Sole Parent Support and job hunting: your work obligations by your youngest child's age

Your obligations at each age of your youngest child

Sole Parent Support is for single parents and caregivers aged 20 or older with at least one dependent child under 14. Work and Income describes it as a payment that helps you get ready for future work while your youngest is under 3, and supports you to find part-time work while your youngest is 3 to 13. The Social Security Act 2018 sets the same line: section 121 gives work-preparation obligations to a sole parent whose youngest child is under 3, and from 3 you are "work-tested".

Youngest child under 3: work preparation. You take reasonable steps to prepare and plan for work, go to work preparation interviews when asked, and take part in work-related activities or programmes Work and Income asks you to, such as a work assessment or a skills seminar. You are not expected to look for a job. The same obligations apply at any age if a health condition, injury or disability means you cannot work.

Youngest child aged 3 to 13: part-time work. Work and Income's obligations form says plainly that part-time work means work of at least 20 hours a week. The Act defines it as employment averaging at least 20 hours a week over three months. Your obligations are to:

• be available for, and take reasonable steps to get, a suitable part-time job;
• take any offer of suitable part-time or temporary work, or work that is seasonal or subsidised;
• go to job interviews Work and Income asks you to, and interviews with Work and Income itself;
• take and pass a drug test if an employer or training provider requires one;
• work with Work and Income to plan how you will find a job, and take part in courses, seminars, work experience or work assessments it refers you to;
• let Work and Income know how you are meeting your work obligations as often as it reasonably requires.

That last obligation comes from section 146 of the Act, and it has no set number in it. How often you report, and in what form, is what Work and Income asks of you, so the useful habit is to keep a dated note of each application, call and interview as you go.

At any age: social obligations. Your children need to be enrolled with a doctor in a Primary Health Organisation, up to date with core Well Child/Tamariki Ora checks while under 5, in approved early childhood education from 3 until they start school, and at school from 5 or 6. Work and Income recognises situations outside your control, such as a GP waiting list or no places at your nearest centre.

Youngest child turns 14. You can no longer get Sole Parent Support. Work and Income writes to you four weeks before the birthday, and if you meet the criteria it moves you to Jobseeker Support automatically. Your payment rate does not change at the transfer, but three things do:

• you generally look for full-time work, which Work and Income describes as at least 30 hours a week, unless a health condition, injury or disability means you can only work part-time or not at all;
• you reapply every 26 weeks instead of every 52;
• your income is assessed weekly instead of over a year, so you declare it as you earn it.

If you do not meet the Jobseeker Support criteria, for example because you already work 30 hours or more, Work and Income says other payments may still be available.

A new baby, and the end of the subsequent child rule

Older advice online describes a "subsequent child" rule, which treated a child born while a parent was on a benefit differently when setting that parent's obligations. That rule no longer exists. The Social Security (Subsequent Child Policy Removal) Amendment Act 2021 repealed it on 8 November 2021, taking out section 121(b) and sections 221 to 224 of the Act.

So your obligations follow your youngest child, whoever that is. If you have a baby while on Sole Parent Support, you return to work preparation obligations until that child turns 3, and the part-time obligation starts again from that birthday. Tell Work and Income about the birth: its obligations form lists a change in the number of children in your care, "including having another baby", as something you must report.

Two other routes can change your obligations. Under sections 155 and 158 of the Act, work obligations can be deferred in set circumstances, or you can apply for an exemption if you qualify under the regulations. If caring for your children makes the obligations unworkable for you, ask Work and Income whether either applies, and keep a note of what you were told.

Finding work that fits school hours

A role of 20 to 25 hours a week between drop-off and pick-up is the job many sole parents are looking for, and it is rarely labelled that way. Some ways to find it:

• Search the hours, not only the title. Use the part-time work type where a job board offers one, and add terms such as "school hours", "9.30 to 2.30" or "term time" to a saved search on Seek, LinkedIn or Indeed.
• Read full-time ads for flexibility. An ad that says "flexible hours considered" or "part-time considered" is an invitation to ask.
• Look where the hours may already suit. Schools, early childhood centres and some office, retail and hospitality employers are worth checking, since some set hours around the school day.

Raise hours at the right moment. Before you are offered a job, it is a conversation: ask whether the hours could be 9.15 to 2.45, and explain what you offer in return. Once you are employed, it becomes a right. Employment New Zealand says you can ask for flexible working arrangements from your first day of work, for any reason, including caring for children. The request must be in writing and say it is made under Part 6AA of the Employment Relations Act 2000. Your employer must reply in writing within one month and can say no only on recognised business grounds, such as being unable to reorganise work among other staff. Our guide to asking for flexible working in New Zealand sets out how to write the request.

Childcare Subsidy, OSCAR and the Transition to Work Grant

Three kinds of help make a return to work affordable, and each has its own timing.

• Childcare Subsidy is for a child under 5 at an approved early childhood service for 3 or more hours a week. It is normally paid for up to 9 hours a week if you are not working, and up to 50 hours a week if you are working, studying, training or doing an activity Work and Income has asked you to do. It is paid straight to the provider. Work and Income suggests applying 3 to 4 weeks before you need it, and help can run from the date you first contact it if you finish the application within 20 working days.
• OSCAR Subsidy helps with before and after school care for up to 20 hours a week, and school holiday programmes for up to 50 hours a week, for children under 14 at an approved programme. Apply before your child's first day, or the subsidy will not cover the days before you applied.
• The Transition to Work Grant can pay up to $1,500 in total in any 52 weeks, which you do not pay back, for the costs of finding or starting a job: clothing and transport for an interview, childcare when you go to an interview or first start work, and living costs until your first pay. Sole parents qualify when looking for paid work of 20 hours or more a week, which matches the part-time obligation. Call Work and Income on 0800 559 009 before you spend.

Both subsidies depend on your income and stop or are reviewed when a job ends, so tell Work and Income when your hours change.

How the traffic light system applies to sole parents

If you get Sole Parent Support, you are in Work and Income's traffic light system for your work-related and social obligations. Green means you are on track. If you miss an obligation without a good reason, you move to orange and have five working days to contact Work and Income and do the activity it arranges. After that you move to red.

At red, having dependent children changes what happens:

• One obligation failure: your benefit is reduced by 50% for four weeks, unless Work and Income uses a non-financial sanction instead, and it is reviewed after four weeks if you have not acted.
• Two or three failures: your benefit is paid at 50%, rather than stopped. With three, you also need to agree to a six-week activity and reapply.
• Turning down a suitable job offer without a good reason counts as three failures, even the first time.

Failures count against your benefit for two years. Work and Income can use a non-financial sanction instead of a cut for a first failure: Money Management, Community Work Experience, Report Job Search or Upskilling. Money Management and Community Work Experience, for example, are only for people with dependent children or a dedicated case manager who met Work and Income while at orange. You have five working days to dispute a failure before your payments are affected. Our article on Work and Income sanctions and the traffic light system explains each step, the non-financial sanctions and how to ask for a review.

The best protection is evidence made at the time. If an offer clashes with school pick-up, talk to Work and Income before you say no, and write down what you said and when. The demo shows a Work and Income record built from the applications, interviews and follow-ups you log, laid out by date, employer and outcome, ready to print or save as a PDF when Work and Income asks how you are meeting your obligations.

Keep the hunt, and the record, in one place