Skip to main content
background pattern
Work and income | Te Hiranga Tangata
  • COVID-19 support
  • Employers
  • Providers
  • Go to MyMSD login
  • Benefits and payments homepage

    • Overview

      Take a look at the range of benefits and payments we have available.

    • Not working

      Redundancy, health condition or disability or another reason you can’t work

    • Living expenses

      Food, school costs, power, accommodation or other living expenses you need help with

    • Relationship changes

      You’ve had a relationship break-up, family breakdown or violent relationship end

    • Health and Disability

      Counselling, prescription and GP costs, medical alarms and other costs we can help with

    • Seniors

      Travelling overseas, how to apply, payment rates and dates, overseas pensions, income and other info for Seniors

    • Caring

      Caring for someone else’s child or someone with a health condition, injury or disability

    • Urgent or unexpected costs

      Dental, glasses, car repairs, fridge, washing machine, funeral or other urgent costs you need help with

    • Children

      Childcare, school uniforms, stationery, having a baby and other costs if you have children

    • Payment issues

      Fixing issues with Accommodation Supplement, Special Benefit and other payments we’ve made

    • 16-19 year olds

      Education, training, work and benefit help for 16-19 year olds

    • Benefits and forms

      A-Z list of benefits, forms, benefit rates

  • Work homepage

    • Overview

      Find out what services we can offer to help you find work and when you start a new job.

    • Looking for work

      We have jobs available now in various industries and you can search on our job websites.

    • Help with your job search

      From advice on making a plan, to tips on where to look and following up leads.

    • Training and experience

      Our programmes can help you get ready for work with training and work experience.

    • Apprenticeship Support Programme

      Get help to retain and bring on new apprentices.

    • CVs and cover letters

      We’ve got great templates and advice for writing your CV or cover letter, and filling out job applications.

    • Help with work costs

      Get help to pay for the things you need to start work

    • Job support and advice

      Get all the support and advice you need to stay in work.

    • Health and disability

      If you want to work, we can support you to find the right job for you.

    • Start your own business

      We can help you get your business up and running.

    • Job interviews

      Get advice about how to prepare for and deliver a great interview.

    • Help for 16-19 year olds

      We’ve got extra support for young people to get ready for work and find a job.

  • On a benefit homepage

    • Overview

      Check out what you need to do when you're getting a benefit or other payment from us.

    • Something's changed

      Address, contact details, overseas travel, childcare, relationship or anything else that’s changed.

    • Income

      Declare income, wages deduction calculator and tables

    • Childcare

      Change in your childcare situation, continue childcare payments, cohort entry schools and other childcare information

    • Re-apply

      Re-apply for Jobseeker Support, Sole Parent Support, Temporary Additional Support and more

    • Payments

      Check or stop your payments, payment cards and other information

    • Debt

      Check your debt, repayments and other debt information

    • Rights and responsibilities

      Our commitment to you,  obligations, complaints, benefit fraud and more

  • Housing homepage

    • Overview

      Find out how we can help you with housing.

    • Nowhere to stay

      Get help if you have nowhere to stay right now.

    • Find a house

      Find out where to look for private housing, or apply for public (social) housing.

    • Living in your home

      Get help with accommodation costs, and advice on any housing issues and public housing tenancies.

    • Move house

      Find out how we can help if you’re moving house.

