Why is my Jobseeker Support stand-down two weeks instead of one?

Work and Income sets the stand-down from your average weekly income before tax over the 26 or 52 weeks before you apply, and the number of children you have. For a single person with no children, an average at or below $1,620.67 a week gives a one week stand-down and anything above it gives two weeks. The threshold rises by $80.00 for a partner and by $80.00 for each dependent child. Redundancy pay, holiday pay and pay in lieu of notice all count in the average.

Why does the first payment arrive a week after the stand-down ends?

Jobseeker Support is paid weekly in arrears, for the week that has just been. So once the stand-down ends there is a further week with no money before the first payment lands, on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. A two week stand-down therefore means about three weeks between the last day of work and the first payment.

Is there a stand-down if I was on a benefit recently?

No stand-down applies if your benefit was cancelled because you found a job and you go back on a benefit within 26 weeks, or if you transfer from one benefit to another. Leaving a job without a good reason or being dismissed for misconduct is different: that can bring a non-entitlement period of up to 13 weeks, which is not a stand-down and is outside this calculator.

Work and Income Stand-Down Calculator NZ 2026

When a job ends, Jobseeker Support does not start the next day. Work and Income applies a stand-down of one or two weeks, set by your average weekly income before tax over the 26 or 52 weeks before you apply and by how many children you have, and then pays a week in arrears. This calculator turns those rules into a stand-down length, the date your first payment is likely to land, and the cash you need to cover the gap. Put in your household, your average weekly income, your last day of work and your essential weekly spend.

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Household

Your age (single applicants)

Dependent children

Average weekly income before tax, last 26 weeks

Average over 52 weeks, if lower (optional)

Essential spend per week

Last day of work

Date you apply

Benefit cancelled in the last 26 weeks because you started work?

2 weeks

stand-down before Jobseeker Support starts

Threshold for your household$1,620.67

First payment about12 Oct 2026

Weeks without pay3.0

Cash to bridge the gap$1,950.00

Weekly rate once paid$372.55

Redundancy pay, holiday pay and pay in lieu of notice all count in the income average, and Work and Income uses whichever of the 26 or 52 week periods gives the shorter stand-down. If you have a partner, the higher earner's income sets the stand-down. Leaving a job without a good reason or being dismissed for misconduct can bring a non-entitlement period of up to 13 weeks instead, which is outside this tool. The weekly rate is the after-tax base rate for your household; Accommodation Supplement and other extras are on top.

How it works

Work and Income sets the stand-down from your average weekly income before tax in the 26 weeks before you apply, or the 52 weeks if that gives you the shorter wait. For a single person with no children the stand-down threshold is $1,620.67 a week: an average at or below it means one week, anything above it means two. The threshold is $1,700.67 with a partner, and rises by $80.00 for each dependent child. The calculator works out the threshold for your household and compares your average against it. The stand-down runs from the day after your last day of work, and under section 316 of the Social Security Act 2018 payments start from the later of the day after it ends and the day your application is received, so an application lodged after the stand-down has already run delays the start to the day it is received. Because Jobseeker Support is paid weekly in arrears, the calculator adds a further week after that before the first payment lands. Weeks without pay is the whole gap from the day after your last day of work to that first payment, and the cash to bridge it is that gap multiplied by your essential weekly spend. No stand-down applies if you transfer between benefits, or if your benefit was cancelled because you found work and you are back within 26 weeks.

Worked example

A single person with no children averaged $1,635 a week before tax over the 26 weeks before applying, with no lower 52 week figure, and essential spending of $650 a week. Their last day of work and the day they apply are the same day. The threshold for a single person with no children is $1,620.67, so $1,635 is above it and the stand-down is 2 weeks. It runs from the day after the last day of work, and the first payment lands about a week after it ends: 3.0 weeks without pay, which at $650 a week is $1,950.00 to bridge. Once payments start, the after-tax base rate for a single person aged 25 or over is $372.55 a week. Had the 52 week average been $1,600, the stand-down would have been 1 week and the gap 2.0 weeks.

Related calculators

Benefit Entitlement Estimator: the weekly total once payments start, with the accommodation and other supplements added.
Lump Sum and Redundancy Tax Calculator: the PAYE on a redundancy payment, which is the money that has to cover this gap.
Redundancy Runway Calculator: how many months your money lasts once the payout, the gap and the benefit are all in.
Redeployment vs Redundancy Calculator: whether a role in the new structure beats the payout over the next twelve months.
Jobseeker Support Guide: who qualifies, the income test and how to apply.
Redundancy Checklist: the last fortnight before the job ends, including when to lodge this application.
KiwiSaver Withdrawal Guide: the hardship rules, for when the gap is longer than the savings.

Data sources: stand-down thresholds and the rule on income averaging from Work and Income, stand-down periods; Jobseeker Support rates from 1 April 2026 from Work and Income, benefit rates; payment in arrears from Work and Income, how payments work; the stand-down itself is section 316 of the Social Security Act 2018. Read on 3 September 2026. Figures are checked each 1 April.