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Ministry of Social Development | Te Manatū Whakahiato Ora
Studylink | Hoto Akoranga
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  1. Home
  2. Starting study

Starting study

  • How StudyLink works
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Starting study

Guidance and help on what you need to do when you're starting study.

If you're thinking about studying, there's lots of things to consider.

You can read our quick guide about how we can help you and what you need to do to get payments from us.

How StudyLink works

First, you need an idea of what you're going to study and where you'll be studying. Then you can properly estimate how much studying is going to cost you.

You need to work out how much your study will cost, see how you can pay for it, and then decide if you can afford it.

What and where to study
Your costs while studying
How to pay for your study
Can you afford to study
Scholarships
Discount on public transport fares

We have a number of payments available to help you when you study.

Student Loan and Student Allowance

The 2 main payments we have are:

  • Student Loan - helps pay for your course fees, study materials and weekly living costs
  • Student Allowance - a weekly payment that can help with your living expenses.

There are certain criteria you'll need to meet to be able to get each payment.

If you're studying part-time, you will be limited in what you can get unless you can be classed as a full-time student.

Student Loan
Student Allowance
Studying part-time

Other payments

We may also be able to help with other costs, e.g. accommodation, childcare, or health and disability costs.

Extra help

Studying overseas

If you're studying overseas, you may be able to get a Student Loan or Student Allowance.

Studying while overseas

You have a partner

If you're studying, your partner may be able to get help from us.

Help for partners when you're studying

Getting a benefit from Work and Income

If you're getting a benefit and thinking about study, you may be able to get help from Work and Income, StudyLink, or both.

The type of help you can get, and who you get this from, depends on your situation.

Moving from a benefit to study
Studying while on a benefit

Find out what you may be able to get

Look at some examples of common student situations and the financial help they may be able to get from StudyLink and Work and Income.

You can also use our Eligibility test to find out what help you may qualify for, then choose if you want to apply.

Examples of what you can get
Eligibility test

There's a few things you need to do when you apply for a payment from us.

Apply online

When you're ready to apply, you'll apply online as a first-time student.

Apply as a first-time student
Help completing an online application

Information and documents to provide

You'll need to provide information in your application and then send us certain documents once you've submitted it. 

Information you need to provide
Documents to support your application
How to send us your documents
Verifying copies of original documents

Check your application's progress

Once you've applied, you can check your application's progress in MyStudyLink.

Application status

Your payments

Once your application's approved, we can pay you and your education provider.

When payments start

We have an A-Z list of all our payments and forms.

A-Z list of all payments
A-Z list of all forms
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How we can help

  • Starting study
  • In study
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  • Finished studying

Online services

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Go to Ministry of Social Development's website Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa / New Zealand Government