General Student Allowance criteria

In general, to get the Student Allowance you'll need to:

• be 18 or over (some 16-17 year olds can also get it)
• study full-time (or limited full-time with our approval)
• be at secondary school or on a tertiary course approved by the Tertiary Education Commission
• be a New Zealand citizen, permanent resident or refugee.

How much you can get

Accommodation benefit

As part of the Student Allowance, you may be able to get an Accommodation Benefit if you live away from the parental home while you study, or have a partner and your combined income is less than $371.46 before tax per week.

You can only get the Accommodation Benefit if you qualify for Student Allowance.

How much you can earn

You can earn up to $185.73 a week before tax without your Student Allowance payments being affected.

For every cent that you earn over $185.73, the amount you get for the Student Allowance before tax will reduce by the same amount.

For example, if you earn $200 a week before tax, your Student Allowance will reduce by $14.27.

Combined income limit

A higher rate of Student Allowance will be paid if you and your partners combined income is $371.46 or less before tax per week.

If your combined income is more than $371.46 but less than $773.85 before tax per week then Student Allowance will be paid at a lower rate. In any week that your combined income is $773.85 before tax or more, there will be no entitlement to Student Allowance for that week.

How long you can get a Student Allowance for

 You need to apply for the Student Allowance each time you enrol for a new period of study.

Usually you can get the Student Allowance for up to 200 weeks in total. But you may be able to get it for longer in some situations - so talk to us if you've already received it, or are close to receiving it, for 200 weeks.

You need to pass more than half your course to get it again.

Situations where you can't get a Student Allowance

You can't get the Student Allowance if you're in prison or doing paid work as part of your course, or have a Student Allowance debt that you are not actively paying back.

If you're on a Work and Income benefit such as the Domestic Purposes, Widows or Invalids Benefit or an Emergency Maintenance Allowance you may be able to stay on your benefit while studying full-time. If you're on any other benefit a Student Allowance may be a better option for you. You need to talk to your Work and Income case manager before you start your course. 

Make sure you talk to us if you can't get a Student Allowance, because there may be other types of financial assistance to help while you study.

If you study overseas

To get a Student Allowance when you're studying overseas your study programme must be approved by the Tertiary Education Commission.

Tertiary students must be enrolled at a tertiary education provider in New Zealand.

Secondary students must be studying through a recognised exchange organisation and must have attended a New Zealand secondary school prior* to commencing the exchange programme.

The amount you can get overseas is the same as if you're studying in New Zealand.

*or within a reasonable timeframe, as determined by StudyLink, if a delay in commencement is due to a different secondary school year in the host country.

If you plan to study overseas, you will need complete an overseas study application and a Student Allowance application.