Jobseeker Support obligations
There are things you need to do when you're getting a Jobseeker Support benefit. These are called obligations. If you don't do them, your benefit could reduce or stop.
Overview of your obligations
- You have an obligation to find or prepare for work – this means you must:
- look for full-time work, or
- look for part-time work, if you have a health condition, injury or disability that means you can only work part-time, or
- prepare for work, if you have a health condition, injury or disability that means you can’t work or can only work less than 15 hours a week.
- You have an obligation to tell us if something changes.
- If you're taking care of dependent children, you have social obligations.
- If we ask you to, you have an obligation to take part in a Work Ability Assessment or to work with a contracted service provider.
These obligations are detailed on this page below.
If you have a partner there are things they'll need to do as well.
Obligations in detail
Select the relevant heading below to find out more about each obligation.
Find or prepare for work
Open transcript
Narrator [0:02] "If you're getting Jobseeker Support, you might have heard the phrases 'work obligations' and 'traffic light system'. And you're probably wondering 'what are those?'.
[Woman smiles and points to 2 phrases. A speech bubbles appears with the words "What are those?" in it.]
Narrator [0:11] "To meet your work-related obligations, you have to do things like be available and looking for full or part-time work"
[Man talks to a group of people at a Kōrero Mahi seminar. The words "1. What to do?" are next to tick boxes for "Full-time" and "Part-time", and the cursor ticks them both, alongside photo of a job listing on the Kimi Mahi Mai website]
Narrator [0:18] "Take reasonable steps to get a suitable job like writing a CV and applying for jobs"
[The words "2. Take reasonable steps to get a suitable job" are shown, then a laptop with a draft CV on it, and someone using a laptop to search for jobs on the Kimi Mahi Mai - Find a Job website]
Narrator [0:25] "Work with us to plan your job search and do activities we refer you to"
[The words "3. Work with us to plan your job search" and 2 woman sitting at a desk and talking. A man standing and talking to a group in a Kōrero Mahi seminar]
Narrator [0:29] "like seminars, training courses, work experience or work assessments."
[Man talks to a group of people at a Kōrero Mahi seminar, and the word "Seminars" appears. A woman points to information on a wall, and the words "Training courses" appear. A woman sits at desk and smiles, and the words "Work experience" appear. A man and a woman sit at a table and talk, and the words "Work assessment" appear]
Narrator [0:35] "Meet with our case managers and tell us how your job search is going and what you've been doing to find and prepare for work."
[The words "4. Meet with our case managers" and a man smiling and waving. People sitting at desks in a Work and Income office, and the words "Tell us how your job search is going", zooming in on 2 men talking, and the words "Find and prepare for work"]
Narrator [0:43] "Go to job interviews and accept any offer of suitable work"
[The words "5. Go to job interviews and accept any offer of suitable work", and a woman holding paper and talking to another person]
Narrator [0:47] "Take and pass any pre-employment drug tests your potential employer or training provider asks for."
[An animation of a urine drug test cup, the words "6. Pre-employment tests", and the cursor ticks 3 boxes with lines next to them]
Narrator [0:53] "You may need to attend a workability assessment"
[The words "Work ability assessment" with 4 lines under with ticks next to them]
Narrator [0:56] "and you may need to take part in activities with our service providers to find a job or prepare for work."
[2 icons representing people, using speech bubbles to show a conversation, with the last speech bubble showing a smiley face]
Narrator [1:04] "There's a full list of obligations on our website"
[A laptop with the Work and Income website open on it, with a web page about obligations]
Narrator [1:07] "So that's what work-related obligations are. Now back to the traffic light system."
[The words "Work-related obligations" and a box next to it that the cursor ticks. 3 circles, in green, orange and red, with the words "Traffic light system"]
Narrator [1:13] "The traffic light system is an easy way to help you stay on track with some of your obligations."
[3 circles, in green, orange and red]
Narrator [1:18] "If you're at Green you're on track and meeting your obligations."
[3 circles, in green, orange and red. The cursor clicks on the green circle, which turns a darker green and a tick appears next to it]
Narrator [1:22] "If you don't meet one of your obligations and you don't have a good reason, you'll move to Orange. This means you need to contact us straight away."
[3 circles, in green, orange and red. The words "don't meet one of your obligations" appear. The cursor clicks on the orange circle, which turns a darker orange, and an exclamation mark appears. An animation of a cellphone appears, showing the keypad and the phone number 0800 559 009]
Narrator [1:31] "If you don't contact us and get back on track within 5 working days you'll move to red."
[The words "Within 5 days" and a phone icon appear next to the orange circle. The cursor move to the reed circle, which turns a darker red]
Narrator [1:37] "At red your benefit is reduced or stopped, so contact us immediately to get back on track."
