Retraining after redundancy: Student Allowance, Jobseeker and study rules

Choosing your path

Student Allowance

• Weekly payment for living costs; you don't pay it back. Usually for ages 18 to 65, studying full-time.
• Course: undergraduate level 7 or below (or a bachelor with honours) at an approved provider, or secondary school.
• Residency: NZ citizens are generally eligible; others need to be ordinarily resident, with 3 years living here and a residence-class visa for 3 years.
• Income test: your parents' income counts if you're under 24 with no children; your partner's counts if you're both over 24 or have a child.
• Not available if you receive a benefit you can stay on while studying, NZ Super or Veteran's Pension, or if you're over 65.
• Rates are indexed to the CPI on 1 April: for the 2026 year, single under-24s are $286.35 (at home) and $333.38 (away from home) a week after tax.
• Limits apply on how long you can get it and you need to pass courses; check the criteria.

A break of more than 3 weeks between study means Student Allowance doesn't continue; Jobseeker Support Student Hardship may help over breaks.

Rule change: Parental Assistance Test from 2 November 2026

StudyLink's page (updated 6 October 2026) says the Social Security (Jobseeker Support and Accommodation Supplement) Amendment Bill passed its final reading on 25 August 2026, so the changes are no longer just proposed. The original start date was 2 November 2026, and Work and Income says the same date for the Jobseeker Support changes. The StudyLink page does not restate a start date for the version that passed, so confirm it before relying on it.

• Applies to 18 and 19-year-olds, a small number of 16 and 17-year-olds, and partners under 20, for Jobseeker Support Student Hardship and the equivalent Emergency Benefit.
• The test has a parental income part and a parental support part. StudyLink's description: you must show you can't reasonably rely on your parents' support (for example, long-term parental hospital care, imprisonment, or family breakdown), and that your parents' combined pre-tax income is at or below $67,225.
• Work and Income has said the income limit matches the cut-out for a couple with dependent children on Supported Living Payment, and that it moves each 1 April. An earlier figure of $65,529 was published before the 1 April 2026 adjustment, so use the current figure from the official pages.
• Young people with dependent children, or who receive Foster Care Allowance for a child in their care, are exempt.
• Under the original proposal, current clients keep receiving payment until the end of their current study break.

Details may be refined, so check studylink.govt.nz and workandincome.govt.nz before you rely on this.

Making the study decision

• Run the numbers: compare Student Allowance (plus loan) against what you'd get on Jobseeker Support and extra help such as Accommodation Supplement.
• Ask careers.govt.nz and the Direct Career Service (0800 222 733) which fields hire locally.
• If you're a sole parent, ask about help with childcare while studying (see the childcare guide).