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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, review or renew
Re-apply for a payment, review circumstances, renew medical certificate 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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loginStand-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 6 January 2025
- You have a 2 week stand-down period
- Your payments start from Monday 20 January 2025.
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.
If you need money during your stand-down period to pay for urgent or unexpected costs, we might be able to help. Urgent or unexpected costs
Left your job voluntarily or fired for misconduct
If you've left your job without a good reason or you've 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 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.
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.