WINZ
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Category: Support
Forum Name: Single parenting
Forum Description: Share tips, trials and tribulations about parenting alone
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=36748
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Topic: WINZ
Posted By: happymumma
Subject: WINZ
Date Posted: 19 November 2010 at 12:30pm
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I thought it might be ueful to start a topic on WINZ given that my experience is that everybody gets different information from them I rang yesterday because we are really struggling at the moment and I discovered that I'm entitled to something just over $400 in a six month period for food! When we went in this morning the lady was great (I'm really bad at asking for help!). I wish I'd gone in earlier. So, just in case anyone doesn't know...there is emergency funding for food. Does anyone else know of help available that isn't obvious? |
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Posted By: Flutterby
Date Posted: 19 November 2010 at 1:56pm
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That is good to know.
When I went in with my dentist quote she told me that we are entitled to $1600 a year (I think a year anyway) advance benefit payment (have to pay it back) and entiltled to $300 for the dentist that we don't have to pay back. I find it really hard when going there as they always make me feel like I am in the wrong for needing their help. And I never get any smiles from them. Prob doesn't help that the only times that I have been able to get an appointment has been in the afternoons when DS should really be having a nap, so he is always really grizzly. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Rachael21
Date Posted: 19 November 2010 at 8:53pm
| Get a second opinion on EVERYTHING you apply for and get it in writing if you get declined. |
Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 19 November 2010 at 10:06pm
| Good idea for a thread!!! I have had nothing to do with WINZ yet but doubt i will be able to go back to my full time job after maternity leave finishes so may have to investigate the DPB road. Actually, theres a question: Whats the first thing you do? Ring them and say hi, i'm a single unemployed parent, give me money to feed and clothe my offspring? |
Posted By: happymumma
Date Posted: 20 November 2010 at 8:30am
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That's exactly what you do Bowie. And what I discovered by chance was that they will back pay to the date you first ring them too so make sure that you ring from the moment you think you might be able to claim anything. The other thing to look at (if you are considering the part time work option) is how it all adds up. It is much better for me to work part time than to claim the DPB. It means that I get all the child support paid as well as my part time earnings. It just pays to play around with numbers a bit. |
Posted By: themummy
Date Posted: 20 November 2010 at 10:31am
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bowie, apply for the dpb now - they do an abated payment while you are on maternity leave which adds up to around an extra $70 a week!!!
if you dont want it in the future theres no harm in cancelling it |
Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 20 November 2010 at 11:41am
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Really? My understanding was that if i applied for dpb it meant i wasnt going back to work and if i wasnt going back to work then maternity leave would be cancelled. I guess i see what you mean about everyone being told different things!
I am considering taking the full year maternity leave, once bubs is 1 he will be old enough to go back to my workplace (where we live on site) so need to find out if i can go on DPB while i am technically still employed but on unpayed leave. |
Posted By: themummy
Date Posted: 20 November 2010 at 10:07pm
| nope im 99% sure you can get the dpb while on maternity leave - how else are you supposed to support yourself when the 14 weeks maternity pay is up? i could be wrong though... if i am im screwed!!! hehe. worth a try anyway, the worst they can say is no :) |
Posted By: ....
Date Posted: 21 November 2010 at 7:10pm
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They pay for pretty much anything.
Food grants, clothing grants, you can get an advance for wood, glasses, dentist, bond for a house, a new washing machine, a bed, a large power bill, heaps of stuff, you just have to ask as they won't tell you. A single parent friend of mine has told me you go onto Sickness Benefit at 32 weeks, and onto DPB once baby is born, and you get a one-off payment of $1000 to get baby stuff. |
Posted By: Shelt
Date Posted: 21 November 2010 at 7:54pm
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I could be wrong but I thought that to be eligble for the DPB your employment actually had to have ceased. I think that you can take 14 weeks paid parental leave and then hand in your notice and take the 2 week stand down period (which doesn't always apply, depending on your cicumstances) and go on the DPB. It is worth ringng WINZ and getting an appointment to go through it all though because a lot of the time it depends on your cicumstances and your case manager. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 22 November 2010 at 10:14am
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^^ That was my understanding too, which sucks as i fully want to go back to my job - but due to being a single parent and my job being located in a freaking national park hours away from civilization (where there is also no child care) i can't until bubs is around a year old when he can join in the informal parent swap care system they have going.
