Temporary Additional Support (TAS)
Updated 2026 MSD rates. Temporary Additional Support (TAS) is a short-term payment from Work and Income for people who are on a low income or benefit and still cannot meet their essential living costs after receiving all other assistance they qualify for.
Who Can Get It
To qualify for TAS, you must:
- Be receiving a main benefit or be on a low income.
- Already be receiving any other assistance you are entitled to (e.g., Accommodation Supplement, Disability Allowance).
- Have essential costs (housing, electricity, food, medical expenses) that exceed your available income plus any other assistance.
- Have cash assets under $2,700 (or $5,400 if you are 65 or over).
How Much You Can Get
TAS covers up to 70% of the gap between your essential costs and your total available income (including benefits, other assistance, and any earnings). There is no fixed maximum rate — it depends on your individual circumstances.
You can receive TAS for a maximum of 13 weeks at a time. You can reapply if you still need help after that period.
What Counts as Essential Costs
- Rent, board, or mortgage payments.
- Electricity, gas, and water bills.
- Food (based on standard costs).
- Medical expenses (doctor visits, prescriptions, dental).
- A minimum living allowance for other necessities.
How to Apply
- Apply through MyMSD or talk to your Work and Income case manager.
- Provide details of your income, expenses, and any other assistance you receive.
- Show that you have applied for all other help you are entitled to (Accommodation Supplement, Disability Allowance, etc.).
- Your application will be assessed based on a budget of your essential costs.
Important Notes
- TAS is a temporary measure — it is not meant to be a long-term solution.
- If your situation does not improve, you can reapply for another 13-week period.
- Overpayments of TAS must be repaid to Work and Income.
- TAS is not taxable and does not count as income for other assistance.
Other Hardship Assistance
Work and Income also offers Advance Payments of Benefit (interest-free loans) and Food Grants (one-off payments) for urgent needs. These are separate from TAS.
How the 70% Rule Works
Temporary Additional Support (TAS) is calculated from a simple budget: your essential costs (rent, utilities, food at standard rates, medical expenses, minimum living allowance) are compared with your available income (benefits, earnings, and other assistance such as Accommodation Supplement). TAS pays up to 70% of the shortfall. For example, if your essential costs are $700 per week and your available income is $500, the $200 gap produces a TAS payment of up to $140 per week.
The design is deliberately short-term: grants run for up to 13 weeks, after which you can reapply. It is a bridge, not a permanent solution — Work and Income expects your situation (income, costs, or benefit entitlements) to change within that window. There is no fixed maximum rate, which is why two households with similar incomes can receive different amounts.
What Counts and What Doesn't
- Counted as essential costs: rent/board/mortgage, electricity, gas, water, food (standard rates), medical expenses, and some unavoidable transport.
- Must be maximised first: you must already be receiving Accommodation Supplement, Disability Allowance, and any other assistance you qualify for — TAS fills the remaining gap only.
- Asset limits: cash assets must be under $2,700 (or $5,400 if you are 65 or over, or a couple).
- Not taxable, and it does not count as income for other assistance.
Alternatives and Next Steps
- Advance Payments of Benefit — interest-free loans repaid from future benefit payments, useful for one-off costs like car repairs or school uniforms.
- Food Grants — one-off payments for urgent food needs, separate from TAS.
- Reapply before your 13 weeks end if your situation has not improved — the clock restarts with a fresh assessment.
- Ask your case manager for a budget service referral — free financial mentoring can address the underlying cost problem so TAS is not needed indefinitely.
Deep dive — 2026 update
What TAS is worth in a worked example
| Weekly item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Rent (Area 1, two children) | $650.00 |
| Electricity and gas | $45.00 |
| Food at standard costs | $220.00 |
| Medical and travel | $35.00 |
| Total essential costs | $950.00 |
| Available income (SPS $521.52 + Accommodation Supplement $305 + Child Disability Allowance $62.43) | $888.95 |
| Shortfall | $61.05 |
| TAS payable (70% of the shortfall) | $42.74 |
TAS is deliberately a small top-up that closes a budget gap, not a general income increase. Being declined with a $5 shortfall is normal, and it is the reason the assessment insists you have already claimed everything else — most declines are really a missed entitlement elsewhere.
How TAS compares with the other hardship payments
| Payment | Type | Repayable? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary Additional Support | Weekly grant, 13-week blocks | No | An ongoing gap between costs and income |
| Advance Payment of Benefit | Interest-free loan | Yes, from future payments | One-off costs: car repair, school uniforms, bond |
| Food Grant | One-off grant or voucher | No | Urgent food needs this week |
| Special Needs Grant | One-off grant | Usually not | Emergency dental, medical, or a specific crisis |
| Accommodation Supplement | Weekly, ongoing | No | Housing costs — always claim this first |
Order matters. Apply for Accommodation Supplement and Disability Allowance before TAS: those payments reduce the shortfall that TAS is calculated on, and if they are granted after TAS you may have an overpayment to repay.
The 13-week cycle and how to manage it
- Grant length: up to 13 weeks, then a fresh assessment. Diarise the end date — TAS stops automatically and does not roll over.
- Reapply in the final week rather than after it lapses, so the payment continues without a gap.
- Bring a current budget to each review and note anything that has changed: a rent increase, a new medical cost, a child starting school.
- After a second or third grant of TAS, ask for a financial mentor through MoneyTalks — free budgeting support is more effective at fixing the structural gap than repeated 13-week grants.
- Overpayments must be repaid. If your income rises mid-grant, tell MSD immediately; the debt is recoverable from future payments.
Costs people forget to include
- School costs: uniforms, stationery, school camps and transport — commonly missed and often decisive.
- Travel to medical appointments and the cost of prescriptions, especially for a household with several conditions.
- Power above the standard estimate if someone in the household has a medical need for heating — this should be evidenced with a disability allowance application first.
- Debt repayments to MSD from a previous overpayment, which reduce available income and can be included in the assessment.