The WINZ hardship grant in New Zealand: what it covers and how to apply
A Work and Income Special Needs Grant is a one-off, non-repayable payment for an essential or emergency cost you have no other way to pay for, such as urgent dental treatment, a broken fridge or an ambulance bill (Work and Income, Special Needs Grant, retrieved 9 September 2026).
It is separate from an Advance Payment of Benefit, which is repaid out of your future payments, and from an Emergency Benefit, which is an ongoing weekly payment for people who do not qualify for any other benefit.
The three kinds of help, side by side
"Hardship grant" usually means one of three different Work and Income products, and confusing them is the most common mistake people make on the phone, so the table below sets out how they differ.
| Product | Repaid? | What it is for | How you get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special Needs Grant | No | An essential or emergency one-off cost | Payment card, same day if approved |
| Advance Payment of Benefit | Yes, from future weekly payments | An essential or emergency one-off cost | Payment card, same day if approved |
| Emergency Benefit | Not a grant; an ongoing benefit | You cannot support yourself and qualify for no other benefit | Weekly payment, ongoing |
(Work and Income, Special Needs Grant, Advance Payment of Benefit and Emergency Benefit pages, retrieved 9 September 2026.)
The Special Needs Grant
What can a WINZ hardship grant be used for?
A Special Needs Grant can cover essential costs such as a driver licence, bedding, dental treatment, health travel costs and school-related items, or emergency costs such as ambulance fees, medical treatment, medical equipment and a water tank refill (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). Work and Income assesses whether the cost is genuinely essential or an emergency, whether you had another way to pay for it, and how the grant will help your specific situation.
Do you have to pay back a WINZ hardship grant?
No. A Special Needs Grant does not need to be repaid, which is what separates it from an Advance Payment of Benefit (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). It is, however, income and asset tested, so it is not automatically available regardless of your financial position.
How much can you get from a WINZ hardship grant?
There is no single published maximum: how much you get depends on the actual cost you need help with and your situation, and Work and Income assesses it case by case rather than against a fixed table (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). What is published is the income and asset test you must meet, shown in the table below.
The Special Needs Grant and Advance Payment of Benefit share the same income and asset limits, and the table below sets out the current thresholds.
| If you are | Weekly income before tax must be less than | Cash assets must be worth less than |
|---|---|---|
| Single, 16 to 17 years | $879.17 | $1,411.22 |
| Single, 18 years or over | $1,010.41 | $1,411.22 |
| Couple, with or without children | $1,467.61 | $2,351.46 |
| Sole parent, 1 child | $1,226.09 | $2,351.46 |
| Sole parent, 2 or more children | $1,291.75 | $2,351.46 |
(Work and Income, Special Needs Grant and Advance Payment of Benefit, retrieved 9 September 2026. Asset limits exclude your home, car and some payments after a severe weather event.)
How often can you apply for a hardship grant?
Work and Income does not publish a fixed number of times you can apply in a year; each application is assessed on whether the specific cost is essential or an emergency, whether you have another way to pay for it, and whether you could reasonably have planned for it (Work and Income, Special Needs Grant, retrieved 9 September 2026). A pattern of repeated applications for the same type of cost is more likely to prompt Work and Income to look at other, longer-term support instead, such as Temporary Additional Support.
The Advance Payment of Benefit
What's the difference between a hardship grant and an advance payment of benefit?
A Special Needs Grant is free money you do not repay; an Advance Payment of Benefit is an interest-free loan, taken from your own future weekly payments, for the same kind of essential or emergency cost (Work and Income, Advance Payment of Benefit, retrieved 9 September 2026). Work and Income decides which of the two applies to your situation, and to qualify for either you need to be getting a main benefit, NZ Super, the Veteran's Pension, or Orphan's or Unsupported Child's Benefit.
What costs can an Advance Payment of Benefit cover?
An Advance Payment of Benefit can cover costs including car repairs, appliances and furniture, dental treatment, essential home repairs, tenancy tribunal fees, fire loss or burglary, and travel if you are stranded, among others (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). Because it is deducted from your ongoing payments, Work and Income also weighs whether your payments can sustain the deduction without leaving you short.
What example costs does each grant list?
Work and Income publishes example lists rather than an exhaustive one, and the table below shows some of the costs named for each grant, though your own situation may qualify even if it is not listed.
| Special Needs Grant examples | Advance Payment examples |
|---|---|
| Driver licence, dentures, hearing aids | Car repairs, appliances, furniture |
| Vasectomies, breast pump (medical need) | Bedding, beds, chairs, tables |
| Ambulance fees, medical equipment | Fire loss or burglary |
| Water tank refill | Tenancy tribunal fees, ending a tenancy early |
| Wigs and hairpieces | Attendance at funerals and tangihanga |
(Work and Income, Special Needs Grant and Advance Payment of Benefit, retrieved 9 September 2026.)
