ACC funeral grant and survivor support in New Zealand
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.
The ACC funeral grant is a payment of up to $8,236.40 towards funeral and memorial costs when a death is caused by an injury ACC covers, such as an accident. It is not taxed, and ACC pays the funeral director or reimburses the person who paid. It does not apply to deaths from illness or natural causes; those families look to the Work and Income Funeral Grant, which has a maximum of $2,697.43.
The ACC funeral grant is one part of ACC's support after a fatal injury (ACC: Financial support after a fatal injury). The amount is set by the date the person died, not the date you apply, and ACC reviews it each year, with the latest change on 1 July 2026. Alongside it, ACC lists a one-off survivor's grant for a partner and for each child or dependant, weekly childcare payments, and compensation for lost earnings where the person who died was working. Only a death from a covered injury opens any of these. You apply on one form, the ACC21 Advice of accidental death, which a spouse or partner, next of kin or the executor signs. Anyone can help fill it in, including the funeral director. ACC says there is no time limit on applying.
Who qualifies for the ACC funeral grant?
The test is the cause of death, not the family's means. The grant applies when the death results from an injury that ACC covers. In everyday terms that means an accident, and ACC's page describes the grant as help after a "fatal injury". ACC's page lists no income test or asset test for the funeral grant. That is different from the Work and Income grant, which tests the money available to the family.
What ACC does not do is pay a funeral grant for a death from illness or natural causes. ACC's page ties every payment to "an injury that we cover"; it does not say how it treats a death from a work-related condition, so we do not offer a view on that. ACC decides each case.
Some deaths sit in the middle: a fall at work, a road crash, a drowning, or a death some time after an injury. Whether a particular death counts is ACC's decision on the facts. We have no published source that sets out a list of qualifying and non-qualifying causes beyond the injury rule, so we do not offer one. If you are unsure, lodge the form and let ACC decide. Our guide to accidental death versus life insurance explains how the insurance side treats accidents.
How much does ACC pay?
ACC's page sets out these payments after a fatal injury. The funeral grant is the only one aimed at funeral costs; the others are general support for the family.
| ACC payment | Amount | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Funeral grant | Up to $8,236.40 | Funeral and memorial costs: burial, cremation, services, preparing or moving the body, flowers, death certificates |
| Homicide top-up | Up to $10,000 in total for funeral or memorial costs | A top-up to the funeral grant for families of murder or manslaughter victims |
| Survivor's grant, partner | $8,830.47, one-off | General support; not restricted to funeral costs |
| Survivor's grant, each child under 18 or other dependant | $4,415.25 each, one-off | General support; not restricted to funeral costs |
| Childcare payments | $187.78 a week for one child, $112.67 each for two, $262.88 a week in total for three or more | Up to five years or until the child turns 14, whichever comes first |
| Loss of income | Up to 80% of the lost earnings | Where the person who died was earning |
Sources: ACC, Financial support after a fatal injury, retrieved 20 October 2026; the 1 July 2026 amounts are also on ACC's newsroom page, retrieved 9 September 2026. ACC says you do not pay tax on the funeral grant, the survivor's grant or the childcare payments. The amounts depend on the date of death, so an earlier death may attract an earlier rate.
How far does the grant go? The Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand (FDANZ) gives an average of $11,700 for a full funeral with cremation for 50 guests and $14,300 with burial (FDANZ, 2026 industry report). Against those, ACC's maximum is about 70% and 58% respectively, and the Work and Income maximum about 23% and 19% (QuoteHub's arithmetic). Costs vary by region and by what the family chooses, so see what a funeral costs in New Zealand.
What the grant can be spent on
ACC keeps the list broad because funerals differ between families. It names burial or cremation, funeral services, preparing or transporting the body, flowers, death certificates and memorial services. ACC says the funeral or memorial can be in New Zealand or overseas.
ACC's page speaks of "funeral and memorial costs". It does not mention tangihanga by name. If the family is holding a tangihanga and the costs go beyond a standard funeral, ask ACC what it will meet before committing, and see our funeral costs pages for the figures families report.
ACC grant and Work and Income grant: can you get both?
Not for the same costs. Work and Income's own guidance says no Funeral Grant is paid where an ACC funeral grant is payable, and that its grant cannot top up costs left over after an ACC grant (Work and Income Manual: proof the funeral is not funded elsewhere, retrieved 20 October 2026). In practice the question is which scheme the death falls under.
| Situation | Funeral grant that applies | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Death from a covered injury | ACC, up to $8,236.40 | No Work and Income grant while the ACC grant is payable |
| Death from illness or natural causes | Work and Income, up to $2,697.43 | Income and asset tests apply |
| ACC declines the claim | Work and Income, up to $2,697.43 | Work and Income says there is no time limit to apply |
| Veteran with qualifying service | Veterans' Affairs, $3,297.09 at 1 April 2026 | A grant from ACC or Work and Income is taken into account |
Three other offsets are worth knowing:
- Benefits after a death. Work and Income payments to someone who has died may continue for up to 28 days where there is a partner or dependent children, but not if the partner receives an ACC survivor's grant (Work and Income: payments when a client dies).
