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.

    • Job Connect on Facebook

      Find out how we can help you get ready to work, find work, and support available while you're working.

    • 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
    • Apply for COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme
    • 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 Payment
      • Cyclone Gabrielle
      • COVID-19
      • Farmers affected by adverse events
    • 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
      • 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
      • Dental treatment
      • Glasses
      • Whiteware
      • Medical costs
      • House repairs and maintenance
      • Car repairs
      • Bereavement
      • Fire or theft
    • 16-19 year olds
  • Work
    • Job search
      • 'Find a job' website
      • Jobs in MyMSD
      • Where to look for jobs
      • Job search by region
      • Seasonal work
      • Jobs in forestry
    • 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
      • Courses to help you get a job
    • 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
      • Job and Training Support Funds
    • 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
    • Having another child
    • Arrest warrants
    • Your rights and responsibilities
      • Your obligations
      • Have someone act on your behalf
      • Avoid benefit and housing fraud
      • Annual review
      • Our commitment to you
  • 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 Grant
      • Rent in Advance Grant
      • Moving Costs Grant
      • Tenancy Costs Cover
      • Transition to Alternative Housing Grant
      • 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
    • Our services
      • Appointments
      • Cheap as data
      • Become a contracted provider
      • Information for trespassed clients
    • Our privacy notice
      • Collecting your information
      • Using your information
      • Sharing your information
      • Respecting your information
      • Managing your information
    • Making a complaint
      • Review of decision
      • Review of a medical decision
    • News
    • Careers at Work and Income
  • About this site
    • Accessibility
    • Privacy, disclaimer and copyright information
    • Online security
    • Words we use
    • Site map
  • Employers
    • Recruitment
      • List a vacancy
      • 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
      • Modifications to your workplace
    • Industry partnerships
    • Redundancy support
    • Emergencies and adverse events
    • Employee debt
  • COVID-19
    • People affected by COVID-19
      • Help while you're self-isolating
    • COVID-19 support for employers
      • COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme
    • Previous COVID-19 payments
      • Short-Term Absence Payment
      • Wage Subsidies August 2021
      • Wage Subsidy March 2021
      • Resurgence Wage Subsidy
      • Income Relief Payment
      • Wage Subsidy Extension
      • 2020 Wage Subsidy
      • Essential Workers Leave Support Scheme
      • Leave payment
      • Repaying a previous COVID-19 payment
  1. Home
  2. Providers
  3. Health and disability practitioners
  4. Guides for health and disability practitioners
  5. Work Capacity medical certificate - Information for health practitioners

Providers

  • Activity in the Community projects
  • Large scale emergency
  • Childcare assistance
  • 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
  • Forms

Work Capacity medical certificate - Information for health practitioners

The evidence is compelling: for most individuals, working improves health and wellbeing and reduces psychological distress. (Ref P.7 The Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Australian and New Zealand Consensus Statement on Health Benefits of Work, May 2011)

Information

We've made changes to our Work Capacity Medical Certificate process for people getting Jobseeker Support. We'll write to people when they need to provide one for their next review. For more information, see our Medical Certificates page.

Purpose of a Work Capacity medical certificate

To help people into suitable work, Work and Income needs to understand the impact of their health condition, injury or disability on their ability to work. The Work Capacity medical certificate is designed to gather this information. It asks:

  • the barriers and/or limitations to work (including any non-medical barriers or limitations)
  • diagnoses (using READ codes) that impact on a person's ability to work
  • if a person's work capacity is expected to change and, if so, how and when
  • the support or accommodations that could help a person to work
  • the hours a person could work in a suitable role if they receive the support needed when a person's work capacity should be reviewed.

A medical certificate doesn't affect whether a person is eligible for financial support from Work and Income. Rather it provides information that helps Work and Income decide which benefit is most appropriate, and whether or not a person will be required to look for suitable work (full or part-time).

Most people with a health condition, injury or disability can work with the right support. This benefits them, their family and the wider community.

Please tell us if there's anything you think would make a difference to a person getting into and successfully holding a job. For example:

  • flexible hours
  • specific equipment
  • workplace modifications
  • social skills training.

The information provided on the medical certificate, together with other client information including a self-assessment, will enable Work and Income to identify the types of jobs that could be suitable for a person. This will take into account a person’s individual circumstances, including any limitations, and the support they need.

As well as health conditions, injuries or disabilities, Work and Income considers things like literacy levels, child care needs and transport availability in deciding if a job is suitable for a person.

The medical certificate allows you to indicate an appropriate review period based on your clinical assessment.

There are exceptions for people who are more than 27 weeks pregnant (medical certificate may extend to four weeks after due date).

People for whom the impact of their condition on their ability to work is long-term and severe are likely to get the Supported Living Payment benefit. The review period for this group is two years or never.

You must be sure the information you're providing is professional, true, accurate and consistent with the MCNZ guidance on completing medical certificates. It would be prudent to keep a copy of the certificate.

The medical certificate can be completed through practice management systems. Alternatively, pads of hard copy forms are available from your Work and Income Health and Disability team.

The certificate can be completed by a:

  • registered health practitioner eg:
    • nurse practitioner (not practice nurse)
    • midwife where a person is more than 27 weeks pregnant or has complications due to their pregnancy
    • dentist (for dental-related conditions).

The client number is a 9 digit number printed at the bottom left on your patient's Community Services Card. If you add the number to the patient's details page, it will self populate each time.

Image of Community Services Card

Information

You can send Work Capacity medical certificates (WCMC) to Work and Income electronically through a secure network using HealthLink's HISO online forms.

  • If you are using e-Lodgement you will receive a confirmation message within a few seconds that it has been received. Please let your patient know that their WCMC has been sent to and received by Work and Income.
  • For more information on using the HISO forms, a video guide and quick start guides are available at www.healthlink.net/workandincome
  • If for any reason the WCMC cannot be sent electronically please print a copy for your patient and ask them to take it to their local Work and Income Service Centre or Community Link.
  • If you are using a hard copy, keep a copy for your own records then give the original to the patient and ask them to take it to their local Work and Income office.

Please note: Only WCMCs using HealthLink's HISO online forms can be sent to Work and Income electronically.

Where appropriate, Work and Income will ask the person to complete a self-assessment so we can learn more about their skills, the type of work they'd like to do and what they believe their barriers to work are.

The medical certificate and other relevant information will be used to help decide the type of benefit a person gets and if a person should have work obligations (be required to look for suitable full or part-time work).

For people with work obligations, the case manager will develop a plan with the person and work with them to put it into action. Some people may be supported by third-party organisations contracted by Work and Income.

People on the Supported Living Payment benefit are not expected to look for work, but if a person wishes to work, they can complete a self-assessment and develop a plan with a case manager.

For more information:

  • contact your local Health and Disability team at your nearest Work and Income regional office
  • call us on 0800 559 009

Online form demonstration

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
  • Accessibility
  • 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