Temporary Additional Support in New Zealand: help with medical and other essential costs a benefit doesn't cover

Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-09-09 · Reviewed annually, or sooner if the rules it describes change.

Temporary Additional Support is a non-taxable weekly payment from Work and Income for people whose essential living costs, including ongoing medical and health costs, are not covered by their income, paid for a maximum of 13 weeks at a time before you must reapply (Work and Income, Temporary Additional Support, retrieved 9 September 2026). You do not need to be on a main benefit to qualify, but it is income and asset tested and treated as a genuine last resort.

What it's actually for

Temporary Additional Support (TAS) sits at the top of Work and Income's payment stack: it is meant to fill the specific gap left once your income, any main benefit, and every other payment you are eligible for still doesn't cover your essential costs. Work and Income's own policy guidance (retrieved 9 September 2026) describes it as "paid as a last resort" and requires recipients to be actively taking reasonable steps to reduce costs or increase income while receiving it.

What TAS is	What TAS is not
A weekly top-up for essential, ongoing costs your income can't stretch to	A one-off emergency payment (that's a hardship grant instead)
Available whether or not you're on a main benefit	Only for beneficiaries
Capped at 13 weeks per grant, reassessed on reapplication	An open-ended, permanent top-up
Income and asset tested	Available regardless of income or savings

(Work and Income, Temporary Additional Support, retrieved 9 September 2026.)

What does Temporary Additional Support cover?

TAS can cover regular, ongoing essential costs including accommodation costs (rent, board or home ownership costs), formula-assessed child support paid through Inland Revenue, employment-related costs such as public transport to work or childcare while you work, and health and disability costs such as prescription fees, under Work and Income's essential costs guidance (retrieved 9 September 2026). Not every cost is listed; Work and Income assesses each application against what counts as an essential, regular expense.

How much is Temporary Additional Support?

There is no single published dollar figure, because the amount is calculated individually against your specific allowable costs, income and main benefit rate under the Social Security Regulations 2018, Schedule 3 (New Zealand Legislation, retrieved 9 September 2026). Work and Income does not publish a simple formula a household can self-calculate; use the Check what you might get tool for an individual estimate, or ask Work and Income directly.

How long can you receive Temporary Additional Support?

Up to 13 weeks at a time. If your circumstances mean you still need it after that, you must reapply, and Work and Income reassesses your income, costs and assets again at that point, under Work and Income's TAS guidance (retrieved 9 September 2026). It is designed as a temporary bridge, not a standing payment, though there is no fixed limit on how many times you can reapply if your circumstances still qualify.

Is Temporary Additional Support the same as a hardship grant?

No. TAS is a recurring weekly payment for ongoing essential costs, reassessed every 13 weeks, while a hardship grant, known formally as a Special Needs Grant, is a one-off payment for a specific emergency or essential cost you cannot pay another way. See our WINZ hardship grant guide for that separate payment.

Do you have to pay back Temporary Additional Support?

No. TAS is a non-taxable payment that does not need to be repaid, unlike an Advance Payment of Benefit, which is effectively an interest-free loan deducted from your future payments. Our hardship grant guide explains that separate repayable option.

How do you apply for Temporary Additional Support?

If you already get payments from Work and Income, you complete a Temporary Additional Support application form (form S26) and provide proof of your costs; if you are a new client, you apply online through MyMSD or fill out an Extra Help application form (Work and Income, Temporary Additional Support, retrieved 9 September 2026). You have 20 working days from your first contact with Work and Income to complete the application, and can be granted assistance from the date you first requested it.

Who can get Temporary Additional Support?

You may qualify if you are over 16, a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident who normally lives in New Zealand, have essential costs you have no other way to pay for, and are not already getting Special Benefit, subject to income and asset limits and taking reasonable steps to reduce costs or increase income (Work and Income, Temporary Additional Support, retrieved 9 September 2026).

What are the asset limits for Temporary Additional Support in 2026?

At 1 April 2026, the cash asset limit is $1,411.22 for a single person and $2,351.46 for a couple, or a sole parent, with or without children (Work and Income, Temporary Additional Support asset limits, current, retrieved 9 September 2026). Holding assets above these limits generally disqualifies you, regardless of your income.

Does a main benefit change affect my Temporary Additional Support?

Yes, because TAS is calculated against your total income including any main benefit. Main benefits are reviewed every 1 April and usually increase; if your main benefit goes up, your TAS payment may go down, and if your main benefit goes down, your TAS may go up, since the two move to keep your total assistance in line with your assessed costs (Work and Income, Temporary Additional Support, retrieved 9 September 2026). Our WINZ benefit rates guide covers the 1 April 2026 main benefit rates.

