Christchurch mosques attack support payments

Donations may come from a range of sources and through a range of fundraising methods including (but not limited to):

• organisations such as Victim Support, New Zealand Islamic Information Centre, Canterbury Muslim Community Trust, Our People, Our City: The Christchurch Foundation
• donations made through crowdfunding websites such as www.givealittle.co.nz which may be collected for groups or individuals
• businesses
• employers
• individuals
• overseas governments

Payments may come to an affected person through an organised fundraising source, or may be paid directly to the affected person by the donor. Generally a person can identify if they have received one of these payments and will have information to support this.

Christchurch mosques attack support payments are not considered as chargeable income or cash assets for the person who received the payment. This includes any income earned from investment of the payment. There is no time limit on this exemption.

Note employment related income payments from an employer are not covered by this exemption.

For more information see:

• Employment related income

If you are unsure whether a donation payment can be exempt please contact Helpline before taking any action.

An exemption for a Christchurch mosques attack support payment must be equal to the payment the client received, or the amount they have left when they declare the payment to us.

Clients are not expected to keep track of any changes to the value of the payment. The exemption amount will stay the same indefinitely, unless the client's total cash reduces below the exemption amount.

When this happens, the exemption must be updated to match the client's new level of cash. The exemption must be removed if we identify the client has no cash.

The exemption will only increase or be applied again if the client gets another exempt payment.

Note for this exemption, cash means physical cash and money in the bank (including savings and term deposit accounts). It does not include anything purchased with the payment, such as shares.

Example

Fatima receives a Christchurch mosques attack support payment of $20,000 which is exempt from income and cash asset testing. 6 months later at her annual review, Fatima lets us know that her total cash has reduced to $10,000. Her exemption is updated to $10,000.

A few months later Fatima applies for Accommodation Supplement and shows us her cash has increased by $5,000 because she got an ACC Survivor's Grant. This payment is not exempt from income and cash asset testing, and Fatima's exemption remains at $10,000.

A client may get more than one Christchurch mosques attack support payment. In this case the exemption will be equal to the amount of the new payment (or the amount they have left when they tell us) plus the remaining amount of the previous payment. To identify how much the client has left of the previous payment, check the amount of cash the client had when they received the new payment.

Example

Khaled received a $5,000 Christchurch mosques attack support payment which is exempt from income and cash asset testing. He already has an exemption of $12,000 for a payment he got last year. We check Khaled's cash at the time he received the new payment and he had $9,500. Khaled will now have a combined exemption of $14,500.

When a client is earning income on both exempt and non-exempt assets, the earnings from the exempt assets must be excluded from the client's income. To do this, subtract the exempt amount from the total assets that are generating income. You can then multiply the remaining amount by the interest rate being earned. If the interest rate is unknown, use the Reserve Bank 6-month Term Deposit rate.

Example

Imran has $20,000 invested in a term deposit which earns interest of 3.29% per annum. $15,000 of this is from a Christchurch mosques attack support payment he received last year and is exempt from income and cash asset testing. The remainder is from savings and isn't exempt. Imran's income from assets will be calculated using the 3.29% interest rate as follows:

Income-earning assets less exempt assets
$20,000 - $15,000 = $5,000

Annual chargeable income
$5,000 x 0.0329 = $164.50

Weekly chargeable income
$164.50 / 52 = $3.16

Imran also earns $123.90 per week from wages, so he will have a total of $127.06 charged against his benefit as income each week.

When a client with an exemption applies for a hardship assistance payment, the exempt amount must be disregarded from the cash asset test.

However, generally a client won't qualify if they have enough money available to meet their need. This is because clients must use their own resources before seeking hardship assistance.

If the client only has enough money available to meet part of the cost, hardship assistance can be considered for the shortfall.

In each case you must consider the individual circumstances of the client against the eligibility criteria.

Example

Karam has been suffering tooth pain and went to the dentist to get it checked. The dentist advised she will need emergency dental treatment that will cost $500. A few months ago, Karam got a Christchurch mosques attack support payment of $15,000 which is exempt from income and cash asset testing. After paying some bills, Karam still has $9,000 left. Karam remembers the Ministry helped with her dental bill a couple of years ago, so she applies for a Special Needs Grant to cover the cost of the emergency dental treatment.

In this case, Karam won't qualify for a Special Needs Grant because she has enough money available to cover the cost of emergency dental treatment herself.