  • Go to the Work and Income home page
When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.
  • MyMSD login
  • Online Services
    • Apply online
    • Apply for NZ Super
    • Help while you’re self-isolating
    • MyMSD
    • Find a Job
    • Fixing some payment issues
    • Check what you might get
    • Supplier registration
    • List a job vacancy
  • Benefits and payments
    • Carers
      • Caring for someone with a health condition, injury or disability
      • Caring for a child with a disability
      • Caring for someone else's child
    • Children
      • Childcare
      • Having a baby
      • School costs
      • Caring for someone else's child
    • Emergencies
      • Civil defence emergency
      • Rural help
    • Health and disability
      • Vehicle modification
      • Contraception
      • Counselling
      • Dental treatment
      • Glasses
      • House modification
      • Medical alarms
      • Prescriptions and health practitioner costs
      • Residential care
      • Travel costs
    • Living expenses
      • Heating and power bills
      • Managing your money
    • You're not working
      • Redundancy
      • Health condition or disability
      • COVID-19 vaccination requirements
      • Fired or left
      • Deported to NZ
      • Released from prison
    • Relationships
      • Break-up
      • Family breakdown
      • Violent relationships
    • Seniors
      • NZ Super
      • Veterans Pension
      • Payment dates
      • Payment rates
    • Urgent costs
      • Food
      • Accommodation
      • Power, gas and water bills or heating
      • COVID-19 Vaccinations
      • Dental treatment
      • Glasses
      • Whiteware
      • Medical costs
      • House repairs and maintenance
      • Car repairs
      • Bereavement
      • Fire or theft
    • 16-19 year olds
  • Work
    • Job search
      • Where to look for jobs
      • 'Find a job' website
      • Job search by region
      • Seasonal work
      • Jobs in forestry
    • Apprenticeship Support Programme
    • CVs and cover letters
      • CV templates and tips
      • Cover letter template and tips
      • Applying for job tips
    • Training and work experience
      • Mana in Mahi
      • Limited Services Volunteer
      • Work Confidence programmes
      • Training
      • Voluntary work
      • Work experience
      • Creative Careers Service
    • Help with work costs
      • Moving for a job
      • Help when you're working
      • Starting your new job
      • Help to stay in work
    • Job interviews
      • Job interview tips
      • Preparing for a job interview
    • Job support and advice
      • Advice when you get a job
      • Advice once you start work
      • Support for women
      • Support for men
    • Health and disability job support
      • Help with job search and costs
      • Health and wellbeing support for work
      • Work and Supported Living Payment
      • Employment Service
      • Employment service for secondary school students
      • Training support funding
    • Start your own business
    • Job help for 16-19 year olds
  • On a benefit
    • Changes and income
      • Income
      • Change housing details
      • Relationships
      • Change bank account
      • Child enters or leaves your care
      • Change contact details
      • Overseas travel
    • Re-apply
      • Re-apply for Jobseeker Support
      • Re-apply for Sole Parent Support
      • Re-apply for TAS
    • Wages deduction tables
    • Obligations
      • Jobseeker Support obligations
      • Supported Living Payment obligations
      • Sole Parent Support obligations
      • When you don’t meet your obligations
    • Payments
      • Check your payments
      • Changes to your payments
      • Money management for youth clients
      • Stop your payments
      • Stop your childcare payments
      • Getting a Payment Card
      • Using your Payment Card
      • Balances and transactions on your Payment Card
      • Problems with your Payment Card
    • Debt
      • Pay debt from overseas
      • Pay debt from NZ
      • Pay debt when not on benefit
      • Pay debt while on a benefit
    • Childcare
      • Change in circumstances
      • Continuing pre-school childcare
      • Continuing childcare when your child's at school
      • Stop childcare
      • Childcare absences
      • Childcare centre closes due to COVID-19
      • Move to OSCAR
      • Extending childcare
      • Teacher only days
    • Having another child
    • Arrest warrants
    • Your rights and responsibilities
      • Have someone act on your behalf
      • Avoid benefit and housing fraud
      • Our commitment to you
      • Annual review
  • Housing
    • Nowhere to stay
      • Emergency housing
      • Escaping family violence
      • Leaving prison
    • Find a house
      • Who can get public housing
      • Apply for public housing
      • Waiting for public housing
      • Accepting a public housing offer
    • Living in your home
      • Housing costs
      • Living in public housing
    • Move house
      • Bond and rent in advance
      • Moving costs
      • Securing a private rental
      • Moving out of public housing
      • Transfer to another public housing property
  • Benefits, rates and forms
    • A-Z benefits
    • Benefit rates
    • Forms
    • Income and cash asset limits
  • Pensions
    • Get benefits overseas
    • Get NZ Super overseas
    • Moving to NZ
    • Social security agreements
    • Seniors Services
  • Providers
    • Activity in the Community projects
    • Large scale emergency
    • Childcare assistance
      • What's new
      • Registering your childcare service
      • Become an approved OSCAR provider
      • How we can help you
      • Tell us when things change
      • Payment schedules
      • Contacting us if you're a childcare or OSCAR provider
      • Centre absences and closures due to COVID-19
    • Advocates
    • Health and disability practitioners
      • Guides and forms
      • Roles
      • Assisting people into work
      • Medical certificates
      • Health and disability related benefits
      • Designated health practitioners second opinions
      • Medical appeals
    • Housing providers
      • Property owners and landlords
      • Emergency housing providers
      • Public housing providers
    • Forms
  • About Work and Income
    • Contact us
      • Our locations
      • Senior Services International
      • Overseas pension agencies contact details
      • Veterans
      • Report a suspected fraud
      • Other languages
    • Feedback
      • Review of decision
      • Medical appeals board
      • Review of a medical decision
    • Our services
      • Appointments
      • Cheap as data
      • Become a contracted provider
      • Information for trespassed clients
    • Careers at Work and Income
    • News
  • About this site
    • Access keys
    • Privacy, disclaimer and copyright information
    • Online security
    • Words we use
    • Site map
    • Change font size
  • Employers
    • Recruitment
      • List a vacancy
      • Hiring migrant workers
      • Hire an LSV graduate
      • Hire disabled people or people with health conditions
      • Shortlisting
      • Work experience
      • Pre-employment drug testing
      • Make an employment offer
    • Extra support and training
      • Flexi-wage
      • Apprenticeship Boost
      • Mana in Mahi
      • Skills for Industry
      • Support once your employee starts work
      • Mainstream programmes
      • Modification Grant
    • Industry partnerships
    • Redundancy support
    • Emergencies and adverse events
    • Employee debt
  • COVID-19
    • Help while you're self-isolating
    • Leave Support Scheme
      • Who can get it
      • Payment rates and processing times
      • How to apply
      • Paying your staff
      • Obligations
      • Repayments
    • Short-Term Absence Payment
      • Who can get it
      • Payment rates and processing times
      • How to apply
      • Paying your staff
      • Obligations
      • Repayments
    • Other Work and Income support
    • Service centres during COVID-19
    • Temporary visa holders
    • Paying clients overseas
    • Support that has ended
  1. Home
  2. Benefits, rates and forms
  3. A-Z benefits and payments
  4. Community Services Card