Why would they deny me a temporary DPB and force me to quit my job? Then i'd have a permanent DPB! That makes no sense... Fortunatly my boss gave me the number of a woman at WINZ who deals with a lot of staff from my work so she understands the environment better then some random... Alright! To the phones... |
Posted By: julz85
Date Posted: 24 November 2010 at 10:37pm
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Bowie- i was in a simialr position to you , i was working full time , i took Just under a years maternity leave , for the first 3 months i got paid out maternity pay at the standard rate ( cant remember the exact amount but around about $350ish a week plus accom allowance ) , after the 3 months was up i went on the DPB untill i went back to work . Even if your on maternity leave and legally have a job , if your not receiving money then you cant be expected to livewithout any help therefore WINZ will pay you the DPB untill you decide when/if you want to return to work . Remember you have to keep options open , you may say now you want to return to work shortly after having bubs but then change your mind due to whatever reason when bubs is here . i had decided i would return to work within 3- 6 months of having bubs but this quickly changed when i had a colicy/ refluxy baby who didnt sleep at all and wouldnt let me out of her sight at all , there was no way i could have returned to work that early on . Also once you are back at work you will be elligible for top ups though IRD ontop of your weekly wage and accomodation supplements . ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: AngieBabe
Date Posted: 30 November 2010 at 9:01pm
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Yep, my Paid Parental Leave finished end of October but I still have until end of next year maternity leave (18mths allup) and I am currently on the DPB as I have no income.
My case worker pretty much told me, if I need help with anything, give them a call and ask if there's a grant or subsidy that I can have to cover it. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  
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Posted By: Flutterby
Date Posted: 10 January 2011 at 2:46pm
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Had to go to WINZ today to ask them for advance benefit payment to help me pay my bond. Thought they would only give me the $800 I was entitled to but they actually gave me the full amount, so yay. And the case manager also found out that I am entitled to $47 temp support. So great to get a good case manager for once. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 10 January 2011 at 5:20pm
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Bowie, you might be entitled to the emergency benefit. I looked into it when I took extended leave but I can't remember why it didn't work out. -------------  |
Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 10 January 2011 at 8:15pm
Thanks Busymum 
I have established that i am entitled to the DPB in between paid leave finishing and maternity leave finishing having said that the most unhelpful woman ever (NOT even a case manager, just the woman at the front counter!) told me i can't apply until the paid leave finishes....why can't i apply for it a few weeks in advance so there is no gap between payments?! Will go back another day and hope to strike a different woman. |
Posted By: ....
Date Posted: 10 January 2011 at 11:39pm
| @Bowie Gah, I know who you mean, just ring up and make an appointment, that way you can bypass her entirely. |
Posted By: Natalie_G
Date Posted: 13 January 2011 at 7:04pm
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I am also on the DPB, but I am looking for employment because I have tried to move out of where I am and I am getting flack for the rent increasing. Well duh I do live in Auckland.
Thats alright though I hate the DPB I love earning my own money and not be told how to spend it. I wouldn't survive living on my own on the DPB, I really don't know how people do it. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: nathansmummy
Date Posted: 27 January 2011 at 11:01pm
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They will also help you with some bills, eg. overdue rent, overdue power bills (not phone bills) and car repairs up to a certain amount that you can't pay. But they will arrange for you to pay this back at so much per week as they do for bond (which they'll pay for you if you need it and moving to another house).
They also pay for emergency baby equipment but it has to be the cheapest around, eg. K mart. WINZ paid for my baby's cot mattress because I couldn't afford it at all! |
Posted By: Stephi
Date Posted: 23 February 2011 at 6:35pm
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I have a question?
