Temporary Additional Support

What Is This Payment?

Temporary Additional Support is administered by Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development). It is the main last-resort top-up in the New Zealand system: a weekly payment that helps when your regular, essential living costs are more than your income can cover, even after other assistance such as Accommodation Supplement has been taken into account. It is not a one-off grant like the Special Needs Grant; it is an ongoing weekly amount, paid while the gap between your costs and your income persists.

Two features define it. First, it is a last resort: it is granted only after a case manager has considered the other help available to you, because the policy intent is to fill the remaining gap rather than to be the first port of call. Second, it is temporary: it is granted for a limited period and reviewed regularly. When a review falls due, you re-apply with current details of your income, costs and cash assets so the case manager can recalculate the gap.

The amount is the shortfall between your essential living costs and your available income, within MSD's policy limits. Because that shortfall is specific to each household's costs and income, there is no published weekly figure. This is why the Benefit Check rule engine treats Temporary Additional Support as eligibility-only: it can confirm whether you clear the residency, age, accommodation-cost and cash asset gates, but the weekly amount is always a case-by-case calculation made by Work and Income.

What Does the Support Cover?

Temporary Additional Support helps with the regular essential living costs that your income does not stretch to cover. In the Benefit Check rule, the presence of an essential cost is signalled by a weekly accommodation cost above zero — accommodation being the largest and most common essential cost the top-up is designed to help with. The kinds of costs the support addresses include:

• Accommodation costs. Rent, board or other ongoing housing costs that, together with your other essential costs, exceed your income. This is the central cost the top-up targets, and the rule requires weekly_accommodation_cost > 0 for the support to be available.
• Other essential ongoing costs. Regular costs that are genuinely essential and recognised by MSD, where your income leaves a shortfall after meeting them.

The support is built around the idea of a continuing gap, not a single emergency. If you face a one-off essential cost instead — replacing a broken appliance, say — a Special Needs Grant or an Advance Payment of Benefit is the more suitable route. Temporary Additional Support is for the weekly squeeze where ongoing costs simply outpace ongoing income. Because it is calculated as the gap, the amount can change at each review as your income or costs change.

Eligibility Conditions

The Benefit Check rule engine applies four conditions. All must pass for the support to be available; the weekly amount is then calculated by a case manager as the gap between essential costs and income.

1. Residency: residency in {citizen, permanent_resident, qualifying_visa}. You must hold New Zealand citizenship, a permanent resident visa, or a qualifying visa recognised by Work and Income.
2. Age: age >= 16. You must be 16 years of age or older. There is no upper age limit in the rule, so people receiving NZ Super can qualify too if their essential living costs exceed their income.
3. Accommodation cost present: weekly_accommodation_cost > 0. You must have a weekly accommodation cost above zero. This is the rule's signal that an essential living cost exists for the top-up to help with. Someone with no accommodation cost at all does not meet this gate.
4. Cash assets: cash_assets <= limit. Your liquid savings must be at or below $1,411.22 for a single person, or $2,351.46 for a couple or a sole parent. Because the payment is a last resort, you are expected to use your own resources before it applies.

The cash asset limits are the same as those used by the Special Needs Grant, the Recoverable Assistance Payment and the Advance Payment of Benefit. What is distinctive about Temporary Additional Support is the accommodation-cost condition and the fact that the payment is ongoing and weekly rather than a one-off.

How To Apply

Channels: Apply through the MyMSD online portal, by phone on 0800 559 009, or in person at a Work and Income service centre.

Evidence to have ready:

• Proof of identity (NZ passport, driver licence, birth certificate, or RealMe verified identity).
• Proof of residency status if you are not a New Zealand citizen.
• Evidence of your weekly accommodation cost — a tenancy agreement, rent receipts, or a board arrangement.
• Details of your other essential living costs.
• Income evidence and recent bank statements showing your cash assets, plus your partner's details if you are partnered.

Timeline and review: A case manager confirms residency, that you are 16 or over, that you have an accommodation cost above zero, and that your cash assets are within the limit. They then calculate the gap between your essential living costs and your income to set the weekly amount, after considering other assistance available to you. Because the support is temporary, it is reviewed regularly — keep your contact details current and respond to review requests so the payment can continue without interruption.

