Student Loan living costs

If you need help to pay for day-to-day living expenses, you may be able to get a weekly payment of living costs.

The Student Loan living costs is similar to the Student Allowance but you have to pay it back. You don't have to pay back the Student Allowance but you need to meet the criteria

Who can get it

You can get a Student Loan for living costs if you're:

studying full-time
under 55

You also need to meet the criteria for a Student Loan.

What you can get

You can get up to $323.43 a week for living costs but you don't have to borrow the full amount.

When you apply for living costs you can choose to get the Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment on 1 April each year. If you choose this your living costs will be automatically increased to reflect any increases in the consumer price index.

The living costs is a weekly payment. It won't cover any lump sum (for example a deposit) payments to your hostel or hall of residence.

What is the CPI adjustment?

Getting a Student Allowance

If your Student Allowance is more than the maximum amount of living costs ($323.43), you can't get living costs as well.

If your Student Allowance is less than $323.43, you can get living costs as well, but your total cannot be more than $323.43.

For example:

Your Student Allowance is $100. You can get up to $223.43 for living costs.
Your Student Allowance is $200. You can get up to $123.43 for living costs.

How to apply

Apply online for a Student Loan (if you haven't already) and enter the amount of living costs you want each week.

If you've already applied for a Student Loan, you can change your living costs online, in MyStudyLink.

Payments

We pay your living costs to you as long as:

you qualify for living costs
you've nominated living costs, and
your Student Loan application is approved.

When you get paid depends on when you nominate them.

If you nominate living costs before your course starts, you qualify from the date your course starts.

When you get your first payment depends on when your Student Loan application is approved.

Student Loan application approved before course starts

If your loan application is approved before your course starts, you’ll get your first weekly payment in the second week of your course.

You won’t get any money in the first week of your course because we pay you in arrears. This means you study for one week and get paid for that study in the next week. When you finish your course, you’ll get your last payment a week later.

Student Loan application approved after course starts

If your loan application is approved after your course starts and you applied for it:

before your course started, you'll get a back payment to when your course started
after your course started, you'll get a back payment to when you applied.

This will be paid to you in a lump sum. You'll then get your first weekly payment a week later.

You won't get your first weekly payment until a week later because we pay you in arrears. This means you study for one week and get paid for that study in the next week. When you finish your course, you'll get your last payment a week later.

If your loan is approved first, you'll get the weekly living costs amount that you've nominated.

Once your Student Allowance is approved, your living costs will either:

stop, if your Student Allowance is more than the maximum amount of living costs ($323.43) - you can't get living costs as well.
reduce, if your Student Allowance is less than $323.43 - your total cannot be more than $323.43.

Back payment of Student Allowance

If we owe you any back payment of Student Allowance:

this will be paid onto your loan first, to pay back any living costs you received
we'll put some towards any debts you have with the Ministry of Social Development, for example StudyLink (excluding your Student Loan) or Work and Income
we'll then pay the rest to you.

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