Temporary Additional Support

Who can get it

You may get Temporary Additional Support if you:

• are over 16
• are a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
• normally live in New Zealand and intend to stay here
• have essential living costs that you have no other way to pay for
• are not already getting Special Benefit.

It also depends on:

• how much you and your partner earn
• any money or assets you and your partner have
• whether we can help you in other ways
• the types of costs you're paying for
• what you're doing to reduce your costs or increase your income.

Check if you can get Temporary Additional Support

To find out if you could get Temporary Additional Support and what else you might qualify for, use our 'Check what you might get' tool.

How much you can get

How much you get depends on your situation and it can be paid for up to 13 weeks.

How to apply

What application form you fill out depends on what payments you’re already getting from us.

You may be granted financial assistance from the date you request it. If you can't apply online today, call us.

You have 20 working days from the date you first contact us to complete the application process.

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.

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. Find out more here.

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.

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. You'll also need to provide proof of your costs.

You can get your application form 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 Temporary Additional Support application form. You'll also need to provide proof of your costs.

You can get your application form 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.

Getting Temporary Additional Support for more than 13 weeks

Temporary Additional Support is paid for 13 weeks. If you still need it after 13 weeks, you have to re-apply.

Already getting Temporary Additional Support and costs change

If you're already getting Temporary Additional Support and your costs change, you need to let us know.

If you're not sure what costs are included in your Temporary Additional Support, you can check in MyMSD.