Does a hardship grant cover funeral costs?
An Advance Payment of Benefit lists "attendance at funerals and tangihanga" as an example essential cost it can help with, which is different from the separate WINZ funeral grant that helps pay for the funeral itself (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). If you are arranging a funeral, our paying for a funeral in NZ guide sets out every available source of help in one place.
Getting money urgently
How quickly can I get a hardship grant?
Both a Special Needs Grant and an Advance Payment of Benefit are applied for over the phone on 0800 559 009, and if approved Work and Income loads the money onto a payment card, usually the same day you speak with them, that works like an Eftpos card at any store that accepts them (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). You have 7 days to spend the balance before it expires.
Do I need to apply online first?
No. Unlike a main benefit application, both grant types are applied for by phone, not through the standard MyMSD online form; Work and Income talks through your situation with you and tells you what information to provide (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). If you already receive a main benefit, having your MyMSD login ready can speed up the call.
What if I don't qualify for any benefit at all?
If you cannot support yourself and do not qualify for Jobseeker Support, Sole Parent Support, Supported Living Payment or NZ Super, you may be able to get the Emergency Benefit instead, applied for the same way, by calling 0800 559 009 (Work and Income, Emergency Benefit, retrieved 9 September 2026). Unlike the Special Needs Grant or Advance Payment, the Emergency Benefit is an ongoing weekly payment, not a one-off amount, so if you might qualify for another benefit you need to apply for that instead.
Can I use the Check What You Might Get tool for a hardship grant?
The Check What You Might Get tool is designed to check eligibility for ongoing benefits and payments rather than one-off urgent-cost grants, so the fastest route for an essential or emergency cost is still to call 0800 559 009 directly and describe the situation (Work and Income, Urgent or unexpected costs, retrieved 9 September 2026).
Food and other specific costs
Work and Income can help with food if you have no other way to pay for it, such as no money in the bank and no cash assets, assessed under the same Special Needs Grant process (Work and Income, Food, retrieved 9 September 2026). A wider range of urgent costs, from housing to health, sits under the Urgent or unexpected costs hub on the Work and Income site, which is the starting point Work and Income itself recommends before you call.
Where this fits with the rest of the benefits system
A hardship grant is a short-term bridge, not a substitute for the weekly rate you are otherwise entitled to; our benefit rates guide sets out the current weekly amounts, and applying for a benefit in NZ covers the ongoing application if you are not already on one. Once you are on a benefit, WINZ payment dates and back pay and public holidays on a benefit cover the timing questions that most often prompt a hardship application in the first place, such as a payment landing later than expected. If the urgent cost keeps recurring because your regular costs outstrip your income, Temporary Additional Support, the Accommodation Supplement and the Disability Allowance are the payments designed for an ongoing shortfall rather than a one-off. If the hardship followed an illness or injury that stopped you working, our off work sick cluster, ACC vs sickness benefit and financial help when you are off work sick compare a benefit, ACC and an income protection claim, and if it followed a job loss, the losing your job cluster and redundancy pay in NZ cover the first 30 days.
QuoteHub built this page because a hardship grant is a good short-term fix but not a long-term plan: it cannot be relied on to repeat, and it does not replace the income a household needs if the main earner stops working for months rather than weeks. The full set of benefit guides sits under the main benefits hub. Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name. For that longer gap, income protection insurance is the product built to replace lost income, and a licensed adviser can work through whether it fits your situation. Related products worth checking if the hardship followed a health event are covered in our health insurance guide and trauma cover guide.
Adviser's view
People searching for a WINZ hardship grant are usually looking for one of two different products that Work and Income treats separately: a Special Needs Grant, which is free money for an essential cost you cannot pay another way, and an Advance Payment of Benefit, which is an interest-free loan against your own future payments. QuoteHub's read is that knowing which one you are actually asking for changes what you say on the phone, because an advance reduces your payments later and a grant does not.
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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). WINZ Hardship Grant NZ: What It Covers, How to Apply. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/benefits/hardship-grant-nz. Updated 2026-09-09.
References
- Work and Income: Special Needs Grant
- Work and Income: Advance Payment of Benefit
- Work and Income: Emergency Benefit
- Work and Income: Urgent or unexpected costs
- Work and Income: Food
- Check What You Might Get
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, For Brokers.