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Work homepage
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Overview
Find out what services we can offer to help you find work and when you start a new job.
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Looking for work
We have jobs available now in various industries and you can search on our job websites.
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Help with your job search
From advice on making a plan, to tips on where to look and following up leads.
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Training and experience
Our programmes can help you get ready for work with training and work experience.
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Job Connect on Facebook
Find out how we can help you get ready to work, find work, and support available while you're working.
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CVs and cover letters
We’ve got great templates and advice for writing your CV or cover letter, and filling out job applications.
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Help with work costs
Get help to pay for the things you need to start work
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Job support and advice
Get all the support and advice you need to stay in work.
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Health and disability
If you want to work, we can support you to find the right job for you.
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Start your own business
We can help you get your business up and running.
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Job interviews
Get advice about how to prepare for and deliver a great interview.
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Help for 16-19 year olds
We’ve got extra support for young people to get ready for work and find a job.
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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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16-19 year olds
Education, training, work and benefit help for 16-19 year olds
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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
Going on holiday or going to live overseas
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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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Move house
Find out how we can help if you’re moving house.
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Stand-down periods
Information about stand-down periods and how long they are.
What a stand-down is
Most weekly benefits have a stand-down.
This is a period of time where you can't get any money from us. It's usually 1 or 2 weeks after your application is approved.
Example
- Your application is approved from Monday 3 January 2022
- You have a 2 week stand-down period
- Your payments start from Monday 17 January 2022.
Left your job voluntarily or fired for misconduct
If you've left your job without a good reason or have been fired for misconduct, you may still need to wait up to 13 weeks before your payments start.
This 13 week period is a non-entitlement period, not a stand-down.
Redundancy pay
If you're made redundant and get redundancy pay, you'll have a stand-down of 1 or 2 weeks. It depends how much your redundancy pay is.
The stand-down period for redundancy pay has changed over time. If you've had a redundancy payment, you can ask us to check if we treated this correctly when working out your stand-down period.
When your payments start
Your payments will start from the date after your stand-down finishes. If you've been working recently, your payments may take longer to start, it depends on your situation.
Once your payments start, you won't get any money in the first week. This is because we pay you for the week that's just been. This is called arrears.
When you don't have a stand-down
You won't have a stand-down if:
- you transfer from one benefit to another
- your benefit is suspended and then resumed again
- your benefit is cancelled because you find a job and then you go back on a benefit within 26 weeks.
You also won't have a stand-down if you get New Zealand Superannuation or Veteran's Pension.
If you need money during your stand-down period to pay for urgent or unexpected costs, we might be able to help.
Work out how long your stand-down is
How long your stand-down is depends on:
- your average weekly income (before tax) in the last 26 or 52 weeks, and
- the number of children you have.
If you have a partner, we'll base the stand-down on whoever has the highest income in the last 26 or 52 weeks. We'll only use one income to work out the stand-down period.