Child support payment changes
29 May 2023.
From 1 July 2023, there are a number of changes happening around child support payments.
If you only get a Student Allowance or living costs from a Student Loan, none of these changes will apply to you.
These changes may apply to you if you're getting a payment from Work and Income (W&I). This could be a benefit or Accommodation Supplement.
Get child support payments through Inland Revenue and payment from W&I
The main change is when you get child support payments through Inland Revenue (IR) and a payment from Work and Income.
- IR will share most types of child support payment information with Work and Income, and
- Work and Income's systems will automatically treat these payments as income when working out your benefit and most other payments you get from them.
We can only use the information from IR for your Work and Income payment. This means you won't need to tell us about most types of child support payments you get through IR for your Work and Income payment.
We can't use the information from IR for your Student Allowance. This means if you get a Student Allowance, you'll still need to tell us about any child support payments you get through IR and from any other arrangement.
Visit the Work and Income website for more information about this change.
Other child support changes
There are other changes to child support payments if you are:
- a sole parent getting a benefit from Work and Income
- living in public housing and paying Income Related Rent through Work and Income.
- getting a Youth Payment or Young Parent Payment from Work and Income
- getting Temporary Additional Support from Work and Income
- getting Special Benefit from Work and Income.
Visit the Work and Income website for more information about these changes.