Can I get Temporary Additional Support for ongoing medical costs?

Yes. Regular, ongoing health and disability costs, such as prescription fees not otherwise covered, are one of the four categories of essential cost TAS can be assessed against, alongside accommodation, child support and employment-related costs (Work and Income, Temporary Additional Support, retrieved 9 September 2026). Where the ongoing cost relates specifically to a disability, the separate Disability Allowance may be a better first check, since it is designed specifically for that and can be paid alongside TAS.

Can I get Temporary Additional Support if I'm not on a main benefit?

Yes. TAS does not require you to be receiving a main benefit such as Jobseeker Support or the Supported Living Payment; it is assessed against your total income, essential costs and assets regardless of the source of that income (Work and Income, Temporary Additional Support, retrieved 9 September 2026). A working household with unusually high essential costs relative to income can still qualify.

What happens if my costs or income change while I'm getting TAS?

You must tell Work and Income if your costs or income change while you are receiving TAS, and your payment is recalculated accordingly: if your costs go up, your TAS may increase, and if your costs go down or your income rises, your TAS may decrease (Work and Income, Temporary Additional Support, retrieved 9 September 2026). This is separate from the automatic recalculation that happens at your 13-week reapplication.

Is Temporary Additional Support counted as taxable income?

No. TAS is explicitly non-taxable, the same as most Work and Income supplementary and hardship assistance, meaning it does not reduce other income-tested payments through a tax mechanism, though it can still affect other income-tested assistance through the ordinary income test itself (Work and Income, Temporary Additional Support, retrieved 9 September 2026).

What's changing in 2027

A confirmed change is coming to TAS from 1 April 2027: the maximum rate of payment reduces from 30% to 25% of main benefit rates (excluding NZ Superannuation and Veteran's Pension recipients), and formula-assessed child support liability is removed as an allowable cost for all recipients, under Budget 2026 (Ministry of Social Development, TAS – Change to maximum rate and removing child support factsheet, Budget 2026, retrieved 9 September 2026). MSD estimates this saves $195.557 million in Vote Social Development operating spending over four years to 2029/30, and says clients currently at the maximum rate, or claiming child support as an allowable cost, will see their entitlement reduced or lose eligibility entirely from that date.

Change	Current (2026)	From 1 April 2027
Maximum rate of payment	30% of main benefit rates	25% of main benefit rates (excludes NZS/VP)
Formula-assessed child support as an allowable cost	Included	Removed for all recipients
Asset limit, single	$1,411.22	Not yet published
Asset limit, couple or sole parent	$2,351.46	Not yet published

(Ministry of Social Development, Budget 2026 factsheet; Work and Income, TAS asset limits, retrieved 9 September 2026.)

Where TAS fits in the wider benefits system

TAS is one of several "top-up" supplements sitting above a main benefit or your own income; it is worth comparing against the other options before applying.

Payment	What it's for	Where to read more
Temporary Additional Support	Recurring weekly top-up for essential costs, 13 weeks at a time	This page
WINZ Hardship Grant (Special Needs Grant)	One-off payment for a specific emergency or essential cost	Hardship grant NZ
Disability Allowance	Weekly payment for regular costs from a disability lasting 6+ months	Disability Allowance NZ
Jobseeker Support	Main income benefit while looking for work	Jobseeker Support NZ

(Work and Income; see each linked guide's own References section for full citations, retrieved 9 September 2026.) The Work and Income benefits hub indexes every payment in this cluster, and our guide to applying for a benefit in NZ covers the general application process and documents you'll need.

If ongoing medical costs are the reason you're checking TAS, and the underlying issue is being unable to work because of illness or injury, our off-work-sick cluster covers the wider picture: financial help when you're sick, how long you can be off work sick, sick leave entitlement in NZ and ACC versus the sickness benefit. If job loss is behind the cost pressure rather than illness, our losing your job cluster covers Jobseeker Support and redundancy pay in NZ. For an income shortfall that is likely to run longer than 13 weeks, comparing income protection cover is worth doing alongside any Work and Income application.

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. Start a free comparison if you would like a licensed adviser to review your own cover.

Adviser's view

QuoteHub's read is that Temporary Additional Support is best understood as a shock absorber, not a plan: it exists to cover the gap between what you earn and what your fixed essential costs actually are, right now, and Work and Income expects you to be actively reducing costs or increasing income while you receive it, not treating it as an ongoing top-up.

Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Temporary Additional Support NZ: Medical Hardship. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/benefits/temporary-additional-support-nz. Updated 2026-09-09.