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Benefits and payments homepage
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Overview
Take a look at the range of benefits and payments we have available.
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Not working
Redundancy, health condition or disability or another reason you can’t work
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Living expenses
Food, school costs, power, accommodation or other living expenses you need help with
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Relationship changes
You’ve had a relationship break-up, family breakdown or violent relationship end
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Health and Disability
Counselling, prescription and GP costs, medical alarms and other costs we can help with
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Seniors
Travelling overseas, how to apply, payment rates and dates, overseas pensions, income and other info for Seniors
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Caring
Caring for someone else’s child or someone with a health condition, injury or disability
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Urgent or unexpected costs
Dental, glasses, car repairs, fridge, washing machine, funeral or other urgent costs you need help with
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Children
Childcare, school uniforms, stationery, having a baby and other costs if you have children
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Payment issues
Fixing issues with Accommodation Supplement, Special Benefit and other payments we’ve made
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16-19 year olds
Education, training, work and benefit help for 16-19 year olds
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Benefits and forms
A-Z list of benefits, forms, benefit rates
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Work homepage
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Overview
Find out what services we can offer to help you find work and when you start a new job.
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Looking for work
We have jobs available now in various industries and you can search on our job websites.
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Help with your job search
From advice on making a plan, to tips on where to look and following up leads.
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Training and experience
Our programmes can help you get ready for work with training and work experience.
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Apprenticeship Support Programme
Get help to retain and bring on new apprentices.
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CVs and cover letters
We’ve got great templates and advice for writing your CV or cover letter, and filling out job applications.
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Help with work costs
Get help to pay for the things you need to start work
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Job support and advice
Get all the support and advice you need to stay in work.
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Health and disability
If you want to work, we can support you to find the right job for you.
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Start your own business
We can help you get your business up and running.
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Job interviews
Get advice about how to prepare for and deliver a great interview.
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Help for 16-19 year olds
We’ve got extra support for young people to get ready for work and find a job.
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On a benefit homepage
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Overview
Check out what you need to do when you're getting a benefit or other payment from us.
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Something's changed
Address, contact details, overseas travel, childcare, relationship or anything else that’s changed.
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Income
Declare income, wages deduction calculator and tables
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Childcare
Change in your childcare situation, continue childcare payments, cohort entry schools and other childcare information
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Re-apply
Re-apply for Jobseeker Support, Sole Parent Support, Temporary Additional Support and more
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Payments
Check or stop your payments, payment cards and other information
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Debt
Check your debt, repayments and other debt information
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Rights and responsibilities
Our commitment to you, obligations, complaints, benefit fraud and more
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Housing homepage
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Overview
Find out how we can help you with housing.
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Nowhere to stay
Get help if you have nowhere to stay right now.
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Find a house
Find out where to look for private housing, or apply for public (social) housing.
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Living in your home
Get help with accommodation costs, and advice on any housing issues and public housing tenancies.
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Move house
Find out how we can help if you’re moving house.
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COVID-19 support for employers
Find out about business support during COVID-19. You can apply for financial support to contribute to the costs of the wages or salaries of your employees or yourself, if you're self-employed.
You can apply for support if your employees need to self-isolate, as long as you meet the criteria and agree to meet your obligations. The support payments you can apply for are to contribute to the costs of the wages or salaries of your employees. You can also apply if you are self-employed.
Your employees can't apply for these payments. You need to name the employees you are applying for when you make your application.
If you get payments from these support schemes, you must continue to pay the wages or salaries of the employees named in your application. This is set out in the declaration you make when you apply.
Whatever you do, you still need to stick to employment law and privacy law.
If you have questions, you can call us on 0800 40 80 40.
Payments available for employers
Employers or self-employed people can apply for these payments to help pay wages or salary. There’s no revenue test, as there was with the COVID-19 Wage Subsidies.
COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme
Help to pay wages or salary costs for an employee who can't work from home and must self-isolate. The reason they are self-isolating must be based on public health guidance or advice from a medical practitioner – read the full details of who can get the Leave Support Scheme.
Self-employed people can also apply for the Leave Support Scheme.
COVID-19 Short-Term Absence Payment
Help to pay wages or salary costs if your employee can't work while waiting for a COVID-19 PCR test result. This helps your employee stay at home if they or their dependants are waiting for a COVID-19 PCR test result.
Self-employed people can apply for the Short-Term Absence Payment too.
You can't get the Short-Term Absence Payment when you or your employee take a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) because the results are quick. If you or your employee test positive you will be able to apply for the Leave Support Scheme.
Already applied
We need to check the information you've given us is the same as what's held by Inland Revenue. If it isn't, there could be a delay.
If you have questions, you can call us on 0800 40 80 40. Please don’t call us to check the status of your application.
COVID-19 support that has ended
Some COVID-19 payments that support employers, employees and others have ended. This includes the COVID-19 Wage Subsidies.
Legal obligations
As an employer, you need to stick to the law during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Employment law and privacy law still apply during COVID-19, even at different traffic light settings. Your employees still have legal rights you must meet. Your tax may also be affected if you get COVID-19 support.
Employment agreements
You need to stick to employment law and employment agreements you already have. This includes how much you normally pay your employees.
If you want to change the employment agreement of any of your employees, you first need to discuss this with them. Your employees need to agree to any changes to their employment agreements, and any changes must be in writing.
Employment New Zealand has guides for leave and pay, health and safety, and workplace changes.
Consent and privacy
When you apply for COVID-19 payments that need the personal details of your employees, you need to stick to privacy laws.
When you apply, you need to:
- first get consent from any employees whose names you give
- tell these named employees what happens with your application.
You need to make sure any employees you name in your applications understand:
- we may share their information with other government departments and other organisations
- they can ask to see your application information under the Privacy Act 2020.
Applying for COVID-19 payments
Each time you apply for any COVID-19 business support, you make a declaration. The declaration includes the:
- criteria you need to meet to apply
- need to prepare and keep evidence to support your application
- repayment process if you find you don’t need the payments or weren’t eligible for the payments
- obligation that you use the money to pay your named employees.
If you do not follow the requirements in the declaration you make, you may face civil proceedings or criminal prosecution.
Tax obligations
If you get any COVID-19 payments, your business and personal taxes may be affected. Inland Revenue can help you understand more about your taxes during COVID-19.
This is a summary only. If there is any difference between the information on this page and the information in the relevant declaration, the declaration prevails.