How to apply for Apprenticeship Boost

If this is not your first application for Apprenticeship Boost, you'll need to reconfirm your details to apply for your next payment.

Step 1: Set up a business MyIR account

You'll need a business MyIR account. If you don't already have a MyIR account, you can register for one on the Inland Revenue website.

We'll use your MyIR account to validate some of your details when you apply.

Step 2: Your apprentice completes an Apprentice Consent form

Your apprentice will need to sign a consent form. They need to consent to their information being used and shared with other agencies.

This is the only consent form that we'll accept. Variations or older versions won't be accepted and will delay payments.

Hold onto this consent form, you'll need this for step 4.

Step 3: Sign-up to create an Apprenticeship Boost account

You'll need to create an online Apprenticeship Boost account with us.

You'll need to tell us your business:

• legal name
• trading name
• Inland Revenue number
• email address (the same one you use in your MyIR account).

We'll send your information to Inland Revenue to be validated. We send this at 5PM, and we'll email you the next day to let you know our account has been activated, with instructions on how to make an application. If you create your account after 5PM, we'll email you within 2 days.

If you have multiple businesses

You'll need to sign-up for each business. You'll need to sign-up using the same email address that's linked to that business in MyIR.

When we validate your information with Inland Revenue, we'll link together any of your businesses that use the same email address. This means you'll have one Apprenticeship Boost account for all your businesses.

You'll only be able to manage one business at a time in your account. If you want to manage a different one, you'll need to log out, log back in, and select that business.

Can't create an account to get started

If you've tried to create an online account and haven't been able to, check:

• you have a MyIR account
• you've entered the correct IR number
• you've used the same email address that you've used in your MyIR account
• in your spam folder, in case your activation code has been sent here.

If you check these things and still can't create an account, you can contact us by email at Apprenticeship_Boost@msd.govt.nz or by calling us on 0800 673 227.

Step 4: Fill out your application details

Once your Apprenticeship Boost account has been activated, you'll need to set up a password. Instructions on how and where to do this will be in your email from us.

We'll ask for some information about your business and your apprentices. If you have one Apprenticeship Boost account for multiple businesses, you'll be asked to choose which one of your businesses you want to enter details for. To enter details for your other businesses you'll need to log out of your account, log in again, and choose the next business to enter details for.

Make sure the information you provide is correct and complete - this will help us process your application as quickly as possible.

Employer details

In the 'Employer details' section, you'll need to tell us:

• Your business address
• Your contact details
• Your business bank account number
• Your New Zealand Business Number
• Whether your business is GST registered.

Employees

In the 'Employees' section, you'll need to enter each of your apprentice's:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Inland Revenue number
• Tertiary Education Organisation (TEO) that they're registered with
• Industry apprenticeship that they're training for
• Apprenticeship start date (if you know this).

You'll also need to upload your apprentice's signed consent form. If you have more than one apprentice, each consent form will need to be uploaded separately. To upload the form, you'll need to:

• scan or take a photo of the form (make sure we can see and read all parts of it)
• go to 'Choose file' and select your file.

When you've entered your employee's details, you'll get a message saying your employee was successfully created. You'll need to do this for each employee. We'll verify your employee's apprenticeship training details. We'll send you a message to let you know when this is done - after that, you can continue to step 5.

Note: You need to complete your application within 20 working days of creating your account. If you don't, your payments may start later.

Step 5: Confirm your payment

Once your apprentice's details have been verified, you'll need to log back into your account and go to the 'Payments' section. In here, you'll need to find your latest payment period, and select 'Confirm Payment'. You'll be asked to confirm these details are correct, before your payment is processed.

What happens next

Once we've processed your application, we'll message you to let you know the outcome.

If your application is approved

You'll get your first month's payment once your application is approved. This is paid in advance and covers one month.

If you completed your application within 20 working days of creating your account, your payment start date will be the day you created your account. If you completed your application 20 working days or more after you created your account, your payment start date will be the day you completed your application.

You can log back into your account at any time to:

• check payment details
• view your GST invoice
• read any messages we've sent you.

If your application is declined

You can check online to see which of your apprentices we have not approved.

If you think we've made the wrong decision, you can ask for a review of this decision.

Adding another email address to your account

You can add more than one email address to your account, for example if other people in your business need access to your Apprenticeship Boost account as well.

To do this you'll need to:

• Complete step 3 (above) again. You'll need to tell us the new email address you'd like to add. All the other details must be the same as the details you entered when you first created your account.
• We'll email you to let you know this has been activated - follow the link in this email to log in.
• You'll need to set a new password - this password will be unique to this email address.
• Our system will link your existing Apprenticeship Boost account to your new email address, and you'll be able to access your account.

After you've done this you'll be able to log into your Apprenticeship Boost account using both your original email and your new one.