Child Disability Allowance
Child Disability Allowance is a fortnightly payment made to the main carer of a child or young person with a serious disability. It is paid in recognition of the extra care and attention needed for that child.
Who can get it
You may get a Child Disability Allowance if:
- you are the main carer of the child (or if there is no main carer, you have care of the child for the time being)
- you are a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
- the child has been assessed as needing constant care and attention for 12 months or more because of a serious disability, and
- the child or young person is under 18.
Both you and the child should also normally live in New Zealand and intend to stay here.
You may be able to get both the Child Disability Allowance and the Disability Allowance for the same child.
When you can't get this payment
You can't get a Child Disability Allowance if:
- the child you're looking after is in the care of Oranga Tamariki, or
- the child already gets a benefit (unless they get the Orphan's Benefit or Unsupported Child's Benefit).
If the child is 16 or over, they may be able to get Supported Living Payment instead.
Check if you can get Child Disability Allowance
To find out if you could get Child Disability Allowance and what else you might qualify for, use our 'Check what you might get' tool.
How much you can get
The Child Disability Allowance is $62.43 a week for each child who qualifies. This is a set amount and doesn't depend on your income, assets or costs. This allowance is paid into your bank account every 2 weeks and is paid separately from any other assistance you may get.
In most cases, it won't affect any other assistance you may get from us.
How to apply
You may be granted financial assistance from the date you request it. Contact us now if you haven't already done so.
You have 20 working days from the date you first contact us to complete the application process.
You need to complete the Child Disability Allowance application form. Your child's health practitioner (e.g. doctor) also needs to complete the medical certificate inside this form. The form tells you what documents you need to provide.
If you can't print the form out, you can call us to get one sent to you.
You can bring the completed form into a service centre.
If you can’t bring the form into a service centre, call us to find out how to get it to us.
If this is your first time applying for a benefit or ongoing payment, you need to bring your original government-issued ID into a service centre so we can check it. Checking ID in person helps us make sure we give support to the right person and protect your identity.
Alternate formats
Open transcript
This video content covers the same details as the factsheets on Child Disability Allowance.
Open transcript
This audio content covers the same details as the factsheets on Child Disability Allowance.