Social Assistance Legislation (Adjustment for Inflation) Amendment Bill

1. Title

This Act is the Social Assistance Legislation (Adjustment for Inflation) Amendment Act 2020.

2. Commencement

This Act comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.

Part 1: Amendments to the Social Security Act 1964

3. Principal Act

This Part amends the Social Security Act 1964 (the principal Act).

4. New section 61HB inserted (Orders in Council: mandatory annual average weekly earnings adjustment of rates of main benefits)

After section 61HA, insert:

61HB. Orders in Council: mandatory annual average weekly earnings adjustment of rates of main benefits

1. The rates of benefits set out in the provisions to which this subsection applies must be adjusted, by Order in Council, as at 1 April each year so that in each case the new rate is the rate at that date adjusted by any percentage movement upwards in average ordinary time weekly earnings between—
2. (a) average ordinary time weekly earnings, expressed on a base quarter, last published before 1 March in that year; and
3. (b) average ordinary time weekly earnings expressed on the same base quarter of the year immediately preceding the year of the base quarter referred to in paragraph (a).
4. Subsection (1) applies to the following provisions:
5. (a) Schedule 3 (Rates of generally abolished former widows’ benefits under section 21 as saved by clause 3 of Schedule 32 for reciprocity agreement applicants or recipients):
6. (b) Schedule 3A (Rate of sole parent support):
7. (c) Schedule 4 (Maximum rates of orphans’ benefits and unsupported child’s benefits):
8. (d) Schedule 6 (Rates of supported living payment benefits):
9. (e) Schedule 9 (Rates of jobseeker support):
10. (f) Schedule 16 (Rates of generally abolished former DPB for solo parents under section 27B as saved by clause 3 of Schedule 32 for reciprocity agreement applicants or recipients):
11. (g) Schedule 19 (Rates of child disability allowance and disability allowance):
12. (h) Schedule 22 (Rates of benefits payable to long-term hospital patients):
13. (i) Schedule 26 (Rates and component of youth payment and young parent payment, and criteria for incentive payments):
14. An adjustment under subsection (1) also affects the maximum rate at which the chief executive may grant an emergency benefit (see section 61(2)).
15. An adjustment under subsection (1) must not reduce the weekly amounts of benefits payable under those Schedules.
16. Every Order in Council made under subsection (1)—
17. (a) comes into force or is considered to come into force on 1 April of the calendar year in which it is made; and
18. (b) applies to benefits payable on and after that date.
19. In this section,— average ordinary time weekly earnings means average ordinary time weekly earnings (per full-time equivalent) as determined by the Quarterly Employment Survey of wages published (as original, or revised, statistics) by Statistics New Zealand (after the deduction of standard tax, and the earner levies, payable as at 1 April of the following year, on those earnings) earner levies means the levies payable under section 219(1) of the Accident Compensation Act 2001 standard tax means the amount of tax reckoned on a weekly basis that would be deductible in accordance with the tax code “M” stated in schedule 5, part A, clause 4, table row 1 of the Tax Administration Act 1994. ## Part 2: Amendments to the Education Act 1989 ### 5. Principal Act This Part amends the Education Act 1989 (the principal Act) ### 6. Section 303 amended (Student allowances) In Section 303(3B), “(except the rates of allowances provided in respect of accommodation expenses)” is deleted.

B.292 - Social Assistance Legislation (Adjustment for Inflation) Amendment Bill was authored by /u/forgottomentionpeter (Greens) and Hon. Carmel Sepuloni (IRL figure), and is sponsored by the Minister for Social Development, /u/ARichTeaBiscuit (Greens), on behalf of the government.

Debate will conclude at 6 PM, 29/06/2020.