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Work homepage
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Overview
We can help you get ready to apply and find the right job for you. We can even help you while you're working.
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Get ready to work
You can get training, help with CVs and cover letters, and advice for job interviews.
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Find jobs
Find out what jobs are available, which job is best for you and how you can plan your career.
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Working
Whether you've just started a job or need some help at work, we've got your back.
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Lost your job
We'll help you get ready to find a new job and support you while you're between jobs.
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Start your own business
Get help to plan and set up a successful business or be a self-employed contractor.
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Benefits and payments homepage
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Overview
Take a look at the range of benefits and payments we have available.
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Not working
Redundancy, health condition or disability or another reason you can’t work
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Living expenses
Food, school costs, power, accommodation or other living expenses you need help with
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Relationship changes
You’ve had a relationship break-up, family breakdown or violent relationship end
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Health and Disability
Counselling, prescription and GP costs, medical alarms and other costs we can help with
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Seniors
Travelling overseas, how to apply, payment rates and dates, overseas pensions, income and other info for Seniors
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Caring
Caring for someone else’s child or someone with a health condition, injury or disability
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Urgent or unexpected costs
Dental, glasses, car repairs, fridge, washing machine, funeral or other urgent costs you need help with
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Children
Childcare, school uniforms, stationery, having a baby and other costs if you have children
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Moving to New Zealand
Payments you can get from us, settling into NZ, overseas pensions and more.
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Benefits and forms
A-Z list of benefits, forms, benefit rates
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On a benefit homepage
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Overview
Check out what you need to do when you're getting a benefit or other payment from us.
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Something's changed
Address, contact details, overseas travel, childcare, relationship or anything else that’s changed.
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Income
Declare income and income deduction tables
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Childcare
Change in your childcare situation, continue childcare payments, cohort entry schools and other childcare information
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Going overseas
Travelling or moving overseas may affect your payments.
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Re-apply, review or renew
Re-apply for a payment, review circumstances, renew medical certificate and more
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Payments
Check or stop your payments, payment cards and other information
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Debt
Check your debt, repayments and other debt information
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Rights and responsibilities
Our commitment to you, obligations, complaints, benefit fraud and more
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Housing homepage
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Overview
Find out how we can help you with housing.
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Nowhere to stay
Get help if you have nowhere to stay right now.
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Find a house
Find out where to look for private housing, or apply for public (social) housing.
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Living in your home
Get help with accommodation costs, and advice on any housing issues and public housing tenancies.
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Moving house
Find out how we can help if you’re moving house.
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Other languages
Read some of our housing information in other languages.
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Letters online
You can read your letters from us online in MyMSD. It's fast, easy, and you'll stay up to date with anything important you need to know.
You can get an email notification when you have a new letter to read in MyMSD. It's quick and easy to set this up:
- Log in to MyMSD
- Go to 'My Letters'
- Select 'Stop sending my letters by post'.
Don't have MyMSD? Register for it here:
View transcript of 'Getting your letters faster in MyMSD' video
Narrator [00:00:03]: I don't know about you, but I don't get a lot of letters in my mailbox. I usually get emailed letters and bills, or look at them in an app.
[A man stands smiling and holding out a mobile phone showing the MyMSD homepage. A mailbox appears with the words 'Still getting letters?' at the top. A laptop appears with email notifications showing 'Your electricity bill', 'Your internet bill', 'You got mail', 'Update your address' and 'Electricity usage'. A man appears holding a mobile phone and shaking it.]
Narrator [00:00:12]: Did you know you can read your letters from Work and Income in MyMSD? And you get an email when you have a new letter to read instead of waiting for the post.
[A man holds out a mobile phone to the camera showing the MyMSD homepage and the camera zooms into the mobile phone. A laptop appears with the MyMSD homepage and an envelope icon pops up in a speech bubble with the words 'You've got a letter' to the left and a number '1' at the top right of the envelope. The screen changes and a picture of a clock appears on the left and a mailbox on the right. The clock hands move around showing time ticking by.]
