Young Parent Payment

You may get the Young Parent Payment if you:

• are 16-19 years old
• have a dependent child or children
• are a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
• normally live in New Zealand and intend to stay here.

You must also:

• be in, or available for, full time education, training or work-based learning leading towards an NCEA level 2 qualification, or an equivalent or higher qualification
• be in a teen parent unit if your child is one year old, or from six months old if there is a place available for you
• work with a Youth Service provider who will help you manage your money
• attend a budgeting course
• attend a parenting course to develop your parenting skills
• enrol your child (or children) at a medical centre or with a doctor
• register your children under five with a WellChild, like Plunket, and make sure they have regular checkups with this provider
• have your child (or children) attend Early Childhood Education or other suitable childcare when you are in education, training or work-based learning or part-time work.

We know you may not be able to do some of these things due to COVID-19. We'll talk to you about this when you apply.

You're single

If you're single and 16 or 17, you may only get Young Parent Payment if you either:

• have a parental support gap
• are living at home with, or being financially supported by, your parents or guardians and they earn less than the Family Tax Credit income cut-off point, or
• are divorced, your civil union has been dissolved, or you have separated from your de-facto partner.

You are considered to have a parental support gap if either:

• you have left the care of Oranga Tamariki - Ministry for Children, or
• your parents or guardian can't support you. This could be because they are in prison, in hospital, deceased, or overseas, or
• your relationship with your parents or guardians has broken down and no one can support you financially, or
• there is a good reason why you can no longer live with your parents or guardian, or be supported by them or anyone else.

You would not be considered to have a parental support gap if you have the option of living with a parent or guardian but choose not to without a good and sufficient reason.

You're in a relationship

If you're married, in a civil union or de facto relationship, you may get Young Parent Payment as long as you're not in a relationship with a specified beneficiary

If you or your partner are 16 or 17, a Family Court Judge must consent to your relationship. You'll need to show us the court order from the Family Court Judge.

Before 14 August 2018, we accepted written consent from the parents of the 16-17 year old. If you've already given the parents' consent to us before then, we can still use it. You don't need to get consent from a Family Court Judge.

Check if you can get Young Parent Payment

To find out if you could get Young Parent Payment and what else you might qualify for, use our 'Check what you might get' tool

How much you get depends on your situation.

You can apply online through MyMSD. We'll also check to see if you can get any other help from us based on the answers you give in your application.

If you want to get child support through Inland Revenue, you can apply through us when you complete your online application. Or you can apply through Inland Revenue. Any child support payments you get will be counted as income for your benefit.

Once you've submitted your online form, we'll call if there's anything else you need to do.

Parent/caregiver involvement

When you apply for a Young Parent Payment, we usually discuss your situation with your parents or caregivers. There are some circumstances when this won't happen, for example, if you're married or in a civil union.

Most young people are better off if they finish their education or are in training for future work. When you apply, we'll call you to talk about what education or training you'll return to, start or continue doing.