Words we use

A health or disability assessment provided to support an application for Invalid's Benefit. Some of the sources of an alternative assessment include:

• health practitioners' or specialists' reports
• Group Special Education (GSE) reports
• Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination (NASC) agency assessments
• written confirmation from GP, specialist or hospital.

A de facto relationship is when 2 people:

• are both 16 or older and
• live together as a couple in the nature of a marriage or civil union. 

For more information about relationships and how we work out if you're in a relationship see: Relationships and income assistance.

If you or your partner are 16 or 17

If you or your partner are 16 or 17, a Family Court Judge must consent to your relationship. You'll need to show us the court order from the Family Court Judge.

Before 14 August 2018, we accepted written consent from the parents of the 16-17 year old. If you've already given the parents' consent to us before then, we can still use it. You don't need to get consent from a Family Court Judge.

How to get consent from a Family Court Judge

A dependent child is a child (whether own, stepchild, adopted, grandchild or mokopuna) who is:

• primarily the responsibility of the person
• living with that person as a member of their family, and
• financial dependent on that person.

A course is generally employment related where it will either:

• provide specific work skills which will improve a person's employment opportunities
• be a related training course which will provide confidence and competence to participate in a specific work skills course (this includes self-awareness, self-confidence and assertiveness courses).

The course must also be provided by a secondary school or tertiary institution.

These may include (but are not limited to):

• rent
• food
• power
• clothing.

A payment made to a person without legal obligation or acceptance of liability in recognition of harm experienced by that person.

Full-time work is paid work for 30 hours or more each week. This includes temporary or casual employment during any week that a person works for 30 hours or more.

A health practitioner is a person registered with an authority as a practitioner of a particular profession under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.

This includes a:

• Chiropractor
• Dental Hygienist
• Dentist
• Dispensing Optician
• Medical Practitioner
• Medical Radiation Technologist
• Midwife
• Nurse
• Nurse Practitioner
• Occupational Therapist
• Optometrist
• Osteopath
• Pharmacist
• Physiotherapist
• Podiatrist
• Psychotherapist

When we say 'main benefit', we mean:

• Emergency Benefit
• Emergency Maintenance Allowance
• Jobseeker Support
• Sole Parent Support
• Supported Living Payment
• Young Parent Payment
• Youth Payment.

Things you own that are easily converted to cash. Examples of non-cash assets are:

• leisure boats
• caravans
• land or buildings other than your home, eg holiday homes.

Ordinarily resident generally means a person who is normally and lawfully in New Zealand, intends to stay here and considers New Zealand to be their home.

However, if you're applying for NZ Super or Veteran's Pension, this also includes:

• the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau, and
• any country NZ has a Social Security Agreement (SSA) with (except United Kingdom).

If you're applying for another payment, this may also include a country NZ has a SSA with. It depends which payment you're applying for.

When deciding if someone is ordinarily resident in the countries listed above, we look at:

• their intentions towards these countries, including their reasons for periods of absence and return
• the length of time they spend in these countries on a continual basis
• property and asset ownership. Do they own a home or any other large assets in these countries?
• the location of their cash assets: investments and bank accounts
• whether their income is earned in these countries or overseas
• whether they pay taxes in these countries
• whether they still vote in or still qualify to vote in these countries general elections
• their commitment to these countries, such as involvement in the community, clubs or other groups.

Generally you're not considered to be ordinarily resident in these countries if you either:

• leave them for more than 26 weeks, or
• spend more time outside of them than inside.

Please note: a person cannot be ordinarily resident in 2 places at the same time.

Other authorised agencies include:

• iwi social services
• cultural social services
• child and family support services

These services must be approved under the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 by the Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki.

For the purposes of Unsupported Childs Benefit, however, other iwi or cultural involvement may be sufficient (a hui or cultural meeting, for example).

A group seminar that forms part of the Job Search Service. Clients will meet as a group to;

• complete their RecruitMe profile
• access work brokerage services
• complete a Self Assessment of their job search requirements to help determine their next activity.

A refugee is a person who is lawfully in New Zealand whose refugee status has been recognised by:

• the Minister of Immigration or an immigration officer appointed under the Immigration Act 1987
• the Refugee Status Appeal Authority, or
• a court on appeal or by way of judicial review from the decision made by the Minister, Immigration Officer or Authority.

Work which isn't either:

• casual employment
• employment on call if there are no specified hours in the person's employment contract.

A person who is married, in a civil union, or in a de facto relationship and receives one of the following in their own right:

• Emergency Benefit
• Jobseeker Support
• Supported Living Payment - health condition, injury or disability
• New Zealand Superannuation for people who are married, in a civil union or de facto relationship whose spouse is not entitled to receive Superannuation or a Veteran's Pension
• Veteran's Pension for people who are married, in a civil union or de facto relationship whose spouse is not entitled to receive Superannuation or a Veteran's Pension.

You take the main responsibility for a young person and:

• they are part of your family
• they depend on you financially
• they are not in paid full time work (30 hours or more a week)
• you are not receiving payments from Child, Youth and Family on behalf of them.

Targeted Health Intervention - an initiative for clients who have a health condition or disability, who;

• want to return to full-time work
• require a single health intervention to enable them to return to work
• are unable to access the intervention through the public health system within three months.