Narrator [00:00:23]: The benefits of getting your letters online are: It's secure. It's fast. You don't have to pay for data in MyMSD. You get notified by email when you have a new letter to read. Reading your letters online makes it easier to stay up to date with changes and things you might need to do for your payments. And you don't need to wait for days for your letters in the post.
[A man sits at a desk with a laptop smiling at the camera. The screen changes and 3 columns appear, a picture of a shield with a tick in it appears in the first column with the word 'Secure' underneath, a picture of a lightening bolt appears in the second column with the word 'Fast' underneath, and a picture of a wifi icon appears in the third column with the words 'Free data' underneath. The screen changes and a white speech bubble appears with the words 'You've got a letter' and an envelope icon with a '1' in the top right hand corner. A man sits at a desk with a laptop and holds a mobile phone. A calendar week showing 'Monday to 'Friday' appears and a mouse pointer moves over each day in the week.]
Narrator [00:00:45]: Here's how to do it in MyMSD. Log in and go to 'My Letters'. Select 'Stop sending my letters by post'. Finally, just confirm your email address. Done. No more slow letters for you.
[A man sits at a desk with a laptop and holds a mobile phone with MyMSD on it. The MyMSD homepage appears and a mouse pointer clicks on 'Log in'. The MyMSD home screen appears and a mouse pointer clicks on 'My letters' in the left-hand navigation. The MyMSD 'My letters' screen appears and words at the top of the screen saying 'You can choose to get an email when you have new mail here, instead of getting letters in the post'. A link appears under this reading 'Stop sending my letters by post' and a mouse pointer clicks on this link. The MyMSD 'Manage post preferences' screen appears with a heading 'Is this still your email?' and an email address displaying, with a circle to the left of it. A mouse pointer clicks into the circle which colours it blue, and then clicks on 'Confirm'. A man appears in the top right hand side of the slide and says 'Done'. The screen changes to a picture of a mail box with a red circle and diagonal line through it.]
Narrator [00:01:05]: Whenever there is a new letter, you'll get an email to let you know. Then just log into my MSD to have a read.
[MyMSD 'My letters' screen appears with a list of letters on the left and the date of the letter on the right. A laptop appears with email notifications, the first one showing as 'You've got a letter' with 'MSD - Work and Income - Confirming your circumstances' in the subject line, then further email notifications showing 'Your electricity bill', 'Your internet bill', 'You got mail', 'Update your address' and 'Electricity usage'. A mouse pointer clicks on the 'You've got a letter' email notification. A man stands in an office holding a mobile phone showing the MyMSD homepage and pointing to it. The camera zooms into the mobile phone. The screen changes to the Ministry of Social Development logo, the Work and Income logo and 'www.workandincome.govt.nz'.]
How to read your letters
You'll get an email when you have a new letter - no need to wait for the post!
Follow these steps to open your letter:
- Log in to MyMSD
- Go to 'My letters' - you'll see all your letters from the last 12 months
- Click on the title of the new letter
- Your device will download the letter and save it to your Downloads folder, where you can open it and read it.
If you don't have mobile data, don't worry – MyMSD uses Cheap As Data, so it uses little or none of your data.
If your letter says you need to fill in a form, the form will be sent to you separately by post.
Keep a copy of your letters
Letters are stored in MyMSD for 12 months from the date of the letter.
If you want to keep a copy of letters for your own records, you can:
Check your downloads folder
When you open the letter in MyMSD it will automatically download it to your device as a PDF. You can find this again later in your downloads folder.
Email a copy of your letter
You can email a copy of your letter to yourself or someone else if you have email linked to your device. Download the letter from MyMSD, create a new email, and attach the downloaded letter to your email.
Print your letters
You can print your letter if your printer is linked to your device.
Email notification not received
If you're not getting email notifications from us, but you have unread letters in MyMSD, check :
- you've selected 'Stop sending my letters by post' in MyMSD, and
- we have the correct email address for you – you can check this in MyMSD, under 'My profile'.
You should also check your junk or spam mail folder in case emails from us are going there.