If you’re eligible for a main benefit, the Accommodation Supplement is not income-tested, but it is asset-tested.
The asset test is based on “cash assets”. This means money in the bank or other assets that can easily be converted into cash. It may include a house or flat that you own but are not using as your home (because that property could be sold and converted to cash).
Non-beneficiaries (other than students) face both the asset test and an income test:
The asset test is the same as for beneficiaries.
If your gross (before tax) income is over a certain threshold, your Accommodation Supplement will begin to abate (be reduced).
These asset and income limits may be adjusted from year to year.
Social Security (Cash Assets and Income Exemptions—Christchurch Mosques Attack Support Payments) Amendment Regulations 2020
Note: If you’ve received a Christchurch mosque attack support payment, that does not count as a “cash asset” when Work and Income are calculating your accommodation supplement.