Mandatory Review for Disability Allowance

MSD must review a client's Disability Allowance within 52-weeks of when this assistance commenced or from when the client's last Mandatory Review was completed.

Clients must respond to the Mandatory Review before their review date, or their payments will suspend.

The purpose of a Mandatory Review for Disability Allowance is to:

• check for any changes to the client's circumstances
• determine if the client stills meets the qualifications for Disability Allowance (except for the medical qualifications, they are reviewed separately)
• check for any changes to a client's ongoing costs for Disability Allowance (e.g. including or removing a cost, an increase in cost, or a decrease in cost) and
• review the rate of Disability Allowance payable.

The Mandatory Review will check a client's circumstances but will not be a reassessment of their disability, known as a medical review. Medical reviews will take place separately.

Generally, all clients getting Disability Allowance will have a Mandatory Review for this assistance (except clients also getting Youth Payment or Young Parent Payment).

Note New Zealand Superannuation and Veteran's Pension clients and non-beneficiaries getting Disability Allowance must meet the income test. This also applies to clients not getting a main benefit who get Orphan's Benefit or Unsupported Child's Benefit, and get Disability Allowance for those children.

When clients are getting Disability Allowance and Accommodation Supplement, the initial Mandatory Review date is determined by which assistance commenced first.

This will only apply to clients getting who are getting:

• non-beneficiary assistance
• Veterans Pension
• New Zealand Superannuation (unless they have a grandparented non-qualified partner included in their benefit).

Example

Gabriella has been getting Disability Allowance since 23 June 2026.

Gabriella applied for Accommodation Supplement, which commenced on 13 July 2026.

Because the initial Mandatory Review date is determined by which assistance commenced first, the review for both Disability Allowance and Accommodation Supplement will be set for 52 weeks from 23 June 2026.

Clients who are getting some benefits that are subject to a Mandatory Review will have their Disability Allowance reviewed at the same time as that benefit. These benefits are:

• Supported Living Payment
• Emergency Benefit (when the expiry date for the benefit is more than 52-weeks or there is no expiry date)
• Emergency Maintenance Allowance (when the expiry date for the benefit is more than 52-weeks or there is no expiry date)
• New Zealand Superannuation with a grandparented non-qualified partner

Example

Justin was granted Disability Allowance on 11 March 2026.

He was diagnosed with a serious illness that will last and restrict his capacity for work for longer than 2 years and was granted Supported Living Payment on 5 May 2026.

Because the review date is based on the commencement date of Justin's main benefit, the Mandatory Review for Justin's Disability Allowance and Supported Living Payment is reset to 52 weeks from 5 May 2026.

A client getting Disability Allowance for a child who Orphan's Benefit or Unsupported Child's Benefit is being paid for will have their Disability Allowance reviewed at the same time as their Orphan's Benefit or Unsupported Child's Benefit.

If a client is getting Disability Allowance for someone else, they will have a Mandatory Review for their Disability Allowance at least once in a 52-week period, but it will be separate to the Mandatory Review for Orphan's Benefit and Unsupported Child's Benefit.

Clients getting Sole Parent Support or Jobseeker Support have a reapplication process they must complete to continue getting their benefit. These clients will have a Mandatory Review for Disability Allowance when they:

• are completing the reapplication process for the benefit and
• their disability costs have not been reviewed in the last 44 weeks

If a client's disability costs have been reviewed in the last 44 weeks, there will be no Mandatory Review for Disability Allowance until their next Mandatory Review is due or at their next reapplication.

If a client is getting a benefit that does not have a Mandatory Review and are also getting Disability Allowance, they will still have a Mandatory Review for Disability Allowance at least once in a 52-week period.

Clients getting Youth Parent Payment or Youth Payment do not have a Mandatory Review of their Disability Allowance.

Clients are notified at least 20 working days before their Mandatory Review date, unless their Disability Allowance is suspended due to the client being temporarily overseas or in prison. The notice period allows sufficient time for clients to respond to the Mandatory Review.

Note if a client's Disability Allowance is suspended when the Mandatory Review notice is sent, they are not required to respond to their Mandatory Review until their Disability Allowance is to be resumed.

To respond to the Mandatory Review, the client must:

• confirm or provide current information about their circumstances and
• provide further information to MSD if requested.

Clients must confirm the information MSD holds is correct or provide any new information before their review date.

When a client has responded to the Mandatory Review and MSD has determined they continue to qualify for Disability Allowance, their next review date is 52 weeks from the date their Mandatory Review was completed.

When a client does not respond to the Mandatory Review before their review date, the Disability Allowance will suspend.

If the client does not respond to the Mandatory Review to confirm their circumstances within 8 weeks after their payments have suspended, the Disability Allowance will be cancelled.

A client can still do their Mandatory Review during those 8 weeks. However, once the Disability Allowance has cancelled, the client will need to apply for Disability Allowance if they need this assistance.

A client's Disability Allowance cannot be resumed before they have responded to their Mandatory Review during the 8-week suspension period.

If a client's Disability Allowance suspends as the result of not responding to a Mandatory Review, all of their assistance will also suspend, except for the following payments:

• Child Disability Allowance
• Orphan's Benefit
• Unsupported Child's Benefit
• Childcare Subsidy
• OSCAR (Out of School Care and Recreational Subsidy)
• New Zealand Superannuation (unless they have a grandparented non-qualified partner included)
• Veteran's Pension
• Guaranteed Childcare Assistance Payment

The Mandatory Review is complete when MSD makes a decision about the eligibility for Disability Allowance and the rate of benefit payable.

MSD will either:

• continue paying the benefit at the existing rate
• adjust the rate of benefit so the client is getting the correct rate
• suspend the benefit if there is no rate payable for a period (e.g., client has variable income)
• cancel the benefit if the client no longer qualifies