Does anyone know what you need to provide to qualify for some food assistance. This week has been soooo stressful with bills and what not (3 all due this week, which isnt normal, just a one off) and I literally only had 40 dollars to spend on food for the whole week :( To make matters worse, my ex SO's (we are still living together for the sake of me being able to stay in this house as I literally have nowhere else to go) sister arrived today with no money and no food.... and she is staying for a week with no money. She told us she was bringing food and money and got here and had neither.....so we now have 3 people to feed on 40 dollars of food :( So im wanting to go to WINZ and get a food card just for this week. Do you have to brink in bank statements and all that crap? ------------- 
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Posted By: Whateversville
Date Posted: 23 February 2011 at 7:13pm
| Yup. You need a bank statement from like the last month up to that day so they can see where your money has gone. |
Posted By: happymumma
Date Posted: 23 February 2011 at 7:59pm
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Steph I would say it depends upon the office. I needed it a month or so before Christmas and all I needed to show them was a receipt from an ATM. I think I was asked why I was in that situation but I just told them that my daughter had been in hospital so I had had extra costs. They didn't ask me to verify that in any way - mind you that might have been because I was in tears on the phone to them!! It sounds like it very much depends on where you are and the person you happen to get on the other end of the phone or in their office. |
Posted By: Stephi
Date Posted: 23 February 2011 at 8:51pm
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Thanks for the help guys :D I will ring them tomorrow morning and ask them about it. Sucks if I have to bring in bank statements. I dont mind if I have to but its a bit extreme really I reckon lol -------------
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Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 23 February 2011 at 9:18pm
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After all i've heard about WINZ i was afraid of my first appointment today but must have struck gold, had a lovely woman who flicked through my forms, complimented my organisational skills because i had all the evidence they required, coo'd over the baby and had me in and out within 30min. AND she told me i'd qualify for DPB from the day he was born despite the fact i'm technically working (on PPL) until March 03, they will backdate me and deduct my PPL payments as income as to avoid the week stand-down.
Bloody relieved to have had a good experience! |
Posted By: Stephi
Date Posted: 24 February 2011 at 10:13am
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So apparently according to WINZ, having zero food in the house doesn't count as an emergency and I have to book an appointment to get any EMERGENCY money. I thought emergency meant that it was urgent and needed ASAP. Not a week from now. So looks like we have zero food until Monday (when we get paid again). Four days of no food while pregnant sounds great......Going to have to get some food off mum. Its times like these I hate being so poor :( We are usually pretty good but this week has hit us extremely hard :( -------------
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Posted By: happymum21
Date Posted: 24 February 2011 at 11:23am
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That's not good Stephi. Do you know of a foodbank you could go to to see you through until you can get to WINZ? ------------- Becs |
Posted By: Stephi
Date Posted: 24 February 2011 at 11:31am
I dont know of any, but am sooo hesitant to go there. I feel crap enough as it is already without resorting to a food bank but you gotta do what you gotta do! My Ex SO's sister has an appointment with them today to see if she can get some money for food (as she turned up here with nothing) so hopefully she can and we can get some food! -------------
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mum2alana wrote:Posted By: mothermercury
Date Posted: 24 February 2011 at 12:24pm
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Oh no, sorry to hear it's not worked out with WINZ, hopefully you can still get something.
And please don't be ashamed of going to a food bank if you need to. So many people have to resort to it these days; there's no shame in it. 
Hope it starts looking up for you soon!
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Posted By: happymum21
Date Posted: 24 February 2011 at 2:30pm
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Yes, what MissShell said. I know I would be hesitant to as well but you know, all sorts have had to resort to them lately because of recession and job situation so hold your head up high and find one. Perhaps call local Sallie Army places as they will know of some/where they are. ------------- Becs |
Posted By: Stephi
Date Posted: 24 February 2011 at 10:29pm
The ex SIL managed to get some money today so we asked her to contribute some food so she did. Thank god for that lol. We get paid on monday so what we got should last us till then. A bit rude of her turning up with nothing and expecting to stay for such a long time without contributing I think. I dont usually care but she knew we were tight this week and she still thought she could come here and live off the little we had :( -------------
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Posted By: #2onthewayxx
Date Posted: 24 April 2011 at 2:40pm
Hey just wondering if anyone has any advice for me. I just changed jobs when I found out I was pregnant so now I only get 3 months PPL. I do want to go back to work eventually but, even though my partner works 24/7 i will have to go back to work asap unless i have another option. If I would qualify for dpb, can anyone tell me roughly how much it is so i can at least consider my options. I tried talking to my tocal WINZ centre but the receptionist said I can't talk to anyone until my PPL is over. HELP!!
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Posted By: mothermercury
Date Posted: 24 April 2011 at 3:20pm
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Pretty sure you would not be eligible for the DPB if you have a partner, and I don't recommend lying to them about that...