Products

  • A-Z benefits
  • Benefit rates
  • Forms
  • Income and cash asset limits

Community Services Card

The Community Services Card can help you and your family with the costs of health care. Always carry your card to make it easy to get the benefits, like paying less on some health services and prescriptions.

Information
  • You don't have to be on a benefit to qualify for the card.
  • You can also use the card for your dependent children under 18.
  • From September 2022, you may be able to get a 50% discount on standard adult fares for public transport if you have a Community Services Card. Check with your regional transport provider closer to September for more details.

We administer the Community Services Card on behalf of the Ministry of Health.

Who can get it

You may get the Community Services Card if you:

  • are 16 or over
  • are not a dependent child
  • either:
    • are a New Zealand citizen
    • are a permanent resident, or
    • have, or have applied for, refugee or protection status
  • normally live in New Zealand and intend to stay here.

You may also be able to get it if you either:

  • are 16 or 17 and studying full-time at a University or polytechnic, or
  • a veteran who gets paid from Veterans’ Affairs either a:
    • Scheme 1 Weekly Income Compensation, or
    • Scheme 2 Weekly Compensation.

It also depends on how much income you and your partner get.

By income, we mean any money, goods and services you or your partner get from any source, such as:

  • wages
  • salary
  • New Zealand Superannuation
  • Student Allowance
  • interest or dividends from investments
  • income from a business or a family trust maintenance payments from child support
  • Working for Families Tax Credits from Inland Revenue
  • ACC payments
  • private pensions
  • income from rents
  • any regular benefits you get, like free board, meals or transport.

