Change in additional occupant contributions
Income Related Rent should be reviewed when an applicable person has a change in the contributions they get from additional occupants that is permanent (8 weeks or more).
Generally:
- a change in circumstances that will result in an increase in Income Related Rent will not be considered permanent until it has lasted 8 weeks or more
- a change in circumstances that will result in a decrease in Income Related Rent will be considered permanent when it is likely to last or has lasted 8 weeks or more
For more information see:
Variable contributions
If a client gets variable payments the rate of Income Related Rent does not need to be reviewed each time they change, unless it is considered that the change in income:
- is a permanent change which lasts longer than 8 weeks and
- will make a material difference to the Income Related Rent when compared to the previous weekly estimate of assessable income
Determining if a change in variable contributions is permanent
To determine if a change in variable payments is permanent, the payments from the last 16 weeks need to be considered.
If their average weekly payments from the most recent 8 weeks is different to the average weekly payments for the 8 weeks before that, the change should be considered permanent.
For example, the change would be determined to be permanent when a client with variable payments had an average amount over the most recent 8 weeks of $580 per week, and their weekly payments over the 8 weeks before that period was $510.
For more information see:
Mismatch of information
When the additional occupant who pays the contribution gets Accommodation Supplement, Temporary Additional Support, and/or Special Benefit, MSD will check the details match what information is held. Where there is a mismatch of information, the mismatch process must be followed.
For more information see:
