Financial help when you are sick in New Zealand: every option, who pays and how much
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.
New Zealand has no single benefit for "being sick": the money comes from up to nine separate systems depending on your situation, starting with 10 days of paid sick leave and running through ACC, Work and Income and private insurance (Employment New Zealand, retrieved 9 September 2026; Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). This guide is QuoteHub's route map through all of them, in the order most people actually need to check them.
Every source of money, at a glance
The biggest single figure on this page is the Supported Living Payment at $424.60 a week net for a single adult, and the table below lists every option with its headline figure and the guide that covers it in full.
| Source | What it pays | Who qualifies | Full guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory sick leave | Your normal daily pay, for otherwise-working days | Employees, 6 months with the same employer | Sick leave entitlement NZ |
| ACC weekly compensation | 80% of pre-injury earnings, capped at $2,466.20/week from 1 July 2026 | Accident or injury only, not illness | ACC vs sickness benefit NZ |
| Jobseeker Support (health condition) | $372.55/week net, single 25+ | A health condition, injury or disability limits your ability to work | ACC vs sickness benefit NZ |
| Supported Living Payment | $424.60/week net, single 18+ | A health condition, injury or disability severely limits ability to work | ACC vs sickness benefit NZ |
| National Travel Assistance | Up to $0.44/km, up to $140/night accommodation | Frequent or long-distance specialist travel | National Travel Assistance NZ |
| Cancer Society and Blood Cancer NZ | Case-by-case, not a fixed amount | Cancer patients and families | Cancer financial support NZ |
| Pharmac exceptional circumstances | Funds a specific non-Pharmac medicine, case by case | A named patient with clinician support | Paying for non-Pharmac drugs NZ |
| Redundancy, if it comes to that | Statutory minimum is $0 unless your agreement provides for it | Role made genuinely redundant | Redundancy insurance NZ |
| Income protection insurance | Up to an agreed % of income, per your policy | Anyone insured before falling ill | Income protection guide |
(Employment New Zealand; ACC; Work and Income; Health New Zealand; Pharmac; retrieved 9 September 2026, see References.)
Step 1: use your statutory sick leave first
What can I claim if I am off work sick in NZ?
Start with statutory sick leave: eligible employees get 10 days of paid sick leave a year after 6 months with the same employer, paid at relevant or average daily pay (Employment New Zealand, retrieved 9 September 2026). Full detail, carry-over rules and proof requirements are on sick leave entitlement NZ, and the cost of a medical certificate if your employer asks for one is on medical certificate NZ.
What happens once my sick leave runs out?
Once your paid sick leave balance reaches zero, the next options are annual leave, unpaid leave by agreement, ACC (if the absence is injury-related) or a Work and Income benefit (if it is illness-related and affects your ability to work) (Employment New Zealand, retrieved 9 September 2026). The full sequence of what happens at each stage is set out on how long can you be off work sick in NZ.
Step 2: work out if it is an accident or an illness
The decision that changes everything downstream is whether the absence was caused by an accident or by an illness, since ACC only pays for the first and Work and Income only pays for the second.
| Cause of absence | System that pays | Headline weekly figure |
|---|---|---|
| Accident or injury (any cause) | ACC weekly compensation | 80% of pre-injury earnings, capped at $2,466.20 |
| Illness, injury or disability affecting work capacity | Jobseeker Support | $372.55 (single, 25+) |
| Illness, injury or disability severely limiting work capacity | Supported Living Payment | $424.60 (single, 18+) |
| Injury at work, first week only | Employer, not ACC | 80% of usual earnings |
(ACC; Work and Income; Employment New Zealand; retrieved 9 September 2026.)
Does ACC pay if I am sick, not injured?
No. ACC weekly compensation only applies to injury caused by an accident, paying 80% of pre-injury average weekly earnings from around day 8, capped at $2,466.20 a week from 1 July 2026 (ACC, retrieved 9 September 2026; ACC, retrieved 9 September 2026). An illness such as cancer, a stroke unrelated to an accident, or a chronic condition falls outside ACC entirely, and Work and Income is the relevant system instead. The full comparison, including how the two systems interact, is on ACC vs sickness benefit NZ, and the ACC gap calculator and ACC hub cover the injury side further.
Step 3: check Work and Income if the illness is longer-term
Does Work and Income help if I am sick?
Yes, through two main benefits: Jobseeker Support if a health condition, injury or disability affects your ability to work, and Supported Living Payment if it severely limits that ability (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026; Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). Both need a medical certificate confirming the condition and its impact.
Can I get Jobseeker Support if I have a health condition?
Yes, if the condition affects your ability to work and you provide a Work Capacity Medical Certificate; the published rate for a single applicant aged 25 or over is $372.55 a week after tax, before any income reduces it (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026).
What is the difference between Jobseeker Support and Supported Living Payment?
Jobseeker Support is for a health condition, injury or disability that affects your ability to work; Supported Living Payment is for one that severely limits it, meaning you generally cannot regularly work 15 or more hours a week (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). Supported Living Payment also pays more: $424.60 a week net for a single applicant aged 18 or over, against $372.55 for Jobseeker Support (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026; Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026).
Can I get a benefit and use sick leave at the same time?
Generally no, in the sense that Work and Income benefits are designed for people not currently receiving full pay from an employer; while you still have paid sick leave available and are receiving your normal pay, you are not "not working" for benefit purposes. Once your paid leave and pay stop, that is the point to apply. See ACC vs sickness benefit NZ for the full mechanics of moving between systems.