Income limits

You may be able to get a card if you're... And your yearly income (before tax) is less than...
Single - living with others $29,570
Single - living alone $31,380
Married, civil union or de facto couple - no children $46,925
NZ Superannuation single, sharing accommodation $31,443
NZ Superannuation single, living alone $33,446
NZ Superannuation married, civil union or de facto relationship - no children $50,197
Family of 2 $57,317
Family of 3 $70,551
Family of 4 $81,393
Family of 5 $92,042
Family of 6 $103,764
For families of more than 6, the limit goes up another $10,517 for each extra person

Get a private pension

If you also get New Zealand Superannuation, only half of your private pension may count as income.

If you don't get New Zealand Superannuation, the whole amount of your private pension will be counted as income.

What you can use it for

The Community Services Card can reduce the cost of:

  • visits to a health practitioner, eg, a doctor, if you're enrolled at their practice (for yourself, and your dependent children aged 14-17)
  • ACC visits to a general practice (eg a doctor or nurse) if you are injured. You don't need to be enrolled at the practice
  • prescription fees
  • fees for after-hours health practitioner visits
  • glasses for children under 16
  • emergency dental care provided by:
    • hospitals, and
    • approved dental contractors (ask the dental provider if they are an approved contractor)
  • travel and accommodation for treatment at a public hospital you've been referred to outside your area:
    • at least 80km away for adults
    • at least 25km for children
  • home help.

Prescriptions

Many prescription items are subsidised by the government. If you have a Community Services Card, you'll pay a small fee. For children under 14, the prescription items are free.

Sometimes there are part-charges or other pharmacy fees you still need to pay.

Health practitioner visits for children under 14

The Community Services Card won't cover the cost of children under 14 visiting a health practitioner, eg, a doctor, with their enrolled general practice. This is because most visits for children under 14 are already free. If your health practitioner has an extra charge, you will have to pay it.

When we automatically send you a card

We'll automatically send you and your partner a Community Services Card if you and your partner are getting:

  • Jobseeker Support
  • Sole Parent Support
  • Supported Living Payment
  • Emergency Benefit
  • Youth Payment
  • Young Parent Payment
  • Veteran's Pension
  • Accommodation Supplement.

We'll also automatically send you and your partner a card if you're living in public housing, eg a Kāinga Ora (used to be Housing New Zealand) house.

If you're getting Working For Families Tax Credits from Inland Revenue and your income is below the limit for a Community Services Card you may be sent a card automatically.

Residential Care Subsidy

If you get Residential Care Subsidy, we'll automatically send you a card. If you have a partner, they'll need to apply for their own card.

Student Allowance

If you get a Student Allowance, we'll automatically send you a card once your allowance is approved. But if you have a partner who's working, you'll need to apply.

Supporting a child

We'll automatically send you a Community Services Card for a child you support if you're getting:

  • Orphans Benefit
  • Unsupported Child's Benefit
  • Child Disability Allowance

You can sign the card on the child's behalf.

How to apply

If you're getting a benefit or payment from us, we may automatically send you a card, it depends what benefit or payment you get.

If you don't automatically get a card sent to you, you'll need to apply for one.

Step 1 - Fill out an application form

You can get an application form in any of these ways:

  • download the application form below
  • ring us on 0800 999 999 and ask for one
  • fax us on our DeafLink free-fax 0800 621 621
  • ask a health practitioner, eg, your family doctor or pharmacy.

If you get Working for Families Tax Credits, you'll be sent an application form automatically.

linksCommunity Services Card Application Form (PDF 670.3KB)

Step 2 - Gather your documents

You need to provide 3 documents as proof of identity when you apply for a Community Services Card.

What you need to provide when you apply for Community Services Card

Step 3 - Send everything to us

Send your application form and documents to us at the address on the application form.

What happens next

We'll process your application and let you know if we need anything else.

We may send you a letter asking you for proof of your income. We'll explain what you need to send.

