A-Z benefits and payments

You may be able to get $5k to Work if you qualify for a benefit and need to move to take up a job.

Employers and sole traders could apply for the 2020 Wage Subsidy before 10 June 2020. It was to support them if they were impacted by COVID-19 and faced laying off staff or reducing hours.

Accommodation Supplement is a weekly payment which helps people with their rent, board or the cost of owning a home.

An Advance Payment of Benefit is a one-off payment to help you pay an essential or emergency cost if you can't pay it another way.

Apprenticeship Boost is a payment to help employers keep and take on new apprentices.

Away from Home Allowance is a weekly payment which helps carers with the living costs for 16 or 17 year olds who are living away from home while on a tertiary or training course. We pay the allowance to the carer of the young person.

If you're starting your own business, we may be able to help with developing a business plan, training in business skills, advice and project reports.

Child Disability Allowance is a fortnightly payment made to the main carer of a child or young person with a serious disability. It is paid in recognition of the extra care and attention needed for that child.

Childcare Subsidy is a payment that helps families with the cost of pre-school childcare.

If you can't earn enough income to pay for the things you and your family need, and you're affected by the attacks, we may be able to help.

If you and your family are affected by an emergency event, you may be able to get a Civil Defence Payment.

Civilian Amputee Assistance helps amputees, or those born without a limb(s), with some of their costs when they need to go to an Artificial Limb Centre.

A Clothing Allowance is a weekly payment we give you if you get Orphan's Benefit or Unsupported Child's Benefit for children in your care, to help you pay for their clothing.

Community Costs is a weekly payment which helps people in a short-term residential treatment programme meet their essential ongoing costs in the community.

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

Help with costs may be available for short-term courses. Course Participation Assistance (CPA) can help clients gain specific employment skills.

If you've got a temporary visa and you can't work, support yourself or return home due to COVID-19, we may be able to help. An Emergency Benefit can help with basic living costs while you arrange to get home as soon as you can. 

From 17 March 2020 to 27 March 2020, there was a Leave Payment available to support employers affected by COVID-19.

Disability Allowance is a weekly payment for people who have regular, ongoing costs because of a disability. These could be visits to the doctor or hospital, medicines, extra clothing or travel.

The Early Learning Payment helps pay the costs of Early Childhood Education for children aged 18 months to 3 years. These children need to be from families enrolled in selected Family Start or Early Start Programmes.

If you can't support yourself and don't qualify for any other payment, you may be able to get the Emergency Benefit.

Emergency Maintenance Allowance is assistance that may be paid to sole parents who do not qualify for any other payments.

Employment Transition Grant is a weekly payment which helps some people who have completed a Supported Living Payment Employment Trial.

The Establishment Grant is a one-off payment to carers of someone else's child to help with the costs when a child first comes into their care, eg a bed, bedding and clothing.

You can apply if a child you care for shows promise in a skill or talent, or because they are experiencing difficulties and need extra support. To qualify you need to get the Orphan’s Benefit or Unsupported Child’s Benefit.

Flexi-wage is one of the ways we're supporting more New Zealanders into work, by helping you get the skills you need for the job, and supporting more employers to hire staff.

Flexi-wage is one of the ways we're supporting more New Zealanders into work. We can help you start your own business and help with costs while you get started.

If you're a sole parent and you're working during times when childcare programmes are closed, eg weekends or nights, we may be able to help with childcare costs during these times.

A Funeral Grant can help with some of the funeral costs of someone who has died.

If you're under 20 and in full-time education, training or work-based learning, you may be able to get the Guaranteed Childcare Assistance Payment (GCAP) to assist with the cost of childcare

You automatically get the Holiday and Birthday Allowance if you already get Unsupported Child's Benefit or Orphan's Benefit. Use these payments to celebrate important events in the child’s life, like their birthday or Christmas.

If you're a parent or carer we may be able to help you with the cost of home help to complete household tasks or training in parenting skills.

If you lose your job (including self-employment) from 1 March 2020 to 30 October 2020 due to COVID-19, you may be eligible for the COVID-19 Income Relief Payment.

If you're a parent involved in an international custody or access dispute over the care of your child or children, and you have limited financial support, we may be able to help you.

Jobseeker Support is a weekly payment that helps people while they are looking for work or can't work right now. 

The COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme (used to be 'COVID-19 Essential Workers Leave Support') is available for employers, including sole traders, to pay their employees who can't work.

If you have a disability or health condition, including a mental health condition or neurodiversity, and you want to work, you can apply to join one of our Mainstream programmes. The programmes can help you get into paid work and support you towards getting a long-term job.

