit or a sickness benefit,
a widow’s benefit, a domestic purposes
benefit, an invalid’s benefit, an independent
youth benefit, or an emergency benefit; or

(ii) New Zealand superannuation or a veteran’s
pension.

(2) Terms otherwise defined in the Act have the same
meanings in this programme.

5. Application of Social Security Act—(1) Sections 12,
   62, 66, 74, 74A, 76, 77, 80 (1), 80A, 80BD, 81, 82 (1) and (4),
   84, 84A and 86J of the Act apply to this programme and to
   any applicant as if the special assistance under it were a
   benefit.

(2) Nothing in subclause (1) limits or affects the application
of any other provision of the Act.

6. Employment transition assistance—(1) This clause
   applies to an applicant who:

(a) as a result of undertaking an employment trial, had
his or her invalid’s benefit cancelled on the grounds
that he or she was capable of regularly working
15 or more hours a week in open employment; and

(b) applies for assistance under this programme more
than 28 days before the expiry date, and:

(i) within 28 days after the cancellation of the
benefit, if the benefit was cancelled on or after
1 July 2005; or

(ii) within 60 days of 1 July 2005, in any other
case.

(2) The chief executive may grant an applicant to whom this
clause applies employment transition assistance if satisfied
that:

(a) the applicant is regularly working 15 or more hours
a week in open employment (whether or not
the employment is the same employment as the
applicant undertook during the employment trial);
and

(b) the applicant’s income would not be sufficient to
disentitle the applicant from receiving an invalid’s
benefit under the Act; and

(c) the applicant’s net specified income is less than the
average amount of the applicant’s net specified
income over the period of the employment trial; and

(d) without the assistance, the applicant would not be
able to sustain the employment referred to in
paragraph (a).

(3) This clause is subject to clause 8 (4).

7. Rate of assistance—(1) The amount of assistance
   payable in respect of any week is:

a – b but not more than c

(2) No assistance is payable in respect of any week in
which b is greater than a.

(3) In this clause:

a is the average amount of the applicant’s net specified
income over the period of the employment trial;

b is the amount of the applicant’s net specified income in
respect of the week concerned; and

c is the amount of an invalid’s benefit that would be
payable to the applicant and the applicant’s spouse or
partner if the applicant were granted that benefit.

8. Period of grant of assistance—(1) Assistance granted
   under clause 6 (2) commences on the later of the following
   dates:

(a) The date of application for the assistance; or

(b) 1 July 2005.

(2) Assistance granted under that clause ceases if:

(a) for 8 consecutive weeks, the applicant’s income is
equal to or more than the amount that would
disentitle the applicant from receiving an invalid’s
benefit under the Act; or

(b) the applicant has received no income from
employment for 4 consecutive weeks; or

(c) the applicant is again granted an invalid’s benefit.

(3) If it has not ceased earlier, assistance ceases with the
close of the expiry date.

(4) Where assistance has ceased under subclause (2), an
applicant is not entitled to receive any further assistance
under this programme unless the applicant is again granted
an invalid’s benefit and completes a further employment
trial.

9. Reviews of assistance—Without limiting section 81 of
   the Act, the chief executive must review an applicant’s
   eligibility for assistance:

(a) 6 months after the assistance commences; and

(b) at 6 monthly intervals thereafter.

10. Expiry—This programme expires on 31 July 2007.

Explanatory Note

This note is not part of the programme, but is intended to
indicate its general effect.

This programme, which comes into effect on 1 July 2005,
provides financial support to support people with
disabilities who were formerly in receipt of an invalid’s
benefit to remain in employment following the completion of
an employment trial.