Income stops

If a client or partner (if any) advises that their income has stopped MSD must review their Jobseeker Support Student Hardship and any Extra help they are getting from the day after the income stopped.

MSD will need to determine why the income has stopped for example, a client may advise that the interest payments from their investment have stopped. MSD must find out what the client has done with the money that was invested.

Deprivation of income or assets

MSD has discretion to reduce or decline a benefit (and any Extra help) where clients have deprived themselves of income or assets.

For more information see:

Core policy Income

Ceases employment

If a client or partner (if any), ceases employment MSD needs to decide when to review their Jobseeker Support Student Hardship from.

MSD will need to find out:

the date they ceased employment
the reason they ceased employment
final pay details (including any holiday pay, redundancy etc)

Note if the client or partner gets any holiday pay, the holiday pay should be charged as ongoing income over the period it represents.

Example

Alan has been getting Jobseeker Support Student Hardship with his partner Kodi included.

Kodi is working and has been earning $720 gross per week. He ceases work on 1 April 2024 and gets holiday pay of $1440.

Kodi's holiday pay is equivalent to 2 weeks pay. MSD continues to charge $720 per week as income against the Jobseeker Support Student Hardship, for the 2 weeks from 1 April 2024.