Job and Training Support Funds

The information on this page is also available in alternative formats and languages at the bottom of this page.

What you can get

You can get either Job Support or Training Support, depending on what you need help with.

Job Support

Job Support is funding to help pay for certain things related to your health condition or disability that you need to get a job or stay in a job. You can also apply if you're self-employed.

Job Support funding can cover:

• Equipment: Specialist disability office furniture or adaptive software.
• Workplace modification: Money to help your employer make your workplace suitable for you.
• New Zealand Sign Language and other interpreters: To interpret work meetings, documents about your job (e.g. your contract), and interpret some professional development.
• Support person: Someone you hire to help you at work, such as a reader/writer or driver.
• Parking: To cover costs of parking during your working hours.
• Transport: To get to and from your work if you can't access public transport.
• Productivity allowance: A wage subsidy paid to your employer while you learn skills and set up workplace supports.
• Job coach: A short-term coach to help you if you start a new job, your job description changes, or you have a change in your disability which affects your job.

If you're not sure what you need funding for, or how much, you can have an assessment done. This will help you find out what you need for your job.

Training Support Funds

Training Support funding can help you pay for extra costs relating to training if you have a disability or health condition. This is to help you get or stay in a job, including self-employment.

Training Support funding can cover:

• Equipment: Specialist disability furniture or adaptive software.
• New Zealand Sign Language and other interpreters: To interpret classes, presentations and some documents.
• Support person: Someone you hire to help you with your training, such as a reader/writer or driver.
• Transport: To get to and from your training course if you can't access public transport.

If you're not sure what you need funding for, or how much, you can have an assessment done. This will help you find out what you need for your training.

What it doesn't pay for

Job Support and Training Support can't be used to pay for:

• costs you've already paid for
• anything your employer or training provider must provide to enable someone to do the job or training, for example a standard desk and chair.
• training course fees.

Who can get it

To apply for either Job Support or Training Support you must:

• have a disability or a health condition that is likely to last longer than 6 months
• need to pay for extra support to do a job or training because of your health condition or disability, these should be costs a non-disabled person would not have if they do the same job or training
• be aged 16 to 64 years old (we may be able to keep paying if you keep working after you turn 65)
• be ordinarily resident in New Zealand (find out what 'ordinarily resident' means)
• be either a:
  • New Zealand citizen
  • residence class visa holder with the right to work in New Zealand
  • recognised refugee or protected person
  • temporary class visa holder with the right to work in New Zealand, and you're either waiting for the outcome of your claim to be recognised as a refugee or protected person, or you're applying for a residence class visa and must stay in New Zealand because of unforeseen circumstances.

If you're applying for Job Support, the job must:

• pay at least minimum wage - this also applies if you're paid by commission
• pay a similar rate that a non-disabled person doing the same job would get
• not be a job reserved for disabled people only.

If you're self-employed - you must work at least 15 hours a week and the business must be viable.

If you're applying for Training Support, the training must be related to work. This can be either training to help you get a job in future, or for a job you already have.

Who can't get it

You can't get Job Support or Training Support if ACC or the Ministry of Health are already covering your job or training costs.

How much you can get

If you qualify, you may get:

• one-off costs, paid as a lump sum
• ongoing costs, paid in instalments.

How much you can get depends on your needs. We try to cover as much of the cost as possible. When you apply, we check what you need and tell you what costs we'll cover and how it will be paid. We can't reimburse you for costs you've already paid for.

If you hire a support person or job coach, they must be paid at least the minimum wage.

How to apply

You can apply yourself, or have someone act on your behalf.

Step 1: Fill in the application form

Download and fill in the form for Job Support or Training Support (you can apply for both):

You can either print the form and fill it in by hand, or fill in your answers online and save them as a PDF.

If you're not able to fill in this form, you can either:

• email us at Support_Funds@msd.govt.nz
• call us on 0800 551 001
• find out how to contact us if you're deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment.

Step 2: Evidence of your health condition or disability

You need to show us evidence of your disability or health condition. This can be either a:

• Medical certificate or letter from your health practitioner (e.g. a doctor)
• Report from an occupational therapist
• Report from a psychologist
• Document from ACC (e.g. a letter)
• Evidence of on-going literacy or learning disabilities (e.g. a SPELD assessment).

You may not need to do this again if you have already shown us evidence of your disability or health condition.

Step 3: Gather your documents

You need documents to show:

• what you're applying for and how much it costs (e.g. quotes or contracts)
• evidence of who you are (find out what documents we need for this). If you're already a client with us, you may not need to do this
• details of your job or training, e.g. your employment contract, a letter from your employer, registration for your training, evidence of your self-employment.

Step 4: Send us your application

Send us your completed application form and documents. You can do this by either:

• scanning and emailing them to Support_Funds@msd.govt.nz
• handing your form into one of our service centres, and we'll scan the documents while you're there
• posting them to Ministry of Social Development, PO Box 1556, Wellington 6140, Attention: Support Funds.

If you're sending us identity documents, you'll need to post certified copies to us. Please do not post your original identity documents.

After you've applied

Once we get your application, we will contact you within 5 working days.

We'll send you a letter to let you know if your application has been accepted. If it is we'll contact you about the costs you have and how we can help with these. We'll pay the costs directly to the business providing the service or item.

If you need a support person or job coach

If you applied for someone to help you with your work or training, you need to:

• have an assessment done to identify how much support you need
• chose a support person or job coach
• make sure they're registered with us.

Find out more about what you need to do:

While you're getting Job or Training Support Funds

If anything changes that might affect your funding, please contact us right away. You also need to contact us if you need to fill in a Change of Circumstances form, these forms are not yet available on our website.

You can contact us by either:

• calling us on 0800 551 001
• emailing us at Support_Funds@msd.govt.nz
• find out how to contact us if you're deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment.

Alternative formats and languages

We have information about Job and Training Support Funds available in alternative formats and in Te Reo Māori.