October 22 2014 - Update
Income and Cash Asset Testing for EMS Housing Modifications
Enable New Zealand Region
On the 11 August 2014, the Ministry of Health introduced the National rollout of the Prioritisation Tool. It is important to note this has had no impact on Income and Cash Asset Testing and the current process remains the same.
How is the process working?
Enable New Zealand evaluates the likely cost of the housing modifications. Where the cost of the new modification (or sum of any previous work) is over the $8,076 threshold (including GST) an Income and Cash Asset Test will proceed. The result of the Income and Cash Asset Testing will advise Enable New Zealand of the contribution required from a client. NOTE: The contribution figure is not affected by the actual total dollar figure of the housing modification, i.e. reducing the scope of a modification will not affect the contribution figure. Where a contribution is required, Enable New Zealand will advise the client in writing and this information will be copied to the EMS Housing Assessor who can then liaise with the client directly.
Any required contribution figure from the Income and Cash Asset Test result will be applied once funding is approved and after the work has gone to tender and the actual building cost is known.
Example of how this works:
Please note all figures are GST inclusive.
Housing Modification Service Request for a wet area shower – estimated at $14,000.
- Income and Cash Asset Test shows the person is required to contribute $3,000.
- Agreement is sought regarding the contribution from the client prior to any further work proceeding.
- Plans are drawn and tenders called. The actual cost of the modifications is $12,650.
- The client is required to contribute $3,000. Therefore the total sum from the EMS budget is $9,650.
- If the estimate was high and the quote was actually $10,000 then the contribution figure would be determined by the maximum threshold of $8,076. That is, the client is eligible for $8,076 towards a housing modification, so would have to contribute $1,924 ($10,000 - $8,076).
- When the Income and Asset Cash Test identifies that the person can contribute $3,000 towards the housing modification, this means that the person is responsible for paying the first $3,000 over the threshold of $8,076.
- If the tendered figure of the building work was higher than the original estimate (i.e. $17,200) then the EMS approved figure would be $14,200 ($17,200 minus the $3,000 contribution).
By following the above, the client is better informed at the start of the process to understand any possible financial contribution they may need to make towards the modification. They will then be in a position to make a decision regarding how they wish to progress their application significantly earlier in the process.