- Childcare payments. ACC says the weekly childcare payments are not taxed but may affect Work and Income support.
- Insurance. We found no source saying ACC reduces its funeral grant because the person held life or funeral insurance. The Work and Income grant is different: it counts life insurance proceeds as cash assets, and prepaid funeral cover can affect whether you get it. See the Work and Income Funeral Grant.
Who counts as a partner, child or dependant
These definitions decide who can receive the survivor's grant and ongoing support. They come from ACC's page, last published 22 July 2026.
- Partner: a husband, wife, or someone the person was living with in the nature of marriage, including where they lived apart for work, health or imprisonment reasons.
- Child: a natural or adopted child (even if born up to a year after the death) and a child the person lived with and cared for. The amount for a child under 16 goes to their parent or caregiver.
- Other dependant: a disabled person who received financial support from the person who died.
ACC continues loss-of-earnings payments to a partner for five years or until the youngest child turns 18, and to a child until the end of the year they turn 18, or, if they are in full-time study in New Zealand, until they finish studying or turn 21. ACC says other dependants are paid until they earn more than the minimum wage for full-time work.
How to apply, step by step
- Get the form. The ACC21 Advice of accidental death is on ACC's site.
- Fill it in. ACC says anyone can fill it in for you, for example a friend, a family member or the funeral director. If you cannot complete it, give as many details as you can, and ACC will help if you call.
- Get it signed. The spouse or partner, next of kin, or the executor of the will signs it.
- Send it. ACC's page gives two postal addresses by region: ACC Hamilton Hub, PO Box 952, Hamilton 3240 (Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty), or ACC Dunedin Hub, PO Box 408, Dunedin 9054 (Taranaki, Manawatu-Whanganui, Hawke's Bay, Wellington and the South Island). The Hamilton email for the form is [email protected]. After you lodge, ACC assigns a Cover Assessor in its fatal claims team, who calls you.
- Keep the funeral account. ACC pays the funeral director directly or reimburses you if you have already paid. ACC's page lists no further documents, so ask when you lodge whether it wants the invoice or receipts.
- Tell other agencies. The death certificate costs $35 and govt.nz says to order it after the funeral (govt.nz). See who to notify after a death.
What if ACC declines the claim?
ACC's page does not set out the decline process, so we do not describe one. If ACC says the death is not from a covered injury, the Work and Income Funeral Grant is the fallback, and Work and Income says there is no time limit to apply (Work and Income Manual). Our guide to what to do after an ACC claim is declined covers challenging a decision.
Where else can families get support?
For time off work, see bereavement leave, and for bridging a gap while a grant is processed, see paying for a funeral.
Where funeral insurance fits
An ACC grant is never certain at the time a family has to decide, because it turns on the cause of death. Funeral insurance is a separate product that families sometimes hold. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance, issued by Momentum Life Limited, accepts New Zealanders aged 40 to 75 with no health questions and pays a fixed benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 towards costs. Death within 90 days of an accident pays three times the benefit, at any time, not only in the first 24 months. In the first 24 months any other death pays nothing and the premiums are refunded. Total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. Momentum's A.M. Best financial strength rating is B (Fair); see Momentum's financial strength page.
If you are reading this because someone has just died, you do not need any of this now. See our funeral insurance hub and accidental death funeral insurance when you want to compare. The buttons on this page start Momentum's own 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 Momentum Life partner and may receive a commission; see how we are paid.
Adviser's view
The ACC grant is worth knowing about because it is the larger of the two government funeral grants, but it applies only where ACC accepts the death as caused by a covered injury. If the cause is illness or natural, plan around the Work and Income grant instead, and if you are unsure, lodge the ACC21 form anyway because ACC says there is no time limit.
Talk to a licensed adviser about funeral cover · free, no obligation.
Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). ACC Funeral Grant NZ: Eligibility and How to Apply. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/when-someone-dies/acc-funeral-grant. Updated 2026-10-20.
References
- ACC: Financial support after a fatal injury
- ACC: Changes to ACC client payments from 1 July 2026
- ACC: ACC21 Advice of accidental death (DOCX)
- Work and Income: Funeral Grant
- Work and Income: Payments when a client dies
- FDANZ: 2026 Industry report
- Work and Income Manual: Funeral Grant payment and proof the funeral is not funded elsewhere
- Veterans' Affairs: Funeral expenses
- govt.nz: Get a death certificate
- Momentum Life: Financial strength
- Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (17 August 2023)
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, For Brokers.