Job and Training Support Funds

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If you have a disability or health condition, the Ministry of Social Development may be able to provide Job and Training Support Funds to get or keep a job by funding your additional job or training costs.

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They must be costs a non-disabled person doing the same job or training would not have.

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Job Support is to help you get or stay in work.
You can also get Job Support if you are self-employed.

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Job Support funding can cover:

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Equipment - Specialist disability office furniture or adaptive software.

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Workplace modification - A payment to help your employer make permanent modifications to the workplace to make it accessible for you.

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NZSL interpreters – To interpret work meetings and documents about your job (eg, your contract), and interpret some professional development.

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Support person - Someone you pay for yourself to help you at work, such as a reader/writer or driver.

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Parking - To cover costs of parking during your working hours.

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Transport - To get to and from your work if you can’t access public transport.

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Productivity allowance - A wage subsidy paid to your employer while you learn skills and set up workplace supports.

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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.

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If you are not sure what you need funding for, or how much, please talk to us about having an assessment done.

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This will help you find out what you need for your job.

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Training Support funding can help you pay for extra costs relating to training if you have a disability or health condition.

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This is to help you get or stay in a job, including self-employment.
Training Support can cover:

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Equipment - Specialist disability furniture or adaptive software.

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NZSL interpreters – support for you to employ an NZSL interpreter to interpret classes, presentations and course documents.

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Support person - Someone you pay for yourself to help you at work, such as a reader/writer or driver.

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Transport - To get to and from your training course if you can’t access public transport.

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If you are not sure what you need funding for, or how much, please talk to us about having an assessment done.

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This will help you find out what you need for your training.

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

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Costs you’ve already paid for.

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Anything your employer or training provider must provide to enable someone to do the job or training, for example, a standard desk and chair.

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Training course fees.

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Who can get it?

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

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Have a disability or a health condition that is likely to last longer than 6 months.

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Have costs for extra support to do a job or training because of your health condition or disability.

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These should be costs a non-disabled person would not have if they do the same job or training.

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Be aged 16 to 64 years old. We may be able to keep paying if you keep working after you turn 65.

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Be ordinarily resident in New Zealand.

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Be either a: New Zealand citizen, or Residence class visa holder with the right to work in New Zealand, or Recognised refugee or protected person, or

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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,

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or you’re applying for a residence class visa and must stay in New Zealand because of unforeseen circumstances.

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

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Pay at least minimum wage - this also applies if you’re paid by commission.

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Pay a similar rate that a non-disabled person doing the same job would get.

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Not be a job reserved for disabled people only.

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

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If you’re applying for Training Support, the training must be related to work.

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This can be either training to help you get a job in future, or for a job you already have.

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Who can’t get it.

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

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How to apply for Job Support or Training Support funding.
You can apply yourself, or have someone act on your behalf.

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Step 1: Fill in the application form.

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

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Once you’ve downloaded the form you can either print it and fill it in or fill in your answers online.

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You will still need to print and sign the form by hand at the end, as we can’t accept digital signatures on applications.

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If you’re not able to print this form, you can call us on 0800 551 001 or email us at Support_Funds@msd.govt.nz, and we’ll post a form to you.

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You can also call us and we can complete the application with you over the phone.

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Step 2: Evidence of your health condition or disability.

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

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Medical certificate or letter from your health practitioner (eg a doctor).

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Report from an occupational therapist.

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Report from a psychologist.

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Document from ACC (eg a letter).

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Evidence of on-going literacy or learning disabilities (eg a SPELD assessment).

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

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Step 3: Gather your documents.

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You need documents to show:

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What you’re applying for and how much it costs (eg quotes or contracts).

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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.

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Details of your employment or training, eg your employment contract, a letter from your employer,

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registration for your training or study, evidence of your self-employment.

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Step 4: Send us your application.

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

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Scanning and emailing them to Support_Funds@msd.govt.nz.

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Or, handing your form into one of our service centres, and we’ll scan the documents while you’re there.

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Or, posting them to Ministry of Social Development, PO Box 1556, Wellington 6140, Attention: Support Funds.

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

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

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We’ll send you a letter to let you know if your application has been accepted.

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If it is we’ll contact you about the costs you have and how we can help with these.

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We’ll pay the costs directly to the business providing the service or item.

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While you’re getting Support Funds.

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If anything changes that might affect your funding, please let us know straight away.

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You can let us know by either:

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Calling us on 0800 551 001, emailing us at Support_Funds@msd.govt.nz,

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or download and fill in the Change of Circumstances form workandincome.govt.nz/supportfunds.