Chapter 17:06
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Social Welfare Assistance Act
as at 16th September 2016
Act 10/1988
Social welfare assistance not assignable or executable
(1) No financial assistance given under this Act shall be capable of being assigned or
transferred or otherwise ceded, pledged or hypothecated, nor shall it be liable to be attached or
subjected to any form of execution under a judgment or order of a court of law, and if a
beneficiary attempts to assign, transfer or otherwise cede, pledge or hypothecate such financial
assistance or right thereto, payment of the financial assistance may be withheld, suspended or
entirely discontinued, if the Director so determines.
(2) In any proceedings for the execution of civil imprisonment against a person receiving
social welfare assistance, his means shall not be deemed to include any sum received by him by
virtue of this Act.
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Appeals
Any person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Director in terms of this Act may, within
thirty days of being notified of such decision, appeal to the Minister, who may give such
decision or direction as he thinks fit.
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Offences and penalties1
(1) Any person who—
(a) …
(b) obtains or attempts to obtain social welfare assistance to which he is not entitled,
knowing he is not entitled to it; or
(c) in or in connection with any application in terms of section three, makes a false
statement which he knows to be false or does not believe on reasonable grounds to be
true;
(d) …
(e) ���
shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level six or to imprisonment for a
period not exceeding one year or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(2) Any person who fails to apply any social welfare assistance granted to him under this
Act for the purposes for which it was granted shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine
not exceeding level five or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or to both
such fine and such imprisonment
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Repayment of sums overpaid
(1) If any person has received by way of social welfare assistance any sum to which he was
not entitled, he, or, in the case of his death, his estate, shall be liable to repay such sum to the
State, unless the Director is satisfied that such person received it without knowing he was not
entitled thereto.
(2) A sum referred to in subsection (1) may be recovered, without prejudice to any other
remedy, by means of deductions from any financial assistance granted by the State and due to
the person liable to make such repayment.
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Note by Veritas:
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