Person acting in place of a parent

A person is acting in place of a parent if they have financial responsibility for the student.

This can include but is not limited to:

• whāngai and other cultural adoption carers
• relatives e.g. grandparents
• caregivers and legal guardians not excluded from the definition of a parent

MSD must consider a range of factors when deciding if a person is acting in place of a parent.

This includes:

• whether the person provides, or has provided, financial support to the student
• whether the person made a deliberate decision to take on financial support of the student, including whether they intended to provide for basic needs until the student was independent, or intended to fully support the student including their future financial decisions e.g. tertiary study
• whether the person provides accommodation to the student and if so, whether the student must pay for it, and whether the person would continue to provide it if the student was unable to pay
• whether the person would provide support to the student if they had financial or other problems
• whether the person has, or had, legal guardianship of the student

Generally there won't be one single factor that means a person is or isn't acting in place of a parent of the student.

MSD must consider the person's full situation when making this decision.

Students may get a range of financial support from different people throughout their study for various reasons.

This could include payments made towards the student’s day to day living.

When considering whether a person is acting in place of a parent of the student, determine the extent, nature and frequency of any financial support first.

For example:

• whether it is or was temporary or long term
• whether the student is expected to repay it

Financial support provided in a parental type relationship would generally be regular ongoing financial support that the student is not required to repay.

One off payments e.g. a gift of money or a loan to buy a luxury item would not generally be considered financial support for this purpose.

There may be other factors not outlined above that are relevant to whether a person is acting in place of a parent such as non-financial support that relates to family life in general.

In these cases, financial support must be the primary focus.

A person is not acting in place of a parent if they are or were a caregiver or legal guardian of the student who is:

• getting or has received a Foster Care Allowance, Orphan's Benefit or Unsupported Child's Benefit for the student
• providing or has provided a transition support living arrangement for the student under section 386AAD of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989