More about financial assistance
Here’s more information about the financial support you and your family may be able to get. It’s only a quick guide, and there are other conditions. If you’d like to know more, please contact us or look at our list of:
Accommodation Supplement
This payment can help with your rent, board or the cost of owning a home. You may be able to get it if your income and cash assets are lower than a certain amount, but you or your partner can’t get it if you rent a property owned or managed by Housing New Zealand.
Advance payment of benefit
If there’s something you really need but can’t afford to pay for right now (like appliances, rent or school uniforms) you may be able to get some of your benefit paid ahead of time. You need to pay it back and there are other conditions.
Away from Home Allowance
If you have children 16-17 years old living away from home to go on a tertiary or training course you may be able to get this allowance to help with their living costs.
Child Disability Allowance
You may be able to get this allowance if you are caring for a disabled child. It doesn’t depend on your income or costs, but the child must be under 18 years old, have a physical or mental disability and need constant care and attention. A Disability Allowance may also be available.
Childcare Assistance
This assistance includes Childcare Subsidy and Guaranteed Childcare Assistance Payment and OSCAR Subsidy.
If you have pre-school children who go to an early childhood education service, the Childcare Subsidy can help with your childcare costs.
Guaranteed Childcare Assistance Payment provides childcare assistance for pre-school children while their young parents are undertaking certain activities.
If you have school-age children and you are working, training or taking part in a work-related activity, the OSCAR Subsidy can help pay for your children’s care before or after school and in the school holidays.
Community Services Card
This card gives you and your family discounts on doctors visits and prescriptions. You’ll get one if you get a benefit –or you can apply for one if you don’t get a benefit but are a superannuitant or on a low to middle income.
Debt Recovery Suspension
If your benefit has been cancelled because you have started paid employment you may be able to have any debt repayments suspended for up to three months. Talk to us about this.
Disability Allowance
This allowance can help towards the extra costs you, your child or partner have because of a disability. It can help pay for things like regular visits to the doctor or hospital, medicines, extra heating, special food or travel.
Domestic Purposes Benefit
You may be able to get this benefit if you are
- 19 years old or over and are raising children alone or
- 18 years old or over and caring for someone sick or infirm (not your partner) or
- a woman alone aged 50 or over.
Emergency Benefit
If you’re in an emergency situation and need financial help but don’t qualify for another type of benefit, you may be able to get an Emergency Benefit. There are other conditions so talk with us first.
Emergency Maintenance Allowance
If you don’t qualify for the Domestic Purposes or Widow’s benefits but are in an emergency situation and need financial help you may be able to get this allowance. You’ll need to meet certain conditions so please talk with us about it.
Funeral Grant
If your partner, child or parent has died – or you are arranging the funeral for someone, you may be able to get this grant to help with their funeral costs.
Home Help
This allowance can help if you’ve had a multiple birth, have a domestic emergency or need domestic support with things like housework, cooking or childcare.
Invalid’s Benefit
If you have a permanent and severe sickness, injury or disability that stops you working or makes it difficult for you to work, you may be able to get this. You must be 16 years old or over and have lived here for a number of years.
Living Alone Payment
If you live alone, you may qualify for the Living Alone Payment in addition to your New Zealand Superannuation or Veteran’s Pension. You can get the payment from the date you started living alone or the date we receive your application, whichever is later.
If your partner has died recently and you apply within 28 days, the payment can be started from the day after your partner died.
New Employment Transition Grant
You may be able to get this grant if you have been working for 6 months or less and you miss out on income because you, your partner or child are sick, or you have problems with childcare arrangements. You need to have a dependent child or children.
New Zealand Superannuation
You may qualify for this if you are 65 years old or over and have lived in New Zealand for a total of 10 years since you turned 20 (5 of those years have to be since you turned 50). If you live alone you may be able to get a Living Alone Payment.
Orphan’s Benefit
If you are looking after someone else’s child because the child’s parents have died or can’t be found, or can’t look after their child because they have a long-term illness,
you may be able to get this benefit. You need to be
- 18 years old or over and the main caregiver of the child and
- expect to care for the child for 12 months or more and
- not be the child’s natural or adoptive parent.
Recoverable Assistance Payment
This is for people not receiving a main benefit. If you need something but can’t afford to pay for it right now (like appliances, rent or school uniforms) you may be able to get this assistance. You need to pay it back and there are other conditions.
Residential Care Subsidy
This subsidy can help with the costs of long term
residential care in a rest home or hospital. It is paid
by the Ministry of Health.
Sickness Benefit
If you temporarily can’t work full-time because of sickness, injury, pregnancy or disability, you may be able to get this benefit. You need to be 18 years old or over (or 19 years if you have a child/children that you support) and
- have a job now but had to reduce your hours and income or
- be unemployed or working part-time and find it hard to look for and do full-time work.
Special Disability Allowance
The Special Disability Allowance may help with the costs of visiting your partner if they are in hospital (for at least 13 weeks) or getting a Residential Care Subsidy. You must be
on income support to get this allowance.
Special Needs Grant
This payment can help with urgent things that you really don’t have any other way to pay for, like food, bedding and emergency dental or medical care. You won’t usually have to pay this grant back. There are other conditions so talk with us if you’d like to know more.
SuperGold Card
The SuperGold Card will entitle you to discounts from participating businesses and give easy access to concessions on government and local authority services. This card will be sent to you automatically soon after your New Zealand Superannuation/Veteran’s Pension is granted. If you have a non-qualified partner included in your New Zealand Superannuation, they will also get a SuperGold Card.
Temporary Additional Support
If you’re in hardship and urgently need help with your essential living costs and you have no other way of meeting these costs, please talk to us.
You will not get Temporary Additional Support if you currently receive a Special Benefit. Your Special Benefit will continue until you no longer need it.
Training Incentive Allowance
This allowance is for people on Domestic Purposes, Widow’s or Invalid’s benefits, or Emergency Maintenance Allowance, who are training to improve their work skills.
Unemployment Benefit
If you are 18 years old or over (or 19 years if you have a child/children that you support), you may be able to get this benefit. You need to be
- looking for full-time work and able to start work now or
- on a work-related training course full-time.
Unsupported Child’s Benefit
If you are looking after someone else’s child because the child’s parents can’t support them due to a family breakdown, you may be able to get this benefit.
You need to be
- 18 years old or over and the main caregiver of the child and
- expect to care for the child for 12 months or more and
- not be the child’s natural, step parent or adoptive parent.
Widow’s Benefit
You may be able to get this benefit if you are a woman whose partner has died and you have not remarried or got a new partner.
War Pensions
If you have a disability that is due to your service as a member of the New Zealand Armed Forces you may get a Veteran’s Pension or a War Disablement Pension. If you are the surviving spouse of an ex-service person who has died from disabilities you may get the Surviving Spouse Pension.
Youth Payment
This is for 16 and 17 year old young people who:
- have no dependent children and
- are not being supported by their parents
Generally you must also be in education, training or work-based learning to receive this payment.
If you are 16 or 17 years old, are or have been married, in a civil union or defacto relationship you can live with your parents and may still get it. When you receive Youth Payment you will work with a local Youth Service provider.
Young Parent Payment
This is for 16 to 18 year old young people who have a dependent child or children.
Generally you must also be in education, training or work-based learning to receive this payment.
There are other conditions so talk with us first. When you receive Young Parent Payment you will work with a local Youth Service provider.
