Charging from grant date or commencement date

Information share Child Support payments are not charged as income before the commencement date of a benefit. This includes when a client's assistance commences earlier than the application date, i.e. when the 28 day rule applies.

This means some information share Child Support payments are not charged as income. Whether they are charged as income depends on when a client's assistance is granted and when MSD is notified of their information share Child Support payments.

Only information share Child Support payments with a deemed receipt on or after the grant date or the commencement date (whichever is later) are charged as income.

Sometimes a client's assistance may start from a date in the future.

When the commencement date is after the grant date, only information share Child Support payments with a deemed receipt on or after the commencement date are charged as income. This means only payments a client gets after their benefit starts being paid are charged as income.

Information share Child Support payments a client gets before this date are only considered when calculating income for an initial stand-down.

Example

Martha resigns from her job on Friday 21 July and applies for Supported Living Payment. Her only income will now be monthly payments of Child Support from her ex-partner. This is a voluntary agreement paid through Inland Revenue.

Martha got 2 weeks of holiday pay on Friday 21 July. She also gets a Child Support payment on Monday 24 July and is expecting the next payment on 23 August.

The commencement date for Martha's benefit is the day after her holiday pay ends on Monday 7 August. Only information share Child Support payments she gets on or after 7 August will be charged as income against her benefit.

The payment Martha gets on 24 July is not charged as income as she got it before her benefit commenced.

In some situations, a client's assistance can start from a date in the past. This is called a backdated commencement.

When the commencement date is before the grant date, only information share Child Support payments with a deemed receipt after the grant date are charged as income. This means only payments a client gets on or after their benefit is granted are charged as income in this situation.

Information share Child Support payments a client gets before this date are not chargeable income.

Example

Damon is the primary caregiver for his son Benji and gets formula-assessed Child Support through Inland Revenue. He's in a new relationship with Lucia, who is supporting him financially.

On Sunday 27 August, Damon and Lucia separate. Damon decides to apply for a benefit, but it takes him a while to make the application. He applies on Monday 18 September and the next day is granted Sole Parent Support. The commencement date of his benefit is Monday 11 September because he has a 2 week initial income stand-down.

Only information share Child Support payments that Damon gets on or after 19 September will be charged as income against his benefit. This is because his benefit was granted on 19 September and only payments he gets after the grant date are chargeable income.