Youth Payment

Qualifications

100

Who case manages the youth while they receive Youth Payment?

Youth Service providers

200

The Youth Service Support Unit (YSSU) is responsible for

making decisions on behalf of Work and Income and for the general administration of the Youth Payment.

300

Who is the Youth Payment for? 

Youth Payment is for 16 and 17 year old young people who:

-have no dependent children and

-are not being supported by their parents or

-are, or have been, married, in a civil union, or in a de facto relationship

400

What is a Parental Support Gap? 

both of the young persons parents are unable to support them financially

500

What are 4 reasons there might be a parental support gap? 

The parent/s are

• deceased
• in prison
• in hospital
• overseas
  OR 
• the relationship with their parents (or guardians) has broken down, and none of them is prepared to support the young person financially
• 
  
• transitioning from care under the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, via an extended care agreement, parenting order or guardianship order
• there is a good and sufficient reason why the young person cannot reasonably expect to be financially dependent on their parents or any other person
  − for example (but not limited to):
  • the young person has been subject to family violence (physical, psychological, emotional or sexual) in their parent's or guardian's home

Parental Support Gap

100

For the purposes of granting the Youth Payment, who what does MSD define as a "parent"

For the purposes of Youth Payment, parents in relation to a young person:

• means the parent or guardians or other person who had the care of the young person most recently before the young person turned 16 years and
• includes any other parent, guardian, or former guardian, willing to have financial responsibility for the young person

200

For the purposes of granting Youth Payment, what does MSD define as 'independant'

Single young people must be independent and responsible for:

• meeting their personal expenses and
• making their own decisions on such things as schooling, job seeking, medical treatment and budgeting

If the young person is sharing accommodation with another person or people, the living arrangement must be one of boarding or renting rather than being 'in care'.

300

What do we mean when we say 'unable to receive financial support from parents' 

Scenarios where the parent literally cannot provide for the youth such as

• deceased
• in prison
• in hospital or
• overseas

You will need to find out:

• what the period of absence is and what provisions have been made for the young person's support
• if the parents are overseas, ask if it is temporary or permanent, and why the young person has not gone as well. See: Parents overseas
• if the parents are living apart, ask the young person what involvement they have with the other parent and whether they have considered living with them and
• whether the young person is living in a 'care' arrangement as opposed to an independent situation

400

If a parent is overseas, what things should we be looking at? 

If the young person's parents are overseas the responsibility to support the young person should remain with the parents if:

• there has been no family breakdown and
• the decision to move overseas and leave the young person in New Zealand is planned and agreed between the young person and their parents or
• the decision to send the young person to New Zealand for education, or job prospects and the like, is planned and agreed between the young person and their parents

500

What qualifies as 'financial support' from a parent?

Consider a young person to be financially supported by their parents when payments received are:

• long term
• ongoing
• regular and
• at least equal to or higher than the benefit rate payable
  If a young person receives a lesser amount of support from their parents (or a one off payment), they may still receive Youth Payment. Any support received would be charged as income.

Any financial support the young person receives must be given without any conditions for payment.

Family Breakdown

100

What does 'family breakdown' mean? 

A 16 or 17 year old is considered to have a parental support gap when:

• their relationship with their parents (or guardians) has broken down and
• none of them is prepared to support the young person financially

200

It is important that the relationship breakdown must be serious - what are some situations that would qualify? 

Serious situations include:

• issues of health and safety
• sexual, physical or emotional abuse
• situations where the young person or their family would be at risk if they were to return home

300

If we're sending the young person to Barnardos to do a Family Breakdown assessment, who needs to be interviewed? 

-Young Person
-Previous caregiver/person who had the care of them before their 16th birthday

400

Do we need the client's consent to organise the interview between Barnardos and their parents? 

Involving parents

In all cases the Independent Assessment Provider will invite the parents/caregivers to discuss the application. Consent is not required from the applicant as schedule 6 of the Social Security Act 2018 allows MSD to investigate a claim for benefit.

If the applicant refuses to allow their parents to be interviewed without a satisfactory reason and there is not sufficient information to grant the benefit, MSD must decline the application.

500

When will the parents not be contacted for an interview?

 When a young person has been discharged from Oranga Tamariki or other authorised agency care they do not require an Independent Assessment. This is because the relationship breakdown has already been established by Oranga Tamariki.

Certain Situations

100

How would a Young Person qualify to get Youth Payment on the grounds of hardship? 

They would not qualify due to residency, and they must: 

• be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident but have lived in New Zealand for less than 2 years
• be suffering hardship and
• not qualify for any other benefit

200

What is different about clients who were under the custody of Oranga Tamariki? 

When a 16 or 17 year old young person has been discharged from the care of the Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki (or other authorised agency), they can receive Youth Payment when they are no longer subject to:

• an agreement under section 140 of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989
• an order under section 78, section 101 or section 283(n) of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 or
• a sole guardianship order under section 110 of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989

In these cases the young person does not need to prove the relationship breakdown with either their parents or caregivers because it has already been established through Oranga Tamariki. An Independent Assessment Provider report is not required.

300

Can someone be granted Youth Payment if someone was getting Unsupported Child's Benefit for them? 

If the young person has been living with a caregiver who was receiving Unsupported Childs Benefit for the young person, the young person can only receive Youth Payment if:

• the young person has stopped living with the caregiver and
• there has been a relationship breakdown between the young person and caregiver

This is because caregivers who receive Unsupported Childs Benefit for a dependent person are considered parents.

The Independent Assessment Provider report will assist you in determining relationship breakdown.

400

What do we consider a 'good and sufficient reason' for the young person to not be financially supported by their parents? 

• the young person's parents have moved to an area where there is low employment or employment related training prospects and the parents are unable to financially support the young person
• a serious relationship breakdown has taken place between the young person and a member of the family and someone is now at risk
• the young person has been orphaned and is living independently
• the young person has had professional advice for good reasons (for example on advice from their health practitioner) to live away from other members of the family and their parents are unable to financially support them
• the young person has been removed from home on advice from the Police that they were at risk and the young person is unable to be financially supported by their parents

500

What is NOT a 'good and sufficient reason' for not being financially supported by the parents? 

• the young person's parents can no longer afford to keep the young person
• the parent's house is too small
• the young person has finished a training course
• the young person is a full-time student who does not qualify for a Student Allowance because of high parental income or failure of previous studies