Actual and reasonable costs

Actual and reasonable costs are those costs for items or services a client incurs to undertake an activity or to enable the client to transition into employment. These costs can be 'one-off' or 'ongoing'.

When assessing the actual and reasonable costs a client may incur, consider the following:

• what activity is the client going to undertake
• what item or service is the client purchasing
• does the client already have the item or service, if so, why is this item or service being purchased again
• does the client have the ability to fund the item or service from their own resources
• can the item or service be funded from another source
• if the item or service is not funded, will the client be able to undertake the activity or transition into employment
• what is the least amount for the item or service being purchased

Discuss with the client their needs and responses to the above questions to assess the appropriate amount of assistance required to meet their needs and document these discussions.

In addition consider:

• is the employer responsible for providing the items (for example safety equipment, and uniforms)
• has Ministry of Social Development assistance previously been used to pay for the item