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 / In study / Change in circumstances / Children in your care

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
  • Debt
  • Urgent or unexpected costs
  • Income
  • Study details

Children in your care

If you have a baby, or a child enters or leaves your care, you must tell us as soon as possible as it could affect your payments.

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.
linksChange of circumstances form (PDF 724.39KB)

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
linksStudent Allowance partner's application form (PDF 307.74KB)

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 care, 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.
linksChange of circumstances form (PDF 724.39KB)

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
linksStudent Allowance partner's application form (PDF 307.74KB)

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

linksRelated

Apply online for a birth certificate
Student Allowance Rates
Other help
Shared custody while on Jobseeker Support Student Hardship

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