Take part in Mana in Mahi to get paid while you train to do a job you love.

Modification Grant is a payment which helps people with disabilities pay for workplace changes or equipment that makes it easier for them to stay in or get work.

The New Employment Transition Grant is a payment which helps people who are no longer on a benefit and who can't work because of sickness or a breakdown in childcare arrangements.

Get help with costs like travel, clothing or temporarily moving home, when you're starting seasonal horticulture or viticulture work.

New Zealand Superannuation is a fortnightly payment for people aged 65 and over.

Orphan's Benefit is a weekly payment which helps carers supporting a child or young person whose parents have died or can't be found, or can't look after them because they have a serious long-term health condition or incapacity.

Out of School Care and Recreation (OSCAR) Subsidy is a payment which helps families with the costs of before and after school care for up to 20 hours a week, and school holiday programmes for up to 50 hours a week.

The Special Needs Grant (re-establishment grant) is a payment to help people in specific circumstances re-establish themselves in the community.

A Recoverable Assistance Payment is a one-off payment to help you pay an essential or emergency cost if you can't pay it another way.

If money is tight and you're worried you'll lose your housing because you owe rent, you may be able to get Rent Arrears Assistance.

If you're going into residential care and want to keep your home for a while, you may not be able to pay for the cost of your care. You may be able to get a Residential Care Loan to help pay for this.

If you need long-term residential care in a hospital or rest home, you may be able to get a Residential Care Subsidy from the Ministry of Health.

Residential Support Subsidy is a payment that helps with the cost of residential support for a person with a physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric disability (including drug and alcohol rehabilitation) or long-term chronic health condition who needs residential care as a result.

Rural Assistance Payments can help farmers during or after an adverse event, eg. a flood or drought.

If you're caring for someone else's child and need help with pre-school or school-related costs at the beginning of the year, you may be able to get the School and Year Start-up Payment.

Assistance for seasonal workers who are no longer getting a benefit and have lost wages because of work missed due to bad weather.

If you're starting a business and need help with essential start up costs, eg furniture or the first lot of stock, we may be able to help.

Social Rehabilitation Assistance is a payment which helps people who are in a residential social rehabilitation programme and their benefit isn't enough to meet the fees.

Sole Parent Support is a weekly payment that helps single parents find part-time work or get ready for future work.

Special Disability Allowance is a weekly payment for people who have a spouse or partner who is in residential care, or has been in a public hospital for over 13 weeks. It's paid to the spouse or partner who is not in care to help with the extra costs of having their spouse or partner in care.

A Special Needs Grant is a one-off payment to help you pay an essential or emergency cost if you can't pay it another way.

If you've been released from prison, we may be able to help you get set up in the community with a 'Steps to Freedom' grant.

Supported Living Payment is a weekly payment to help you if you have, or are caring for someone with, a significant health condition, injury or disability.

Temporary Additional Support is a weekly payment that helps you when you don't have enough money to cover your essential living costs.

Help with fees and other study costs for some courses may be available

We may be able to pay for things you need to find or start a job, such as clothes, travel, living expenses until your first pay and other things.

Unsupported Child's Benefit is a weekly payment which helps carers supporting a child or young person whose parents can't care for them because of a family breakdown.

Veteran's Pension is a fortnightly payment for veterans who have qualifying operational service in the New Zealand Armed Forces.

A 2 week COVID-19 Resurgence Wage Subsidy payment is available nationally for employers, including self-employed people, who are financially impacted by the resurgence of COVID-19 and changes to COVID Alert Levels.

The COVID-19 Wage Subsidy August 2021 was available from 9am on 18 August 2021 to 11:59pm on 9 December 2021. It was to help employers and self-employed people keep paying staff and protect jobs impacted by the alert level changes from 17 August 2021.

A Wage Subsidy Extension payment was available from 10 June to 1 September 2020 to support employers, including self-employed people, who were still significantly impacted by COVID-19.

The Wage Subsidy March 2021 was available from 1pm on 4 March 2021 to 11:59pm on 21 March 2021. It was to help employers and self-employed people keep paying staff and protect jobs impacted by the alert level changes on 28 February 2021.

The Winter Energy Payment is an extra payment to help with the cost of heating your home over the winter months.

If you're on a benefit and choose to work even though you don't have work obligations, you may be able to get a Work Bonus.

Working for Families is help from Work and Income and Inland Revenue (IR) to make it easier to work and raise a family.

Young Parent Payment helps young parents aged 16-19 year olds.

Youth Payment helps young people aged 16 or 17 who can't live with their parents or guardian and aren't supported by them or anyone else.