Disability Allowance

Who can get it

You may get a Disability Allowance if you:

• have a disability that is likely to last at least 6 months
• have regular, ongoing costs because of your disability that are not fully covered by another agency
• are a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
• normally live in New Zealand and intend to stay here.

It also depends on how much you and your partner earn.

The income limits for Disability Allowance are:

Your situation	Weekly income limits before tax
Single 16-17 years	$588.98
Single 18+ years	$733.72
Couple (with or without children)	$1,092.55
Sole parent 1 child	$821.43
Sole parent 2+ children	$865.46

Your child has a disability

You can apply on behalf of a child if they're 18 or under and financially dependent on you.

You may be able to get both the Disability Allowance and the Child Disability Allowance for the same child.

You can't get a Disability Allowance if you get Board payments from Oranga Tamariki for the child.

Check if you can get Disability Allowance

Find out if you might get this benefit, and what other financial assistance may be available to you.

The information provided in this page is a guide only. Contact us to talk about your individual circumstances.

How much you can get

We pay up to a maximum of $70.04 a week for Disability Allowance. This payment is not taxed.

How much you get depends on the extra costs you have because of your disability.

How it's paid

The Disability Allowance is usually paid straight into your bank account with any other payments you get from us. This could be weekly or fortnightly, it depends when you get paid.

If you don't get any payments from us, it will be paid to you weekly.

What we pay for

The Disability Allowance can help pay for a number of things. Your health practitioner (eg, your doctor) will need to confirm you need them because of your disability.

Here are some of the costs we may be able to help with. You'll need to provide proof of your costs so keep all your receipts.

Examples of costs we may help with...	Proof you'll need to provide
Doctor's, specialist's and hospital fees that aren't already subsidised	Receipts or invoices showing the date, cost and reason for your visit
Prescription fees	Receipts or print-outs from your chemist showing the date, cost, the item you received and whether it's subsidised
Travel to your doctor, specialist, hospital or counsellor	Tickets or receipts showing the date, cost and how you travelled (if you travelled in your own car, we need to know the cc rating of your car and how far you travelled)
Heating	Your summer and winter electricity bills
Medical alarm rental and monitoring	The Disability Allowance - Medical Assessment for Medical Alarm form completed by a health practitioner, and the contract or receipt for the installation/rental of the medical alarm.

How to apply

We can grant you the financial assistance you’re entitled to from the date you first contact us if you complete your application within 20 working days of that date.

Before you start

Applying for someone else

You can apply for a Disability Allowance on someone else's behalf, but only if they've filled out a form to appoint you as their agent.

You can apply on behalf of a child if they're 18 or under and financially dependent on you.

Applying for counselling or medical alarm costs

If you're applying for counselling or medical alarm costs, there are extra forms to complete:

• Counselling - you, your doctor and counsellor also need to complete a Disability Certificate - Counselling form
• Medical alarms - your doctor also needs to complete a Disability Allowance - Medical Alarm Assessment form

Your doctor should have these forms at their office. If they don't, you can either:

• pick one up from your nearest service centre, or
• call us 0800 559 009 and we'll send one out to you.

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New client or only getting childcare payments

If you're not getting any payments from us, or only getting childcare payments, you can either:

• apply online through MyMSD, or
• fill out an Extra Help application form.

If you can't apply online or fill out the form, call us on 0800 559 009.

Apply online

1. Apply online through MyMSD. We'll check if you can get any other payments at the same time.
2. Provide proof of your costs. You can upload this to MyMSD as part of your online application.
3. Get your doctor to complete the Disability Certificate. They should have this form at their office. If they don't, you can either:
   • pick one up from your nearest service centre
   • call us 0800 559 009 and we'll send one out to you.
4. Get the Disability Certificate (and any other forms) to us by either:
   • dropping it in to your nearest service centre
   • posting it to your nearest service centre, or
   • uploading it to MyMSD (you'll need to call us first).

After you've applied we may book an appointment with you if we need more information. This could be a phone appointment or a face-to-face appointment.

Fill out application form

You can fill out the Extra Help application form. Your health practitioner (eg, your doctor) will need to complete the Disability Certificate inside this form. You'll also need to provide proof of your costs.

You can get your application form/s and proof of costs to us by either:

• dropping them in to your nearest service centre
• posting them to your nearest service centre, or
• uploading them to MyMSD (you'll need to call us first).

After you've applied we may book an appointment with you if we need more information. This could be a phone appointment or a face-to-face appointment.

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Existing client

If you're already getting payments from us, eg, a benefit or Accommodation Supplement, you can complete a Disability Allowance application form.

Your health practitioner (eg, your doctor) will need to complete the Disability Certificate inside this form. You'll also need to provide proof of your costs.

You can get your application form/s and proof of costs to us by either:

• dropping them in to your nearest service centre
• posting them to your nearest service centre, or
• uploading them to MyMSD (you'll need to call us first).

After you've applied we may book an appointment with you if we need more information. This could be a phone appointment or a face-to-face appointment.

If you can't fill out the form, call us on 0800 559 009.

Already getting Disability Allowance and costs change

If you're already getting Disability Allowance and your costs change, you need to let us know.

If you're not sure what costs are included in your Disability Allowance, you can check in MyMSD.

When your Disability Allowance is reviewed, we need to see proof of any costs that have increased or are new. Ask us for a Disability Allowance file to keep your receipts in.