Student emergency fund

You can apply to this fund if an unexpected event has caused financial difficulties and is affecting your studies. 

To be eligible, you need to:

• be a currently enrolled student (note: doctoral candidates who are under examination or on a Covid-related suspension may also apply)
• be in New Zealand
• have exhausted all other avenues of financial assistance – eg, StudyLink, WINZ, savings, etc.
• complete the Student Emergency Fund Application Form below.

Funding support is available to help with:

• living costs, including groceries
• private rental payments
• utility bills.

Please note that the fund is NOT able to support:

• payment of tuition fees
• payment of additional course expenses
• payment of debt accumulation.

The current timelines for assessing and paying students is as follows: 

• Applications are initially assessed with information gathered every weekday. The information is compiled into a live report for the Hardship Panel to review by no later than Wednesday each week to determine if an application is approved or declined.  
• Payments into student bank accounts are made on the Friday of each week. 
• Declined applications are followed up with a response and a rationale for the decline between the Wednesday-Friday of the week the decision is made.  

All applications are placed in a confidential queue and only a very small number of people have access to them. Only one person reviews the bank statements that are provided. 

The panel who assesses applications is made up of:  

• Associate Director of Campus Life, Student Wellbeing and Engagement 
• Manager of Student Conduct and Care
• Campus Life Director Graduate studies (for PHD applications only) 
• Manager of Accommodation Solutions (for students living in Halls of Residence only).

If you are unable or uncomfortable providing a particular piece of information that the form requests, or require additional support in completing the application, please reach out to the Te Papa Manaaki | Campus Care team for a confidential 1:1 conversation about your circumstances. 

Confidential application support is available for Māori students by reaching out to either:
Pro Vice-Chancellor Māori team on pvc.maori@auckland.ac.nz
or Pirihira Woolford from the Te Papa Manaaki team on pirihira.woolford@auckland.ac.nz

Confidential application support is available for Pasifika students by reaching out to either:
Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific team on pvcpacific@auckland.ac.nz
or Bex Toloa from the Te Papa Manaaki team on elizabeth.aliioaiga@auckland.ac.nz

You may like to consider applying for the one of the following grants:

• An AUSA Hardship Grant.
• Study link has a special needs grant and an unexpected or urgent cost fund.
• You may be eligible for a special needs grant through Work and Income.

You can apply for the University of Auckland Partnership Appeal Award, which are given out twice a year.

Additional support resources are available through MoneyTalks.