Being a support person or job coach

If you're a support person or job coach, there are certain things you need to do so we can pay you the right amount.

Starting work with a new client

Clients will have an assessment to identify the level of support they need. They also need to choose their support person or job coach themselves. This can be someone they know, or a person found through an agency. When hiring a job coach we recommend the client talks to their employer before making their choice.

Once a client reaches out to you for your services as a support person or job coach, you should discuss:

• the tasks they expect you to perform
• your hours and pay rate
• signing an agreement between you.

If your support person is driving you, they must have a full New Zealand drivers licence. Waka Kotahi's (New Zealand Transport Agency) may also have some conditions or licensing requirements they must meet, e.g. a Passenger or 'P' endorsement on their licence.

Clients can apply for help to pay for a job coach for up to 6 weeks.

Clients can have more than one support person for different tasks, e.g. a driver and a New Zealand Sign-language interpreter. Support Funds cannot pay for a support person for 100% of the client's working hours.

What you need to do

You and your client are responsible for recording and sending us the information we need to pay you.

Register with us

You need to be registered with us as a provider to receive payments from us. You can find out how to register here:

Timesheets and invoices

You must give your client a timesheet and invoice every 2 weeks. This shows the actual hours you've worked. You both need to agree to and sign the timesheet. We will use these to pay you on the client's behalf. The payment will be paid directly into the bank account you gave us when you registered as a supplier.

Invoices

We will pay your invoice within 10 working days.

Make sure the invoice is not more than the number of hours we've agreed to fund.

Your invoices must:

• have your organisation’s:
  • address
  • contact phone number, and
  • email
• have your client’s full name
• have the bank account the invoice is to be paid to
• have a unique invoice number
• have GST information:
  • If your organisation is GST registered, you must have your GST number and the total cost before and after GST
  • If your organisation is not GST registered, you must note this on the invoice.
• be addressed to:
  Support Funds
  Ministry of Social Development
  PO Box 1556
  Wellington

You can use this template for your invoices:

Email the invoice and signed timesheet to support_funds@msd.govt.nz. Please put the invoice number in the subject line and name the file in the following format:

CLIENT NAME - INVOICE NUMBER

You can also post them to us at:

Support Funds
Ministry of Social Development,
PO Box 1556
Wellington 6140

There's more information about invoices on Inland Revenue's website:

Other things you need to do

You need to take care of obligations like income tax, GST, ACC levies and other legal matters.