You might be able to get something from IRD though, in terms of Working For Families payments. |
Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 24 April 2011 at 3:38pm
| You can get an income top up thing from winz, i dont know anything about it really but my friend got it when she wasnt working with a new bub and her partners income wasnt enough. It was something like $100 a week just to top them up. |
Posted By: mothermercury
Date Posted: 24 April 2011 at 3:51pm
| WINZ also do an accommodation supplement thing, depending on your income. I'm not sure what the threshold is for that though. |
Posted By: Flutterby
Date Posted: 03 June 2011 at 3:25pm
| Does anyone know if WINZ help with legal costs? |
Posted By: choco69
Date Posted: 03 June 2011 at 5:38pm
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don't think WINZ can help you with legal costs
you should be able to get legal aid to help thou http://www.lsa.govt.nz/legal-aid/civil-family-overview.php - Legal Aid ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: Nothing
Date Posted: 03 June 2011 at 6:25pm
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Citizens advice bureau can also help you out and point you in the right direction. ------------- 
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Posted By: Flutterby
Date Posted: 04 June 2011 at 5:25pm
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Yeah I have talked to them. I need to get a seperation agreement signed and I was told that the Waitakere law center would be able to do it but when I went there they told me that I have to get a proper lawyer to do it. There just happened to be a lawyer there who explained it to me, she seems really nice and said that they will only charge $150-200 but I still can't really spare that. Will have to be on a very strict budget for a few weeks before being able to pay it. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: HuntersMama
Date Posted: 05 June 2011 at 1:29pm
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Cab they work out a payment plan for you flutterby? When we did our seperation agreement (which was horrendously $$$$) we got sent an invoice a few weeks later and had a month to pay it so you might be able to get them to do the work and pay it in a few weeks. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: ....
Date Posted: 08 June 2011 at 10:42pm
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I have nothing but kind words for WINZ today, and thought I should post my compliments to them.
Popped in after my scan today to hand in my (month old) Medical Certificate and do a benefit transfer, and they gave me an appointment straight away! I was halfway through filling out my form when I was called from the reception area. (Although a friend was there waiting for an Emergency Appt and I know she'd been there for hours - don't think she was too pleased that I was there only a few minutes, eek.) The case worker I got was wonderful, clicked all the new info in, and gave me loads of info about the DPB and what I'll be entitled to, as well as discussing what is happening in reguards to the birth certificate and the father, and even sorted out the relative forms I need to fill out so I could take them home with me and fill them out beforehand. I love being treated like a human being. |
Posted By: Venus158929
Date Posted: 13 October 2014 at 10:25am
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Morning Ladies The law states that you do not have to commence work until your youngest child is 5 years old. The problem is the bully you into believing that you need to go to work. For those on maternity leave please contact Inland Revenue for your entitlements while on maternity leave. for all those Nannies or Mothers taking care of other peoples children there are some really good grants available like back to school grants etc. Any one on a benefit can apply for a food grant over the phone using your green card, however if you have applied for more than 2 hardship grants you then have to make an appointment to apply. |
Posted By: Venus158929
Date Posted: 13 October 2014 at 10:34am
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If any mothers out there with a child on a disability allowance all your other children are entitled to attend kohanga, after school or holiday programs fully subsidies by WINZ. Please apply and make good use of all your entitlements. WINZ will not cover Lawyer fees but you are entitled to apply to Legal Aid for assistance. |
Posted By: Venus158929
Date Posted: 13 October 2014 at 11:06am
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Working for Families Tax Credits 2014 (1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015) THE TABLE below gives estimates for each type of payment from 1 April 2014. Family TAX CREDIT (FTC) is paid regardless of your source of INCOME. In-work tax credit (IWTC) is an additional payment for families who normally work a minimum number of hours each week for salary and wages. Parental tax credit (PTC) helps with the costs of a new baby for the first eight weeks after your baby's birth. Minimum family tax credit (MFTC) is paid to families earning up to $22,724 or less after tax to ensure a minimum family INCOME of $437 a week after tax. To get this payment, at least one parent must be working for salary or wages for a minimum number of hours each week. The amounts are based on your eldest child being aged 15 years or under and all other children being aged 12 years or under. If you have older children, you may be able to EARN MORE and still be eligible. However, if you are receiving a Foster Care Allowance or an Orphan’s or Unsupported Child’s Benefit, the amounts listed in the table below will not |