Step 4: cover the costs that sit alongside lost income
Is there help with travel to hospital appointments?
Yes, if you are referred by one specialist to another within a government-funded service: National Travel Assistance pays $0.44 a kilometre from 2 April 2026 (a temporary 30% increase) and up to $140 a night for accommodation with an invoice (Health New Zealand, retrieved 9 September 2026). Full eligibility rules are on National Travel Assistance NZ.
What financial help is there for cancer patients specifically?
Cancer Society NZ can point patients to Work and Income's Special Needs Grant, Working for Families and extra childcare hours, and its Information Helpline is 0800 226 237 (Cancer Society NZ, retrieved 9 September 2026); Blood Cancer NZ can offer case-by-case help such as food and petrol vouchers (Blood Cancer NZ, retrieved 9 September 2026). Full detail is on cancer financial support NZ.
What if I need a medicine that Pharmac does not fund?
Pharmac's Exceptional Circumstances Framework, including the Named Patient Pharmaceutical Assessment (NPPA) policy, can fund an individual patient's access to a medicine outside the standard Pharmaceutical Schedule, assessed case by case with your specialist's support (Pharmac, retrieved 9 September 2026). Every route, including insurer cover, hospital pharmacy funding and charitable support, is set out on paying for non-Pharmac drugs NZ.
Step 5: if you cannot return to your job
What happens if I cannot go back to my old job?
Your employer is not legally required to hold your role open indefinitely, and a medical incapacity process, if it comes to that, must follow a fair process and commonly takes weeks to months (Employment New Zealand, retrieved 9 September 2026). What a graduated return looks like, and what happens if the role cannot be kept open, is on returning to work after illness NZ.
Does redundancy pay apply if my role goes while I am sick?
If your role is made genuinely redundant, there is no legal minimum redundancy payment in New Zealand: whether you receive one depends entirely on your employment agreement, and if it does not mention redundancy pay, there is no compensation (Employment New Zealand, retrieved 9 September 2026), which is different from being dismissed for medical incapacity. See redundancy insurance NZ and redundancy pay NZ for the calculation if a redundancy payment is agreed.
Step 6: build a private backstop for next time
Can income protection insurance help if I am already sick?
Not for this illness: income protection insurance excludes pre-existing conditions, so a policy taken out after you are already unwell will not pay a claim for that condition (do I need income protection insurance). Its value is for the next time, replacing an agreed percentage of income once sick leave and any statutory support are exhausted. See the income protection guide, income protection cost NZ, income protection waiting and benefit periods and try the income protection calculator to see what cover could look like for your income.
Is income protection worth it compared with relying on Work and Income?
The gap is the honest answer: Jobseeker Support and Supported Living Payment pay a flat rate ($372.55 to $424.60 a week for a single adult) regardless of what you previously earned, while income protection insurance can be set to replace a much higher proportion of your actual income (Work and Income, retrieved 9 September 2026). Compare income protection vs trauma insurance and income protection insurance comparison for the private-cover side.
What each system needs from you before it pays
The paperwork differs by system, and having it ready before you apply is what actually speeds a claim up.
| System | What it needs first |
|---|---|
| Sick leave | Told your employer, and a medical certificate if 3+ days or requested |
| ACC | An ACC45 claim form from your treatment provider |
| Jobseeker Support or Supported Living Payment | A Work Capacity Medical Certificate from your health practitioner |
| National Travel Assistance | A specialist-to-specialist referral, registration, then a signed claim form with receipts |
(Employment New Zealand; ACC; Work and Income; Health New Zealand; retrieved 9 September 2026.)
The order to check things in
Most people get the best outcome working through these systems roughly in this order: sick leave first, then ACC or a Work and Income benefit depending on whether it is an accident or an illness, then National Travel Assistance and cancer or medicine-specific support if relevant, then a conversation about returning to work, and separately, income protection insurance as the thing to arrange before the next illness rather than during this one.
QuoteHub built this cluster because sick leave, ACC, Work and Income and private insurance are four different systems that a person off work sick has to work out almost simultaneously, and getting the order right saves weeks. 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 the full cluster, start at the off-work-sick hub, and if today's reading has you thinking about cover for the future, start a free comparison or read the income protection, trauma cover and health insurance guides.
Adviser's view
QuoteHub's view is that most people underuse this list not from lack of trying, but from stopping at the first system that does not apply, such as assuming ACC will pay for an illness, without realising a different system, sick leave, Work and Income or private cover, was built for exactly that gap and had simply not been checked yet.
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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Financial Help When Sick in NZ: Every Option (2026). www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/off-work-sick/financial-help-when-sick-nz. Updated 2026-09-09.
References
- Employment New Zealand: Taking sick leave
- Employment New Zealand: Health issues and ending employment
- Employment New Zealand: Redundancy
- ACC: Weekly compensation for employees
- ACC: Changes to ACC client payments from 1 July 2026
- Work and Income: Jobseeker Support
- Work and Income: Supported Living Payment
- Work and Income: Supported Living Payment cut-out points
- Health New Zealand: National Travel Assistance
- Cancer Society NZ: Financial assistance and benefits
- Blood Cancer NZ: Get support
- Pharmac: Exceptional Circumstances Framework
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, Referral.