Children in your care

If you’ve had a baby, you need to tell us the date the child was born.

We’ll work out if the change affects what you’re getting from us.

How to tell us

1. Fill out a change in circumstances form.
2. Either:
   • register your child's birth with Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) using SmartStart and agree to share this information with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD)
   • provide a verified copy of your child's birth certificate.
3. Log in to Connect and upload your:
   • form
   • verified birth certificate, if you haven't registered your child's birth with DIA and agreed to share this with MSD.

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You have a partner

If you're under 24, having a baby may mean we now consider you and your partner to be in a recognised relationship which means you could now either:

• be able to get a Student Allowance or
• your Student Allowance payment could be affected.

How to tell us

If you're in a recognised relationship, you'll need to:

• apply online (if you haven't already applied) if you're now able to get a Student Allowance
• get your partner to fill out Student Allowance partner's application form
• get your partner to provide a verified copy of their birth certificate (if we haven't already seen it)
• log in to Connect and upload your form and verified birth certificate

If you’ve recently started caring for a child, you need to tell us:

• the date the child entered your care
• the child’s relationship to you.

We’ll work out if the change affects what you’re getting from us.

How to tell us

• Fill out a change in circumstances form.
• Provide:
  • a verified copy of the child's birth certificate
  • if the child's not yours or you have shared custody, confirmation from the parent or court that the child is in your care (eg a custody agreement).
• Log in to Connect and upload your form, verified birth certificate and other documents.

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You have a partner

If you're under 24, having a baby may mean we now consider you and your partner to be in a recognised relationship which means you could now either:

• be able to get a Student Allowance or
• your Student Allowance payment could be affected.

How to tell us

If you're in a recognised relationship, you'll need to:

• apply online (if you haven't already applied) if you're now able to get a Student Allowance
• get your partner to fill out Student Allowance partner's application form
• get your partner to provide a verified copy of their birth certificate (if we haven't already seen it)
• log in to Connect and upload your form and verified birth certificate

If a child has left your care, you need to tell us the date the child left your care.

How to tell us

Email us or call us right away.

You have a partner

If you're under 24 and don't have any children in your care, we'll no longer consider you in a recognised relationship

This means your Student Allowance may now be based on your parents' income