What's new

Funeral Grant - reasonable funeral expenses

From 8 December 2025, the Funeral Grant policy intent has been updated. Reasonable funeral expenses are no longer limited to costs associated with the proper disposal of a body. MSD may now determine any funeral cost to be reasonable if it is:

• related to the proper disposal of the deceased's body
• associated with tikanga practices related to tangihanga
• related to any service or ceremony including those that are cultural, spiritual, or religious practices or customs in respect or commemoration of the person who has died

A cost that does not fit into one of these categories may still be included in the Funeral Grant assessment if MSD determines it to be reasonable.

See:

• Funeral Grant
• Reasonable funeral expenses
• Determining if a funeral cost is reasonable
• Funeral costs
• Costs that are not related to a funeral
• Deceased person died in New Zealand but their funeral is overseas
• Deceased person died overseas

Income test

We have also clarified that the income test applies to any surviving partner or parents of a deceased child including those who are getting a main benefit. See:

• Income test for parents
• Income test for surviving partner

Additional updates have been made throughout the manual to improve existing guidance and to ensure consistency. See:

• Terminal benefit
• Deceased child
• Payment
• Calculation of Funeral Grant payment
• Examples
• Total assessable assets
• Asset test - deceased person with surviving partner
• Asset test - deceased child
• Assessable estate of the deceased person

Housing Support Products - Pet Bonds

Map has been updated to include information about Pet Bonds. This reflects changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 from 1 December 2025. It clarifies when MSD can consider a Bond Grant for Pet Bond costs for a new tenancy, during a tenancy, and at renewal of a tenancy. There is no new assistance for Pet Bonds, and the maximum Bond Grant hasn't been increased. See:

• Assessing a Bond Grant

Residence criteria

A new topic has been added in core policy setting out the standard residence criteria that apply to most types of assistance. See:

• Residence

This common information will be removed from other parts of Map, which will retain only the residence rules that are particular or exceptional for that assistance. These updates will start with main benefits in the next few months.