Assessment of eligibility : Contents

• Introduction
• Qualifications
  • Age
  • Residence
    • Resided continuously in New Zealand for at least 2 years at any one time since becoming a resident
    • Client recognised as a refugee or a protected person
    • Holds a Christchurch Response Visa
    • Client qualifies for and getting a main benefit
    • Clients in specific circumstances - Residency
      • Australian clients
      • Cook Island, Niue and Tokelau clients
      • British clients
      • People holding a temporary visa who are compelled to remain in New Zealand
      • Spontaneous or convention refugees or asylum seekers
      • New Zealand Refugee Quota Programme
      • Temporary entry class visa - visitors, work and students
      • Client's partner is not residentially qualified
  • Income limits
    • Assessable income
      • Child Support is assessable income from 1 July 2023
      • Unsupported Child's Benefit excess payments
  • Cash asset limit
    • Cash assets
    • Exception to income and asset limits
  • Household composition
    • Applicable persons
      • Signatory
      • Obligations of a signatory
    • Additional occupants
      • Financially independent
      • No need established to be an additional occupant
      • Carer or support person
      • Carer or support person as additional occupant or signatory
      • Both carer and client getting care can be signatories
    • Dependent child for eligibility purposes
    • Assessment of need for multiple household unit
      • Examples of more than one household unit
    • Child not living at home
  • Bedroom allocation
    • Full-time member of the household
    • Bedroom allocation table
    • Exceptions to bedroom allocation
    • Allocating bedrooms for known future household members
  • Clients must choose 3 places where they need to live (letting areas)
  • Clients in specific circumstances
    • Clients who are suspended from a housing provider
    • Reapplying for social housing within 13 weeks of declining a property
      • Assessing housing need after declining a social housing property
        • Material change in circumstance
  • Assessment of housing need
    • Housing need priority ratings
      • Calculation of overall priority rating
    • Adequacy of current housing
      • Clients 'not living in any accommodation'
        • Definition of accommodation
      • Staying in emergency housing or transitional housing for the time being
        • Risk rating for clients 'not living in any accommodation' (including in emergency housing or transitional housing)
      • Structural integrity of the house
        • Risk rating for structural integrity of the house
      • Condition of facilities in the current house
        • Risk rating for condition of facilities
      • Overcrowding of current accommodation
        • Determining accessible bedrooms
        • Examples of determining accessible bedrooms
        • Risk rating for overcrowding
      • Risk rating for lack of security of tenure
    • Overall rating for adequacy
    • Suitability of current housing
      • Current accommodation becomes unsuitable
      • Specific location requirements
        • Risk rating for medical or disability needs
        • Risk rating for personal needs
      • Family violence
        • Risk rating for family violence, tension or other violence
    • Overall risk rating for suitability
    • Affordability of suitable alternative housing
      • Calculation of affordability formula
      • Determining affordability rating for multiple households
      • Determining affordability rating for students
        • Assessable income for affordability
        • Location of accommodation
    • Property type required for identifying lower quartile rent
    • Limited data available on lower quartile rent
    • Definition of lower quartile private rent
    • Factors to consider if affordability risk rating accurate
    • Risk rating for affordability
    • Accessibility to alternative housing
      • Reasonable effort to find alternative housing
      • Discrimination as a barrier to suitable housing
      • Lack of cash resources for bond, rent and furniture
        • Assessment of funds available
      • Calculating 75% of 4 weeks lower quartile rent
      • Availability of suitable alternative housing in the area
        • Risk rating for accessibility
    • Sustainability of alternative housing
      • Client has difficulty managing their finances
        • Risk rating for financial management
      • Difficulty in social functioning, lack of social skills or history of transience
      • Determining history of transience
        • Risk rating for social functioning and history of transience
    • Changing a client's initial priority rating
  • Fast-track provision
  • Some fast-tracks have priority over another fast-track
    • At risk of rheumatic fever
      • Child treated for rheumatic fever
      • Qualifying medical conditions for rheumatic fever
      • What is rheumatic fever?
      • Hospitalised or getting treatment for rheumatic fever
    • Specified child or young person in the custody of Oranga Tamariki or approved permanent care
      • Examples of fast track for a specified child or young person in the custody of Oranga Tamariki or approved permanent care
      • Specified child or young person
      • Iwi social services, cultural social services and family support services
      • Households on the register
      • Fast-track no longer applies
    • Households in emergency housing
      • Dependent child for emergency housing fast-track
      • Dependent child turns 18
      • Dependent child included in social housing assessment
      • In emergency housing for 12 continuous weeks or more
      • Client leaves emergency housing for more than 28 days due to exceptional circumstances
      • Emergency housing fast-track change in circumstances
    • Reviews and Appeals for fast-track
• Assessment for current tenants
  • Changes to a tenancy agreement
    • Person or household wishes to join-in an existing tenancy
      • Including partner in tenancy agreement
      • Including other person or household unit as a signatory to the tenancy agreement
      • Social housing provider considerations when adding signatory to tenancy agreement
    • Release from a joint tenancy agreement
  • Death of a client
    • Death of a sole tenant
    • Death of a joint tenant
  • Transfers
    • Housing provider requires a tenant to transfer
    • Housing provider requests needs (requirements) assessment
    • Client requests a transfer
    • Social housing property changes ownership
      • Clients getting grandparented rate of Income Related Rent
• Reviews and Appeals - Assessment of eligibility
  • Review of decision - three stage process
  • Appeals to the Social Security Appeal Authority
  • When to advise a client of their right to review
  • Who can apply for a review or appeal
  • Client wishes to withdraw application for review
  • Review of decision for Income Related Rent debts

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