[The green and orange circles disappear, and the red circle moves to the left. The words "Your benefit will reduce or stop" appear. A man's hands are shown dialling the Work and Income phone number into a cellphone]
Narrator [1:45] "We've got a tonne of different ways we can help you to meet your obligations and stay at Green."
[2 men sitting at a desk, talking and laughing. The 3 circles, with the green circle in a dark green, and a tick next to it]
Narrator [1:50] "If you'd like help understanding your obligations or the traffic light system read more on our website."
[The words "Work-related obligations", "Traffic light system" and "www.workandincome.govt.nz", and "Search" appear. The cursor clicks on "Search", and the screen changes to show the logos of the Ministry of Social Development, Work and Income, and the words "www.workandincome.govt.nz"]
Full-time work obligations
You'll generally be expected to look for work of at least 30 hours a week, unless you have a health condition or disability that means you can't work full-time.
If you have full-time work obligations, you need to:
- be available for and take reasonable steps to get a suitable job
- take any offer of suitable full-time, part-time or temporary work, or work that is seasonal or subsidised
- attend and take part in any suitable job interviews we ask you to
- take and pass any drug test potential employers or training providers require
- attend and take part in interviews with Work and Income as required
- work with us to plan how you'll find a suitable job
- take part in any other activities we refer you to that will improve your work readiness or help you get work, such as:
- creating a Jobseeker profile, and keeping this up to date
- job training courses
- Kōrero Mahi work seminars
- work experience
- work assessments (including rehabilitation, but not medical treatment)
- let us know how you're meeting your work obligations as often as we reasonably require.
Part-time work obligations
If you have a health condition, injury or disability that means you can only work part-time, you'll need to look for work of at least 15 hours a week.
If you have part-time work obligations, you need to:
- be available for and take reasonable steps to get a suitable part-time job
- take any offer of suitable part-time or temporary work, or work that is seasonal or subsidised
- attend and take part in any suitable job interviews we ask you to
- take and pass any drug test potential employers or training providers require
- attend and take part in interviews with us as required
- work with us to plan how you'll find a suitable job
- take part in any other activities that we refer you to, such as creating a Jobseeker profile and keeping it up to date, and attending any job training courses, seminars, work experience or work assessments (including rehabilitation, but not medical treatment) that will improve your work readiness or help you get work
- let us know how you're meeting your work obligations as often as we reasonably require.
Work preparation obligations
If you have a health condition, injury or disability that means you're unable to work, or can only work fewer than 15 hours a week, you won't be asked to meet work obligations until your situation changes.
In the meantime, you have the following work preparation obligations to:
- take reasonable steps to prepare and plan for work
- attend and take part in work preparation interviews, where we ask you to
- attend and take part in work related activities or programmes such as a creating a Jobseeker Profile and keeping it up to date, work assessment, a programme or seminar to increase particular skills or enhance motivation where we ask you to
- attend and take part in any other activity that we require you to (including rehabilitation but not medical treatment, voluntary work or activity in the community).
Tell us if something changes
You must tell us immediately if you:
- have a change in your work situation, e.g. start part-time, casual or full-time work (paid or unpaid)
- become self-employed or start a business
- plan to travel overseas
- start or finish study - part-time or full-time
- have a boarder or renter that moves in or out, or the payments you get from them change
- have a change of personal details, e.g. your:
- name
- address
- contact details
- bank account number
- have changes to your living situation, e.g:
- marriage or separation
- starting or ending a civil union
- starting or ending a de facto relationship
- change in the number of children you support
- have a change in accommodation costs
- are imprisoned or held in custody on remand
- are admitted to or discharged from hospital
- are granted an overseas pension
- have any other change that may affect your benefit entitlement or rate.
Take part in Work Ability Assessments
When it has been agreed, you have an obligation to attend and participate in a Work Ability Assessment.
Take part in activities with our service providers
When it has been agreed that you will work with a Contracted Service Provider, you have an obligation to co-operate with them and to:
- attend and participate in any interview with them
- report to them on how you're meeting your obligations
- complete assessments with them.
If you don't meet your obligations
If there's any reason why you can't meet your obligations, talk to us straight away. If you don't meet your obligations without good and sufficient reason, your benefit could be reduced or stopped.
We have a traffic light colour system to help you stay on track with your work-related and social obligations. It lets you know where you're at and what you need to do.
Go to the 'Traffic light system' page to find out what happens if you don't meet the following obligations:
- find or prepare for work
- take part in Work Ability Assessments
- take part in activities with our service providers
- social obligations (when taking care of dependent children).
Go to the 'When you don't meet your obligations' page to find out what happens if you don't meet your obligation for telling us if something changes.