Community Services Card

You may get the Community Services Card if you:

• are 16 or over
• either:
  • are a New Zealand citizen
  • are a permanent resident, or
  • have, or have applied for, refugee or protection status
• normally live in New Zealand and intend to stay here.

If you’re a dependent child, you can only get a Community Services Card, if your parent or caregiver is getting the:

• Orphans Benefit
• Unsupported Child's Benefit, or
• Child Disability Allowance.

It also depends on how much income you and your partner get. By income, we mean any money, goods and services you or your partner get from any source, such as:

• wages or salary
• NZ Superannuation
• private pensions (if you get NZ Super and a private pension, only half of your private pension is counted as income)
• overseas pensions
• interest or dividends from investments
• Child support
• Paid Parental Leave
• Working for Families Tax Credits from Inland Revenue
• ACC payments
• income from rents

Income limits

You may be able to get a card if you're...	And your yearly income (before tax) is less than...
Single - living with others	$33,181
Single - living alone	$35,213
Couple, no dependant children	$52,656
NZ Super, single, sharing accommodation	$35,283
NZ Super, living alone	$37,531
NZ Super, in a relationship, no dependant children	$56,327
Family of 2	$64,316
Family of 3	$79,167
Family of 4	$91,332
Family of 5	$103,281
Family of 6	$116,434
For families of more than 6, the limit goes up another $11,802 for each extra person. Family: in this table, a family includes either 1 or 2 adults and the dependent children they care for. For example, a family of 2 is made up of 1 adult and 1 dependent child. A family of 3, can be made up of either 1 adult and their 2 dependent children or 2 adults and 1 dependent child.

The Community Services Card can reduce the cost of:

• visits to a health practitioner (e.g. a doctor or nurse) if you're enrolled at their practice (for yourself, and your dependent children aged 14-17)
• ACC visits to a general practice if you're injured (you may not need to be enrolled at their practice - it depends on the practice)
• subsidised prescriptions - these are free if you have a Community Services Card
• partially or unsubsidised prescriptions, or prescriptions from private specialists
• fares for public transport including trains, buses and some ferries
• fees for after-hours health practitioner visits
• glasses for children under 16
• emergency dental care provided by:
  • hospitals, and
  • approved dental contractors (ask the dental provider if they are an approved contractor)
• travel and accommodation for treatment at a public hospital you've been referred to outside your area:
  • at least 80km away for adults
  • at least 25km for children
• home help.

What the card won't cover

If your child is under 14 and visits their health practitioner (for example their doctor) at their enrolled practice, it will usually be free. If the health practitioner has an extra charge, the Community Services Card won't cover it. You'll need to pay for it.

If you need a prescription, there may be part-charges or other pharmacy fees to pay. The Community Services Card won't cover this. You'll need to pay for it.

Before you start

We'll automatically send you and your partner a card if you're getting one of these benefits or payments from us: 

• Accommodation Supplement
• Emergency Benefit
• Jobseeker Support
• Residential Care Subsidy (if you have a partner, they'll need to apply for their own card).
• Sole Parent Support
• Student Allowance, if you don't have a partner's who's working (if you do have a partner who's working, you'll need to apply)
• Supported Living Payment
• Veterans Pension
• Youth Payment, or
• Young Parent Payment.

We'll also automatically send you and your partner a card if you're living in public housing, i.e. a Kāinga Ora (Housing NZ) house.

Getting a card for a child you support

We'll automatically send you a Community Services Card for a child you support if you're getting:

• Orphans Benefit
• Unsupported Child's Benefit, or
• Child Disability Allowance

You can sign the card on the child's behalf.

Step 1 - Fill out an application form

If you don't automatically get a card sent to you, you'll need to apply for one.

You can get an application form in any of these ways:

• download the application form below
• ring us on 0800 999 999 and ask for one
• call into a Work and Income service centre
• ask a health practitioner, for example your family doctor or pharmacy.

If you get Working for Families Tax Credits, you'll be sent an application form automatically.

Step 2 - Gather your documents

You need to provide 2 documents as proof of identity when you apply for a Community Services Card.

If you get NZ Super, you don't need to provide proof of identity.

Step 3 - Send everything to us

Send your application form and documents to us at the address on the application form. We'll process your application and let you know if we need anything else.

We may send you a letter asking you for proof of your income. We'll explain what you need to send.

• If you're self-employed, you must send us your latest full set of business accounts and tax summaries.
• You can ask your accountant to send us your financial details, but they can't sign the application form for you.

Step 4 - Getting your card

If your application is approved, we'll send you a Community Services Card.

On your card is the date it starts and expires. You can continue to use the card until it expires, even if your circumstances change.

Sometimes your card might start before you get it in the mail. During this time, you may have paid full price for:

• after-hours health practitioner visits
• prescriptions.

If you did, you may be able to claim some of these costs back.

To claim them, you need to:

• fill out the 'Reimbursement of Health Overcharges Application Form'
• gather all your original receipts
• send your application form and receipts to:
  PO Box 5054
  Lambton Quay
  Wellington

If your application is approved, we'll work out how much the Community Services Card would have covered.

If your card is due to expire, it will need to be renewed. It takes 3 weeks to get a replacement card.

We may automatically send you a replacement card

In some situations, we'll automatically send you and your partner a replacement card before your old one expires. This will happen if you still meet the criteria and you're getting one of these payments from us:

• Accommodation Supplement
• Emergency Benefit
• Jobseeker Support
• Residential Care Subsidy (if you have a partner, they'll need to re-apply for their own replacement card)
• Sole Parent Support
• Student Allowance if you don't have a partner who's working
• Supported Living Payment
• Veteran's Pension
• Youth Payment, or
• Young Parent Payment.

We'll also automatically send you and your partner a replacement card if you still meet the criteria and:

• you've living in public housing, i.e. a Kāinga Ora (Housing NZ) house, or
• you get Working for Families from Inland Revenue.

If you don't automatically get a replacement card, you'll need to re-apply for one.

If you get NZ Super

Your Community Services Card will stop working when your NZ Super is approved. This is because there's been a change in your circumstances (i.e. your income). You'll need to re-apply for a new card.

When you reapply, we'll send you a 'combo card'. This 'combo' card is a combination of both your Community Services Card and your SuperGold card. You'll be able to use your 'combo' card for all discounts and subsidies that the 2 cards provides. Your combo card will have the initials 'CSC' on the back, as well as the expiry date. This identifies it as a combo card.

When your combo card is due to expire, we'll automatically send you a new one. However, if you get NZ Super and your income is close to the limit for a Community Services Card, we'll send you a renewal application form. You'll need to complete this and return it to us. Then we'll send you a new combo card.

How to re-apply for a replacement card

We'll send you a renewal form before your card expires. You need to fill this out and send it back to your nearest service centre.

Didn't get a replacement card or renewal form 

If you don't automatically get a replacement card or a renewal form, call us on 0800 999 999

If you can't get the Community Services Card, you may be able to get a:

• Prescription subsidy (if you and your family have collected 20 subsidised prescription items in a year), or
• High Use Health Card (if you visit a health practitioner, for example your doctor, at least 12 times in 12 months for an ongoing health condition).

These are both managed by the Ministry of Health.