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Work homepage
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Overview
We can help you get ready to apply and find the right job for you. We can even help you while you're working.
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Get ready to work
You can get training, help with CVs and cover letters, and advice for job interviews.
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Find jobs
Find out what jobs are available, which job is best for you and how you can plan your career.
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Working
Whether you've just started a job or need some help at work, we've got your back.
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Lost your job
We'll help you get ready to find a new job and support you while you're between jobs.
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Start your own business
Get help to plan and set up a successful business or be a self-employed contractor.
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Benefits and payments homepage
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Overview
Take a look at the range of benefits and payments we have available.
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Not working
Redundancy, health condition or disability or another reason you can’t work
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Living expenses
Food, school costs, power, accommodation or other living expenses you need help with
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Relationship changes
You’ve had a relationship break-up, family breakdown or violent relationship end
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Health and Disability
Counselling, prescription and GP costs, medical alarms and other costs we can help with
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Seniors
Travelling overseas, how to apply, payment rates and dates, overseas pensions, income and other info for Seniors
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Caring
Caring for someone else’s child or someone with a health condition, injury or disability
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Urgent or unexpected costs
Dental, glasses, car repairs, fridge, washing machine, funeral or other urgent costs you need help with
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Children
Childcare, school uniforms, stationery, having a baby and other costs if you have children
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Moving to New Zealand
Payments you can get from us, settling into NZ, overseas pensions and more.
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Benefits and forms
A-Z list of benefits, forms, benefit rates
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On a benefit homepage
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Overview
Check out what you need to do when you're getting a benefit or other payment from us.
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Something's changed
Address, contact details, overseas travel, childcare, relationship or anything else that’s changed.
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Income
Declare income and income deduction tables
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Childcare
Change in your childcare situation, continue childcare payments, cohort entry schools and other childcare information
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Going overseas
Travelling or moving overseas may affect your payments.
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Re-apply
Re-apply for Jobseeker Support, Sole Parent Support, Temporary Additional Support and more
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Payments
Check or stop your payments, payment cards and other information
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Debt
Check your debt, repayments and other debt information
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Rights and responsibilities
Our commitment to you, obligations, complaints, benefit fraud and more
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Housing homepage
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Overview
Find out how we can help you with housing.
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Nowhere to stay
Get help if you have nowhere to stay right now.
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Find a house
Find out where to look for private housing, or apply for public (social) housing.
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Living in your home
Get help with accommodation costs, and advice on any housing issues and public housing tenancies.
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Moving house
Find out how we can help if you’re moving house.
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Other languages
Read some of our housing information in other languages.
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Making a complaint
We value your feedback. If you submit a complaint, we'll investigate and try to resolve it. We'll do our best to make sure it doesn't happen again.
What a complaint is
A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction. It can be about:
- service, e.g. the way you've been treated
- location, e.g. access to one of our service centres
- practice, e.g. having to provide the same information more than once
- process, e.g. how long it takes to process your application or not getting an update on how it's going.
If you don't agree with a decision we've made and want to challenge it, there's a different process to follow. You need to apply for a 'review of decision' and it can be reviewed.
How to make a complaint
You can make the complaint yourself or someone can make a complaint on your behalf.
Get in touch with us
You can either:
- submit your complaint online
- call us and tell us over the phone
- call us and book an appointment to come in and see us, or
- write to us at Ministry of Social Development, PO Box 1556, Wellington.
What we need from you
Please be clear, factual and tell us the outcome you would like. Providing your client number, name and contact details will help us to get in touch and help resolve the issue.
If you provide feedback anonymously, we won't be able to respond to you personally.
How we'll respond
We aim to resolve your complaint immediately. We'll investigate to see what went wrong and how it can be put right.
We'll contact you to let you know we've received your complaint and what we'll do to resolve it.
If your complaint is unique and complex and we need to work with others to resolve it, it will take longer. In these situations you will be provided with regular updates.
If you're not happy with the outcome
If you're not happy with the outcome of your complaint, you can take it to another agency.
You can contact:
- your local Member of Parliament (MP)
- the Ombudsman, or
- the Privacy Commissioner (if it's a complaint about privacy)