Official Work and Income page for Temporary Additional Support →

Rule-Based Scenarios

These scenarios use the exact decision logic from the Benefit Check rule engine. Each shows whether the four gates pass; the weekly amount in a real case is the gap between essential costs and income, set by a case manager.

Scenario 1 — Renter passes all gates

Greer is 44, a New Zealand citizen, single, and renting a flat for $420 a week. Her income does not stretch to cover her rent and other essential costs once those are added up. She has $200 in savings. Residency passes (citizen). She is over 16. Her weekly accommodation cost of $420 is above zero, so that gate passes. Her cash assets of $200 are below the single limit of $1,411.22. All four gates pass, so Temporary Additional Support is available. A case manager calculates the gap between her essential costs and her income and pays that as a weekly top-up, reviewed regularly.

Scenario 2 — Blocked by no accommodation cost

Murray is 70, a permanent resident, living mortgage-free in a home he owns outright with no rent or board to pay. He receives NZ Super and finds money tight, but his weekly accommodation cost is $0. Because the rule requires weekly_accommodation_cost > 0 and his is zero, the support is not available through this gate. His age is fine and his assets may be fine, but with no accommodation cost the rule does not return Temporary Additional Support. A one-off essential cost would instead point him to a Special Needs Grant.

Scenario 3 — Sole parent blocked by cash assets

Vaimoana is 35, a New Zealand citizen, a sole parent, and renting for $400 a week. Her accommodation cost is above zero and she is over 16, so those gates pass, and her residency passes. However, she has $2,600 in savings, and the cash asset limit for a couple or sole parent is $2,351.46. Because $2,600 exceeds $2,351.46, the asset gate fails and no support is returned. As a last-resort payment, Temporary Additional Support expects her to draw on her available savings before it applies; once her cash assets fall to or below $2,351.46 she could re-apply.

Common Mistakes

• Expecting it as a first option. Temporary Additional Support is a last resort. A case manager considers the other help available to you — including Accommodation Supplement — before calculating the remaining gap this top-up fills. Treating it as the first thing to claim, rather than the gap-filler, leads to confusion about how the amount is worked out.
• Assuming it is a fixed weekly amount. There is no set rate. The payment is the gap between your essential living costs and your income, so it differs from household to household and can change at each review as your costs or income change. Do not budget on the assumption it will stay the same indefinitely.
• Forgetting it is temporary and needs review. The support is granted for a limited period and reviewed regularly. If you miss a review or do not provide updated details, the payment can stop. Respond promptly to review requests with current income, cost and asset information.
• Overlooking the accommodation-cost requirement. The rule needs a weekly accommodation cost above zero. Someone living rent- and board-free does not meet this gate, even with a genuine income shortfall. If your housing is fully owned and cost-free, this particular support may not be the right route.
• Holding too much in savings. A single applicant with $1,500 in the bank is over the $1,411.22 cash asset limit and will be declined on assets. The payment is a last resort, so you are expected to use your own liquid savings first; check your balance against your limit before applying.
• Using it for one-off costs. Temporary Additional Support is for an ongoing weekly shortfall, not a single emergency. A broken appliance or an urgent one-off cost is better matched to a Special Needs Grant or an Advance Payment of Benefit. Applying for the wrong product slows down the help you need.

Related Benefits

• Accommodation Supplement — a weekly payment towards high accommodation costs that is usually considered before Temporary Additional Support; the top-up fills the gap that remains after it.
• Special Needs Grant — the one-off non-recoverable grant for an essential or emergency cost, the right route when the need is a single cost rather than an ongoing weekly shortfall.
• Advance Payment of Benefit — a recoverable advance for main-benefit recipients facing a one-off essential cost; it shares the same cash asset limits as Temporary Additional Support.
• Jobseeker Support — a main benefit whose recipients often also qualify for Temporary Additional Support when their accommodation and other essential costs exceed their income.
• New Zealand Superannuation — because the rule has no upper age limit, NZ Super recipients with accommodation costs above their income can also qualify for the top-up.
• Community Services Card — an income-tested healthcare concession card that low-income households receiving Temporary Additional Support frequently also hold.