Training Incentive Allowance

To qualify for the TIA, you must be getting one of these payments:

• Sole Parent Support
• Supported Living Payment - caring for a person
• Supported Living Payment - health condition, injury, or disability
• Young Parent Payment (sole parents only)
• Emergency Benefit or Emergency Maintenance Allowance (sole parents only)
• Jobseeker Support (sole parents only) if you can meet your work obligations while studying

You also need to be enrolled in a recognised course of study. This is one that's funded by the Tertiary Education Commission or the Ministry of Education. You can check this information with your training provider.

The study you're doing also needs to:

• increase your skills for employment 
• be 12 weeks or more, and
• be at levels 1 to 7 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework.

For each week of study, you can get $135.75, up to a maximum of $5,430 in a 52-week period.

You can choose to be paid TIA as either:

• a weekly amount (for on-going costs like transport, childcare or Wi-Fi)
• an upfront one-off payment (for costs like course fees, stationery or a laptop), or
• a combination of both.

If you choose to get weekly payments, you'll get them with your benefit payment the week after your study begins.

Upfront payments are made to retailers, education providers, or StudyLink – so you may need to get quotes.

Example 1

Anna is studying towards a Certificate in Business Administration, which is a 38-week fees-free course.

Anna can get a maximum of $135.75 for 38 weeks, which is $5,158.50 total. 

She chooses to use:

• $999 to buy a laptop
• $289 to buy a desk
• $149 to buy learning software.

This is a total of $1,437. After paying for these one-off costs, Anna still has $3,721.50 remaining of her TIA.

Her course is taught partly online, so Anna uses $17.50 a week to pay for her internet costs ($665 over 38 weeks). Anna also has an informal childcare arrangement with her neighbour which she pays $60 a week for ($2,280 over 38 weeks). Anna chooses to use TIA to cover both of these costs. So that's an extra $2,945 she uses from her TIA.

Anna’s remaining entitlement to TIA for the year is $776.50. She can access this for other study-related costs which come up while she’s studying. 

Example 2

Matt is studying an Introduction to Mechanical Engineering, which is a 25-week course.

Matt can get a maximum of $135.75 for 25 weeks, which is $3,393.75 total.

He chooses to use:

• $500 to pay for textbooks
• $1,500 to cover some of his fees.

This is a total of $2,000. After paying for these one-off costs, Matt still has $1,393.75 remaining of his TIA.

Matt spends $60 a week to travel to his course ($1,500 over 25 weeks). He chooses to use the remainder of his entitlement to partially cover his travel costs by getting $55.75 a week for travel costs. Matt has no further entitlement to TIA until next year.

Matt also has a disability and needs specialist software to complete his exams. He has no further entitlement to TIA.

Step 1 - Complete application form

You need to complete a Training Incentive Allowance application form. You must give this to us within 28 days of your study starting.

Your training provider also needs to fill out pages 5 and 6 of the application form. If you're able to get fees free, your provider will apply for this for you and let us know in the application form. You must use this towards your course fees first. TIA can be used for any remaining course fees, once Fees Free has been paid.  

About Fees Free

Fees Free means you may be able to get your fees covered for 1 or 2 years' training. 

You may be able to get Fees Free if:

• you are a first-time learner, or
• your first tertiary education was covered by the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund.

Step 2 - Gather documents you'll need to provide

You'll need to gather proof of any costs you want covered under TIA.

This can be things like:

• receipts 
• quotes, or
• a letter from the provider.

If the costs are listed on a provider's website, you don't need to provide proof of them. We can check on the website and confirm these costs at your appointment. 

Step 3 - Attend an appointment

Call us on 0800 559 009 and we’ll book an appointment for you to come in and see us. You'll need to bring your application form and documents with you to the appointment. 

We'll discuss your application with you and check that your study will help you to get into work. 

Once we've processed your application, we'll send you a letter to let you know the outcome.

If you find TIA is not enough to cover your study costs, you may be able to get a Student Loan for compulsory course fees and course-related costs.

Student Loan for course-related costs

If you’re applying for TIA and a Student Loan for course related costs, the order in which you apply for (and are granted) these payments can affect the amount you can get.

You might apply for one-off course related costs through the TIA first. If so, the amount you can get for course related costs through StudyLink is reduced by how much TIA you’ve been paid for one-off course related costs. This does not apply for childcare, transport, course fees or disability-related costs.

You might apply for (and be granted) a Student Loan for course related costs first. If so, the full TIA is available for any costs that haven’t already been covered by your course related costs from StudyLink.

Find out more about it on Studylink

Providers will need to refund the fees to us straight away if:

• we've paid your fees, and
• you're leaving within your place of vocational education/university/school refund period.

How providers can refund fees

Providers can do this by direct credit with the following details:

Account name: MSD ROBOC 3

Account number: 03-0049-0006243-25

Reference: Add the letter C and client’s 9-digit client number (without spaces or dashes) i.e. C123456789

Code: TIA

Particulars: Client surname and initial

Please then email Crown_Revenue@msd.govt.nz to confirm a refund has been paid and include details of:

• the amount
• client surname and initial
• client's 9-digit MSD client number
• what the refund is for i.e. TIA or refund of course fees.