Power, gas and heating if you have a disability

You can apply for a Disability Allowance for you, your partner or a child.

The person who needs help with their power, gas or heating costs must have:

• a health condition or disability that's likely to last at least 6 months from when they were diagnosed
• regular, ongoing costs because of the health condition or disability that are not fully covered by another agency
• additional power, gas or heating costs because of the health condition or disability
• power, gas and heating costs over and above normal usage.

To apply, you need to:

• be 16 and older
• be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident.

It also depends on how much you and your partner earn.

The income limits for Disability Allowance are:

Your situation	Weekly income limits before tax
Single 16-17 years	$660.90
Single 18+ years	$823.31
Couple (with or without children)	$1,225.95
Sole parent 1 child	$921.73
Sole parent 2+ children	$971.14

We pay up to a maximum of $78.60 a week for Disability Allowance. How much you get for power, gas and heating depends on your situation.

We will pay for:

• the portion of your power and gas costs over and above normal usage
• the cost of firewood over and above normal usage if you use this method of heating.

We'll include the cost of power, gas or heating from the date your Disability Allowance is granted.

Already getting payments from us (e.g. a benefit or Accommodation Supplement) but not Disability Allowance

• You need to complete this form and a health practitioner, eg, your doctor, needs to complete the Disability Certificate inside this form.
• Your health practitioner also needs to complete a Disability Certificate form.
• You need to get copies of:
  • your power or gas accounts
  • receipts for gas, coal or firewood
• Call us on 0800 559 009 we can talk with you about the best way to get these documents to us.

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Already getting Disability Allowance

• A health practitioner, for example your doctor, needs to complete a Disability Certificate form.
• You need to get copies of:
  • your power or gas accounts
  • receipts for gas, coal or firewood.
• Call us on 0800 559 009 so we can talk with you about the best way to get these documents to us.

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Not getting any payments from us

You can apply using MyMSD. Once we've processed your application, we'll call you to let you know it's done.

We'll confirm what documents you need to provide and how to get these to us. This could include copies of:

• your power or gas accounts
• receipts for gas, coal or firewood

You'll also need to get a health practitioner, for example your doctor, to complete a Disability Certificate form.

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Applying on behalf of someone else

You can apply for Disability Allowance on someone else's behalf, but only if they've filled out a form to appoint you as their agent.