skip to navigation skip to main content
StudyLink
  • A-Z
  • Forms

  • Home
  • Starting study
  • In study
  • Returning to study
  • Finished studying
  • Home
  • Search
  • Login
  • Menu
  • Menu
  • Online Services
    • Your RealMe login
      • Manage your RealMe account
      • Forgotten username or password
    • MyStudyLink
      • What you can do in MyStudyLink
      • Can’t log in to MyStudyLink
    • Apply
      • First-time students
      • Returning application in MyStudyLink
      • Apply in MyStudyLink
      • Help with applying online
      • Information you'll need
      • Help with filling in the online form
      • Documents supporting your application
      • Verifying copies of original documents
      • How to send us your documents
      • Application status in MyStudyLink
      • When do payments start
    • Eligibility test
      • What the test assesses you for
      • Eligibility test disclaimer and privacy information
  • Starting study
    • How StudyLink works
    • Thinking about study
      • What and where to study
      • Your costs while studying
      • How to pay for study
      • Scholarships
      • Moving from benefit to study
      • Information for parents
    • What's available
      • Student Allowance
      • Student Loan
      • Extra help
      • Help for partners
      • On a benefit
      • Studying part-time
      • Studying overseas
      • Coming to NZ to study
    • Apply
    • Student Allowance
    • Student Loan
  • In study
    • Change in circumstances
      • Age changes
      • Address and contact details
      • Bank account
      • Cancel your loan
      • Change course or programme
      • Change papers
      • Children in your care
      • Going overseas
      • Change living costs
      • Relationships
      • Tax code
      • Change education provider
    • Childcare
      • Absent from childcare
      • Change in hours
      • Change in reason you get payment
      • Child moves providers
      • Child no longer in your care
      • Start or stop 20 hours ECE
      • Continuing pre-school childcare
      • Continuing childcare when your child's at school
      • Extending childcare
      • Moving to OSCAR
      • Add a child
      • Stop payments
      • Child stops childcare
      • Study, work or training
      • Teacher only day
    • Debt
      • Pay from overseas
      • Pay from NZ
    • Urgent or unexpected costs
      • Food
      • Accommodation
      • Travel for COVID-19 vaccination
      • Power, gas and water bills or heating
      • Dental treatment
      • Glasses
      • Whiteware (eg, fridge, freezer, washing machine)
      • Car repairs
    • Income
      • Student Allowance
      • Student Loan
      • Childcare
      • Extra help
      • Jobseeker Support Student Hardship
      • Parents income
    • Study details
      • Break between study
      • Change study dates
      • Claim course related costs
      • Drop papers
      • Extending your study
      • Jobseeker Support Student Hardship obligations
      • Not meeting course requirements
      • Pick up papers
      • Student Allowance obligations
      • Student Loan obligations
      • Summer school
      • Unpaid work or research
      • Withdraw
      • Working while studying
  • Returning to study
    • Continue from last semester
    • Took a study break
    • Postgraduate study
    • Returning application
  • Finished studying
    • Help when you finished study
    • What happens to your loan
    • More study
    • Starting work
  • Payments and rates
    • A-Z of payments
      • Student Allowance
      • Student Loan
    • Rates
    • Calculators
  • Forms
  • Glossary
  • About StudyLink
    • Contact us
      • Phone numbers
      • Send evidence
    • News
    • Glossary
    • Our services
      • Appointments
      • Cheap as data
      • Death of a student
      • How StudyLink works
      • About us
    • Agents
    • Complaints
  • About this site
    • Access keys
    • Privacy, disclaimer and copyright information
    • Online security
    • Site map
    • Change font size
Home / About StudyLink / News / Student support changes 2018

About StudyLink

  • Contact us
  • News
  • Glossary
  • Our services
  • Agents
  • Complaints

Student support changes 2018

05 December 2017.

An overview of the changes to student support from 1 January 2018.

New tertiary students who start study on or after 1 January 2018 may be eligible for fees-free study.

You can check if you're eligible for fees-free study using the tool on the fees-free website. It's a good idea to do this before applying for student support for 2018 so you know whether to ask for a loan for your fees.

If you're eligible, you still need to apply for a Student Loan if you want to borrow the course-related costs or living costs components.

We encourage you to apply by 16 December and provide your supporting documents promptly to ensure your applications are sorted for the start of your study.

From 1 January 2018, Student Allowance rates will increase by $50 a week.

Where the rate reflects the living costs of 2 adults, the increase will be $100 a week.

No changes are being made to eligibility rules for Student Allowances.

For example:

  • single students aged under 24 and living away from home will go from $177.03 to $227.03 a week
  • single students with children will go from $329.57 to $379.57 a week
  • couples with children (where 1 partner is not enrolled in more than half of a full-time course) will go from $379.34 to $479.34 a week.

If you're getting a Student Allowance, you won't need to do anything to receive the increased rate.

The increase in the Student Allowance rates means some students who previously wouldn't have received an allowance due to personal or parental income will now be entitled.

The maximum amount you can borrow through a Student Loan to help pay for living costs will also rise by $50 a week - from $178.81 to $228.81 a week.

No changes are being made to eligibility rules for Student Loans.

If you're getting a Student Loan and want to check or change your living costs, you can do this in MyStudyLink by:

  • going to the Loan Living Costs screen.
  • changing your chosen amount.
Log in to MyStudyLink

linksRelated

Read the Student Allowance and Loan release from the Minister of Education
Read the Fees-free release from the Minister of Education
Find out more on the Tertiary Education Commission website
Find out more on the Ministry of Education website

How we can help

  • Starting study
  • In study
  • Returning to study
  • Finished studying

Online services

  • Eligibility test
  • MyStudyLink
  • Declare income

About

  • About StudyLink
  • About this site
  • Access keys
  • Privacy, disclaimer and copyright

Contact us

  • How to contact us
  • Facebook
Ministry of Social Development logo govt.nz - connecting you to New Zealand central & local government services shielded