  • If you're self-employed, you must send us your latest full set of business accounts and tax summaries.
  • You can ask your accountant to send us your financial details, but they can't sign the application form for you.

If your application is approved, we'll send you a Community Services Card.

When you get your card

On your card is the date it starts and expires You can continue to use the card until it expires, even if your circumstances change.

Costs you paid before you got your card

Your card has the date it starts and expires. Sometimes, your card might start before you get it in the mail. During this time, you may have paid full price for:

  • after-hours health practitioner visits
  • prescriptions.

If you did, you may be able to claim some of these costs back.

To claim them, you need to:

  • fill out the 'Reimbursement of Health Overcharges Application Form'
  • gather all your original receipts
  • send your application form and receipts to:
    PO Box 5054
    Lambton Quay
    Wellington

If your application is approved, we'll:

  • work out how much the Community Services Card would have covered and how much you would have paid
  • pay the cost of what the Community Services Card would have covered into your bank account.
linksReimbursement of Health Overcharges Application Form (PDF 214.94KB)

Renewing your card

If your card is due to expire, it will need to be renewed. It takes 3 weeks to get a replacement card.

How you renew your card depends on what benefit or payment you're getting from us.

Main benefit, Veteran's Pension, Accommodation Supplement or Residential Care Subsidy

If you get a main benefit, Veteran's Pension, Accommodation Supplement or a Residential Care Subsidy, we'll send you a new card before your old one expires. Examples of main benefits are:

  • Jobseeker Support
  • Sole Parent Support
  • Supported Living Payment.

If your benefit, Veteran's Pension, Accommodation Supplement or Residential Care Subsidy has been stopped for any reason, you need to re-apply for a new card.

Living in public housing

If you live in a public house, eg, a Kāinga Ora (used to be Housing New Zealand) house, we'll send you a new card before your old one expires.

If you move out of your public house, you need to re-apply for a new card.

Going from a benefit to NZ Super

If you're on a benefit and going onto New Zealand Superannuation, you can use your card until it expires. Then you'll need to re-apply for a new card.

Your NZ Super will be counted as income when you re-apply.

NZ Super or Working for Families Tax Credits

If you get New Zealand Superannuation or Working for Families Tax Credits, we'll send you a new card before your old one expires.

Some people are sent a renewal form. If you get a renewal form, you need to fill it in and send it back straight away.

Don't get a benefit or payment from us

If you don't get any of these benefits or payments from us, we'll send you a renewal form before your card expires. You need to fill it in and send it back straight away.

Can't get Community Services Card

If you can't get the Community Services Card, you may be able to get a:

  • Prescription subsidy
  • High Use Health Card.

These are both managed by the Ministry of Health.

Prescription subsidy

You can get a prescription subsidy if you and your family have collected 20 subsidised prescription items in a year. The year starts on 1 February. Once you've collected 20, any other subsidised prescriptions are free for the rest of that year.

You will still need to pay a small fee for a prescription from a private clinician, such as a specialist or optometrist. If you have a High Use Health Card as well as a prescription subsidy, a fee won't be charged.

Talk to a health practitioner, eg, your pharmacist, about a prescription subsidy. You must have kept a record of the prescriptions you've gotten. They may keep a record for you.

Prescription subsidy

High Use Health Card

This card can help if you visit a health practitioner, eg, your doctor, at least 12 times in 12 months for an ongoing health condition.

Please talk to your health practitioner if you think you qualify for the High Use Health Card.

High Use Health Card

Related

Home help
Help with glasses
Help from other organisations
Help with other health and disability costs
Prescription subsidy
High Use Health Card
Manuals and procedures

How we can help

  • Benefits and payments
  • Work
  • On a benefit
  • Housing

Online services

  • Check what you might get
  • Find work
  • Apply online
  • MyMSD
  • How to stay safe online

About

  • About Work and Income
  • About this site
  • Access keys
  • Privacy, disclaimer and copyright

Contact us

  • Phone numbers
  • Find a service centre
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Feedback
  • Help in other languages
Go to Ministry of Social Development's website Go to Govt.nz's website Shielded Site