A-Z benefits and payments

You may be able to get $3K to Work (recently merged with $3K to Christchurch) if you're on a benefit and need to move to take up a full-time job.

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.

Assistance to transition into employment (before 1 July 2014 called Transition to Work Grant) helps people with the costs of moving into a job.

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 and your family are affected by an emergency event (eg, earthquake or flooding) and a Civil Defence emergency has been declared, or the event meets the guidelines for a Civil Defence emergency, 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. You'll pay less on some health services and prescriptions simply by showing your card.

Disability Allowance is a weekly payment for people who have regular, ongoing costs because of a disability, such as 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 three years who are from families enrolled in selected Family Start or Early Start Programmes.

Education and employment-related training may be able to help with fees for some courses.

Emergency Benefit is assistance that may be paid to people who cannot support themselves and who do not qualify for any other payments.

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.

Carers can apply for a grant from the Extraordinary Care Fund to help support a child in their care who is showing promise in a particular area or experiencing difficulties that are significantly impacting on their development.

Find out about an error we made with Accommodation Supplement and another issue where we found some people on Special Benefit may have been better off on Temporary Additional Support, and what we're doing to put these right.

If you need support to gain the required skills for a job, we may be able to help.

If you want to start your own business, we may be able to provide a subsidy to 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

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're a parent who is 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 until they find work.

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.

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 long-term illness 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.

We've found there was an error in some people's Accommodation Supplement payments. This means we owe some people money and other people were overpaid. Here's what we're doing about it.

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.

Many people going into residential care may want to keep their home for a while to allow them to adjust to their changed circumstances. This often means that there are limited funds to pay for the cost of their care. Rather than selling your home, we may be able to help you with a Residential Care Loan.

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 disabling chronic health condition who needs residential care as a result.

Financial assistance for farming families following an adverse event or natural disaster.

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.

Extra help is available for people who receive Sole Parent Support, and who are undertaking tertiary study at level 4 or above.

We found some people would have been better off financially if they’d moved from Special Benefit to Temporary Additional Support after 1 April 2006.

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 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.

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.

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

Work Bonus is an incentive payment available if you choose to work even though you don’t have work obligations as a condition of your benefit.

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.