Good and sufficient reason

The guiding principle in determining "good and sufficient" reason is one of "reasonableness".

Having considered the circumstances, would it have been "reasonable" for the client to have met the 20 working day period for:

• completing a written or online application form or
• providing supporting evidence

MSD should decide in favour of the client if any doubt remains.

A good and sufficient reason may include, but is not limited to:

• the client having an injury, physical or intellectual disability or medical condition that makes accessing services difficult, i.e. they have a medical certificate
• the client having a family emergency, such as a death or illness, that caused a delay.

A good and sufficient reason for extending the 20 working day period when MSD requests an IRD number or evidence of an IRD number may include, but is not limited to:

• the reasons set out above
• when MSD requests IRD number evidence less than 10 working days before the 20 working day period ends as MSD must give the client at least 10 working days to provide IRD number evidence
• processing delays with an external agency (e.g., Inland Revenue, Department of Internal Affairs, Immigration New Zealand)
• the client does not speak English as a first language, and they have difficulty understanding what is needed from MSD or Inland Revenue
• the client having difficulty accessing the internet, a device, or their local MSD Service Centre.

Example

Jackson is 18 years old and is applying for Jobseeker Support. He has an IRD number but has not worked before.

The Inland Revenue information share result is a No Match on day one of the application. Jackson misses his first 2 appointments with MSD and only attends an appointment on day 18 of this application period. As he has not previously provided evidence of his IRD number, MSD requests this during his appointment.

Jackson must be given at least 10 working days to provide IRD number evidence. MSD considers this delay as a good and sufficient reason and extends Jackson's application timeframe by an additional 8 working days.