New Zealand benefits and support in one place

Browse independent summaries of New Zealand benefits, payments, subsidies and support services, then continue to official eligibility and application information.

Browse the New Zealand support directory

• Jobseeker Support — Living-cost support while looking for work or temporarily reducing or stopping work for health reasons.
• Accommodation Supplement — Help with some rent, board or home ownership costs.
• Working for Families — Family tax credits for eligible principal caregivers. Best Start is one component, so do not count it twice.
• Best Start Tax Credit — A Working for Families tax credit during a child’s first three years.
• Childcare Subsidy — Help with approved preschool care, paid directly to the provider.
• OSCAR Subsidy — Help with approved before-school, after-school and school-holiday care.
• Disability Allowance — Help with regular extra costs caused by a long-term health condition or disability.
• NZ Super — A pension for people meeting age and residence requirements; you can work while receiving it.
• FamilyBoost — A quarterly claim towards eligible caregivers’ licensed early childhood education costs.
• Community Services Card — Reduces some healthcare and public transport costs. You do not need to be on a benefit.
• Winter Energy Payment — Winter heating support for recipients of specified benefits or pensions.
• Student Allowance — Weekly living support for eligible students that normally does not need to be repaid.
• Student Loan — Borrowing for eligible course fees, study materials or living costs. You must repay what you borrow.
• Food assistance — Help with urgent food costs for people on a low income or benefit; approved food assistance does not need to be repaid.
• Paid parental leave — Support for primary carers taking time off work for a new baby or a child under 6 newly in their care.
• Sole Parent Support — Living support for sole parents while preparing for or finding work.
• Supported Living Payment — Living support for severe long-term work limitations or qualifying full-time carers.
• Temporary Additional Support — Time-limited extra support when essential ongoing living costs cannot be met.
• Emergency Benefit — Individual assessment for people unable to support themselves who do not qualify for other payments.
• Youth Payment — Support for 16–17-year-olds unable to live with parents or guardians and lacking support.
• Young Parent Payment — Living support for parents aged 16–19, alongside education and parenting support.
• Transition to Work Grant — Non-repayable help with necessary job-search or starting-work costs, such as interview travel, work clothing and tools.
• Child Disability Allowance — Recognises extra ongoing care for a child with a serious disability; distinct from Disability Allowance for costs.
• Orphan's Benefit — Supports carers when parents have died, cannot be found, or cannot care because of serious long-term incapacity.
• Unsupported Child's Benefit — Supports carers of children whose parents cannot care for them because of family breakdown.
• Home Help — Help with domestic assistance for qualifying multiple births, domestic emergencies or support needs.
• Bond Grant — Help with a qualifying tenancy bond. Despite its name, this grant must be repaid.
• Moving Costs Grant — Repayable assistance with approved costs of moving into accommodation.
• Accommodation Costs Arrears Grant — Repayable help when overdue accommodation costs put your housing at risk.
• Public housing — An assessment and register pathway for serious housing need, rather than a cash payment.
• Emergency housing — Contact the agency for short-term accommodation help if you have nowhere to stay tonight or in the next 7 nights.
• Residential Care Subsidy — Helps pay assessed long-term rest-home or hospital care costs directly to the provider.
• Residential Care Loan — A case-assessed, repayable loan for residential care, secured by a caveat over your home.
• Special Disability Allowance — Extra help for the partner living outside care when their spouse or partner is in residential care or long-term hospital care.
• Dental treatment assistance — Help with immediate and essential dental treatment. Assistance within the grant limit is non-repayable; additional help may be repayable.
• ACC weekly compensation — Official ACC information link. Read guidance on the ACC website.
• Special Needs Grant — A one-off pathway for essential or emergency costs with no other way to pay; food and some dental assistance are related uses.
• Advance Payment of Benefit — Repayable assistance for essential or emergency costs for recipients of qualifying benefits or pensions.
• Recoverable Assistance Payment — Repayable help for essential or emergency costs if you do not receive a Work and Income benefit.
• Funeral Grant — Help with reasonable funeral costs, subject to estate and applicable family financial assessment.
• Civil Defence Payment — Event-activated assistance with essentials, accommodation or lost income after specified emergencies.
• Jobseeker Support Student Hardship — Living support during a study break longer than 3 weeks while seeking work and meeting hardship criteria.
• Training Incentive Allowance — Helps recipients of specified benefits with approved course fees and related study costs.
• 20 Hours ECE — Official information link for 20 Hours ECE. Read guidance on the Ministry of Education website.
• Final-year Fees Free — Claim eligible final-year study or final two years of work-based learning fees after completing your first qualifying programme.
• SuperGold Card — Discounts and transport concessions for eligible older people; not a cash payment.
• Veteran's Pension — A pension for veterans meeting qualifying service and pension requirements.
• Independent earner tax credit — A tax credit for NZ tax residents within the eligible annual-income range and other rules.

Independent directory — not a government website or endorsed service.