meeting with taiohi
what happens at the initial appointment
initial appointment
During the initial appointment with the young person, the Youth Service provider will need to discuss and advise the following:
- The Youth Service provider is their point of contact for all questions or concerns regarding their payments (excluding young partners), obligations, and activity requirements.
- They need to meet with their youth coach regularly.
- To receive financial assistance, including their incentive payments, they must comply with their activity obligations.
- What money management means.
- The payment card, including issuing them with an inactive payment card and letting them know about PIN setting (see the payment card section below).
- They may update their personal details online via MyMSD and must tell their youth coach of any changes in their circumstances.
- Their information will be shared with Work and Income, and relevant information may be shared with other agencies.
supporting documentation
Their youth coach must check and verify all original supporting documentation provided by the young person, including scanning, and uploading it into the open ART task. All documents are to be returned to the young person or sent for document destruction.
Their youth coach must ensure that all supporting documentation provided by the young person meets the requirements as outlined in the Minimum Processing Standards.
parental income verification
Parental income verification only applies to 16 and 17 year olds applying for YPP who are:
- Living at home with their parents, or
- Living away from home with the agreement of their parents (no family breakdown has occurred).
YSSU, as part of the screening process, will determine and advise their youth coach if the young parent needs to provide proof of their parent’s income.
If proof is required, the young person’s parents must complete the Parent’s Income Verification form and provide proof of their income (which must be below the Family Tax Credit cut-off points).
A copy of this form can be downloaded from the Work and Income website.
MyMSD
The youth coach must encourage the use of MyMSD.
MyMSD can be accessed on mobile, tablet, or desktop devices using ‘cheap-as data’. Young people can use MyMSD to check payments, set up their payment card PIN, review payment card transactions, access debt details, and update some of their circumstances. For more information, check out the intro to MyMSD eLearning module.
payment card
During the initial appointment, the youth coach will provide the young person with an inactive payment card. The young person must sign this payment card while they are at their appointment.
The youth coach will scan both sides of the Payment Card to capture the reference number and their signature, and then upload it to the open ART task.
The payment card will be activated by YSSU if Youth Payment or Young Parent Payment is granted.
Payment card PIN
Young people must set a PIN before they can access funds on their payment card. They'll only be able to do this once YSSU has processed Payment Card ART task. In the initial meeting, let young people know that they will need to do this before they can use their card and that you can support them to do this in a future meeting. For more on setting payment card PINs see payment cards | Youth Service providers.
About using the payment card
If Youth Payment or Young Parent Payment is granted, or for young partners, funds will be loaded onto their payment card.
As part of your budgeting discussions, you will need to monitor the young person’s use and expenditure of funds deposited onto their payment card.
For more information on where taiohi can use their payment card, visit where you can use your payment card | Youth Service
redirections
Redirections are the process by which YSSU pays a supplier directly on behalf of a young person using their payments.
The youth coach will need to have a discussion with the young person about any expenses that may need to be paid on their behalf as part of redirections. This can include, but is not limited to:
- rent or board
- power
- phone
- other accounts as identified, for example hire purchases, and
- mandatory redirections, for example child support, court fines.
For more information about redirections, check out money management | Youth Service providers.
taiohi requires urgent financial assistance
Young people may need urgent financial assistance before their application is approved, for example, they have no money to pay for food.
If they have applied for Youth Payment or Young Parent Payment and their payments have not yet started, they may be eligible for emergency assistance. To request this, complete the 'Waiting for benefit decision' task in ART.
Note: Young people will be required to repay this money, usually from arrears once their payments begin. If their application is declined, they will receive a letter from MSD outlining repayment options.
For more information, see hardship assistance | Youth Service providers.