Work and Income, part of the Ministry of Social Development, runs two quite different payments that are relevant if you have Parkinson’s. They are assessed separately, they have separate application forms, and plenty of people qualify for one without realising the other exists.
Supported Living Payment replaces income when you can no longer work much. Disability Allowance reimburses the ongoing extra costs of a health condition — and it is the one people miss, because you can get it whether or not you are on a benefit.
Everything below was checked in August 2026, and the dollar figures are the rates that took effect on 1 April 2026. New Zealand adjusts benefit rates every 1 April through the Annual General Adjustment, so if you are reading this after the next April, open the rates page linked at the bottom.
Supported Living Payment: who can get it
There are general requirements and then requirements specific to why you are applying.
The general ones. You must be a New Zealand citizen, a permanent resident, or hold a residence class visa under the Immigration Act 2009; have “lived continuously in NZ for at least 2 years” since becoming one of those; be ordinarily resident in New Zealand; and be ordinarily resident here when you apply.
If you are applying because of a health condition. In Work and Income’s own words you must also be 16 or older, and either:
permanently and severely restricted in your ability to work because of a health condition, injury or disability, or totally blind.
They then define what that phrase means:
This means you have either a: condition affecting your capacity to work for more than 2 years, or life expectancy of less than 2 years.
It also means that you can’t regularly work 15 hours or more a week in open employment.
There is a second route into the same payment for someone giving full-time care at home to another person — not a partner — where that person “must otherwise need to receive hospital or residential-level care.” The age rule for that route is 18 or older without a dependent child, or 20 or older with one.
What Supported Living Payment pays
Weekly rates as at 1 April 2026. The first column is after tax at the “M” tax code, which is what most people will actually receive.
If you don’t have children
| Your situation | Weekly, after tax “M” | Weekly, before tax |
|---|---|---|
| Single, 16–17 | $355.87 | $405.90 |
| Single, 18+ | $424.60 | $489.21 |
| Couple (total) | $721.44 | $823.56 |
| Couple (each) | $360.72 | $411.78 |
If you have children
| Your situation | Weekly, after tax “M” | Weekly, before tax |
|---|---|---|
| Sole parent | $581.96 | $679.95 |
| Couple (total) | $756.94 | $866.60 |
| Couple (each) | $378.47 | $433.30 |
How much you actually get “depends on your situation, and how much you and your partner earn (in some cases we may not count all of your income).” Work and Income says it will tell you at application time if some of your income will not be counted.
Two things come attached. People on Supported Living Payment automatically receive the Winter Energy Payment during the winter months. And there is a Community Services Card, whose income cut-off points are published on the same rates page — for a single person living alone and not on NZ Super, the annual cut-out is $37,116 before tax.
Disability Allowance: the one people miss
This is a weekly payment “for people who have regular, ongoing costs because of a disability,” and the first thing Work and Income says about it is the thing worth repeating:
You don’t have to be on a benefit to qualify for a Disability Allowance.
To get it you must have “a disability that is likely to last at least 6 months,” have regular ongoing costs because of it “that are not fully covered by another agency,” not be getting a Residential Care Subsidy, be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and normally live here intending to stay.
It is income-tested. Weekly income limits before tax, as at 1 April 2026:
| Your situation | Weekly income limit, before tax |
|---|---|
| Single 16–17 | $696.60 |
| Single 18+ | $870.00 |
| Couple, with or without children | $1,295.11 |
| Sole parent, 1 child | $971.51 |
| Sole parent, 2+ children | $1,023.59 |
The maximum is $82.85 a week, and it is not taxed. But it is a ceiling, not an entitlement: “How much you get depends on the extra costs you have because of your disability.” You claim against real costs, and you have to prove them — “You’ll need to provide proof of your costs so keep all your receipts.”
Costs that can be included
Work and Income publishes the full list. These are the ones that most often turn out to be relevant with Parkinson’s:
Your health practitioner has to confirm you need these because of your disability. Counselling and medical alarms each need their own extra form on top of the standard one. If you are not sure whether a cost counts, Work and Income says to ring and ask — 0800 559 009.
How to apply
There is one detail here worth more than everything else on this page:
MSD also has a pre-check tool at check.msd.govt.nz that estimates what you might get before you commit to an application.
Getting Supported Living Payment does one more thing that is easy to miss: it comes with a Community Services Card, and that card is what unlocks free prescriptions and household management help. See the card that quietly unlocks other things, and what your medicines cost and getting around once driving is harder for the costs it applies to.
Money and services are two different doors
Everything on this page is money from Work and Income. Actual services — home support, equipment, respite for the person caring for you — come through a different agency entirely, and applying for one does not start the other. If you have not been through a needs assessment, that is the door you are missing: NASC, the assessment everything else runs through.
Staying on it: the reviews are real
Both payments are reviewed, and the consequence of ignoring a form is not a warning letter.
- Circumstances, at least once every 52 weeks. For Supported Living Payment: “if you don’t respond by the due date, Supported Living Payments will stop.” The same applies to Disability Allowance.
- Annual income review, separate from the circumstances review.
- Medical information every 2 years on Supported Living Payment — “to check how your health condition or disability currently impacts on your capacity to work.”
- Obligations while you are on Supported Living Payment, including “telling us if something changes, preparing for work, taking part in work ability assessments.” If you have a partner, they have obligations too.
- Changed costs on Disability Allowance have to be reported, with a new medical certificate and fresh proof for anything new or increased.
You can still work while receiving Supported Living Payment — “even if it’s just a few hours a week” — so long as you stay under the 15-hour threshold that the eligibility test uses.
If this applies to you
| Your situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| You are still working 20 hours a week | You will not meet the Supported Living Payment test. Look at Disability Allowance instead — it does not require you to be on a benefit |
| You are not on any benefit but pay for prescriptions, heating and travel to appointments | Apply for Disability Allowance. Up to $82.85 a week, untaxed, and no benefit required |
| You are about to gather paperwork | Contact Work and Income first. Your entitlement can be backdated to that day if you finish within 20 working days |
| You got a “Confirming your Circumstances” form | Return it before the due date. Payments stop if you do not respond |
| You are caring full-time for someone with advanced Parkinson’s | There is a separate Supported Living Payment route for full-time carers, if the person you care for would otherwise need hospital or residential-level care. Carer Support and respite is a separate scheme again, and you can use both |
| Your costs have gone up since you were granted the allowance | Tell them. You will need a new medical certificate and receipts for the new or increased costs |
| You are unsure whether a particular cost counts | Ring 0800 559 009 — Work and Income says to ask rather than guess |
This page is not medical or legal advice and does not decide your entitlement. Rates shown took effect on 1 April 2026 and were checked in August 2026; they are adjusted every 1 April. Confirm your own situation with Work and Income and your care team.
