Policy
Clients with No or Nil Income
SDMS ID Number / P2012/0179-035SDMS Title / Clients with Nil or No Income – Policy – P2012/0179-035
Effective From / 1 October 2013
Applies to / All Housing Tasmania clients
Custodian / Manager Housing Strategy
Summary / This policy The intent of this policy is to provide clarity on how Housing Tasmania manages the various scenarios and parameters where clients have declared no or nil income.
Replaces Doc. No. / n/a
Author Area / Housing Strategy – Social and Affordable Housing Policy Unit
Contact / Manager, Housing Strategy
Review Date / January 2017
Policy Purpose / Clients may present to Housing Connect claiming they have no or nil source of income as a result of factors such as Commonwealth Government Policies or as a result of client inaction.
When allocating properties, Housing Tasmania does not carry the financial impact for all situations where a client has declared no or nil income.
Policy Intent / The intent of this policy is to provide clarity on how Housing Tasmania manages the various scenarios and parameters where clients have declared no or nil income.
Proof of income is a requirement under Housing Tasmania’s eligibility criteria and must be confirmed prior to Housing Tasmania allocating a property.
Application / This policy is relevant to all applications for Housing Tasmania Properties.
No / Nil income / Clients may have no or nil income for a variety of reasons including:
· the requirement to serve a ‘liquid assets waiting period” before they start to receive a Centrelink Allowance;
· recipients for Newstart not seeking work and so become ineligible for further payments for a specified period;
· ineligibility of a young person for Centrelink benefits because of parental income;
· clients who have received a compensation settlement and therefore are precluded from receiving benefits for a set period of time;
· statutory income recipients who go overseas (those in receipt of a benefit);
· clients who are entitled to a benefit they do not claim;
· clients who have been terminated from their employment and are not eligible for Centrelink benefits for a specified period;
· clients who are under migrant sponsorship agreements (e.g. assurance of support);
· those subjects to a two year waiting period for Centrelink benefits (e.g. New Zealanders);
· Clients in receipt of temporary or bridging visas and therefore ineligible for Centrelink benefits; and
· Self-employed individuals whose taxation returns show a zero income or an income loss.
Reduced Income / Clients may have a reduced income if they have ‘breached’ Centrelink requirements or they are repaying a Centrelink debt. In cases of a reduced income the full income should be deemed as the full entitlement.
Assessing clients with No / Nil income / Clients with no or nil income will be deemed to be receiving a Centrelink benefit in the majority of cases.
If a client has a preclusion period with Centrelink because they have been terminated from their employment, or is serving a “liquid assets waiting period”, then Housing Tasmania would deem their income to be the Centrelink income they would otherwise be entitled to, such as Newstart.
However, in some cases it is not appropriate to deem an income, and these clients will not be eligible for public housing. Those clients not eligible for public housing assistance include:
· Clients who are under migrant sponsorship agreements (e.g. assurance of support):
· Those subject to a two year waiting period for Centrelink benefits (e.g. New Zealanders);
The conditions under which these clients enter Australia are such that they are either required to receive support from their sponsor (this includes financial housing assistance) or be able to support themselves for the stated period. It is not the role of Housing Tasmania to provide assistance in these cases.
Calculating the rent of a tenant with No / Nil income / For those tenants who are excluded from Centrelink benefits Housing Tasmania deems their income as if they were receiving the benefit they would otherwise be entitled to. This only occurs when the preclusion period is 12 months or less.
The client will remain on the deemed Centrelink benefit/pension for the precluded period. At the end of the preclusion period, the tenant will need to complete a Household Income Statement and pay the relevant tenant contribution according to the total household income.
For example, where a client has received a compensation settlement, they will have a period of preclusion from receiving Centrelink benefits but Housing Tasmania will assess their income on what they could have received from Centrelink if they had not received the compensation settlement.
Clients who receive a large compensation payout may be in a better position to consider alternative accommodation options such as home purchase or private rental.
If the client’s situation does not fall into the above categories, the Area Manager may apply discretion.
Household Members with No / Nil income / Household members should be deemed to be receiving the Centrelink income that they would otherwise be entitled to receive.
The exception to this includes migrants on sponsorship agreements and migrants with two year residency requirements. If the migrant has no / nil income it is not appropriate to deem a Centrelink income for the sponsored migrant. Sponsored migrants are not eligible to receive a Centrelink income for the first two years of their residency.
Arrears / In the event that arrears accrue as the result of tenants being deemed as having an income, these arrears will be pursued in accordance with Housing Tasmania’s Rental Arrears Management Process.
Proof of Income / A client must provide proof of no or nil income received by all members of their household aged 18 years and over. Proof of income documentation must be original.
Discretion / Discretion allows organisations to be more responsive through early intervention/prevention.
Discretion may be applied to a client’s application for housing assistance and/or support at the time of assessment with Housing Connect.
The area manager with Housing Tasmania has the discretion to make decisions to allocate their vacant property to a client out of order, where a reasonable case has been presented. The decision must be adequately documented on the relevant tenancy file.
This supports the creation of mixed communities which promotes social and economic opportunities for all clients.
Legal Framework / This Policy adheres to the Residential Tenancy Act 1997
Exemptions / Nil
Responsibilities/ Delegations / All Housing Operations staff are responsible for ensuring the correct use of this policy. Area managers are responsible for management of policy application.
Disclaimer / This is a statewide policy and must not be re-interpreted so that subordinate policies exist. Should discrete operational differences exist, these should be set out in an operating procedure or protocol that must be approved at the same level as this policy.
Audit and Compliance / Failure to comply with this policy without providing a good reason for doing so, may lead to disciplinary action. Compliance with this policy is monitored by the Manager Housing Operations, through the delegated Area Managers.
Procedures and Forms / Nil
Related Policies / Connecting to Housing Assistance Policy
Assessment for Housing Assistance and Support Policy
Policy Title and Version / Clients with Nil or No Income v2.0
Effective Date / 1 October 2013
Review Date / January 2018
Document Number / P2012/0179-035
Replaces Document Number / n/a
Custodian / Housing Tasmania, Social and Affordable Housing Policy
Approved by / Manager Housing Strategy
This Policy may be varied, withdrawn or replaced at any time. Compliance with this directive is mandatory for the Department of Health and Human Services. Please Destroy Printed Copies. The electronic version of this Policy is the approved and current version and is located on the Agency’s intranet. Any printed version is uncontrolled and therefore not current.
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