Kāinga Ora working with KiwiSaver

• It administers the First Home Grant on behalf of the Government; and
• Determines whether someone who has previously owned property, but no longer does, is a qualifying person and therefore able to apply to withdraw their KiwiSaver funds to help buy a property

For those who want a First Home Grant, they must apply directly to Kāinga Ora, within the stipulated timeframes. There are a number of criteria to meet in order to qualify, but you can find out more about this and how to go about applying, if you go to the First Home Grant pages.

Kāinga Ora’s only role in the first-home withdrawal is to assess the financial position of previous home owners in order to determine their eligibility. If you are a previous home owner, you will need to complete an application(external link) for a determination and submit it to Kāinga Ora. We will then assess your application to determine whether you are in the same financial position as a first home buyer, in terms of the level of realisable assets that you have.

If you are buying your first home and never previously owned any interest in property and want to withdraw your KiwiSaver contributions, there is no need to apply to Kāinga Ora. All you need to do is apply directly to your KiwiSaver scheme provider.

We recommend that, before you apply for a First Home Grant or a first-home withdrawal, you re-familiarise yourself with KiwiSaver.

It would be helpful to check what type of scheme you belong to, who your scheme provider is, how long you have been contributing to the scheme and how much you have been contributing. This will help with your application for a First Home Grant and KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal.

Members of complying funds and exempt employer schemes may also be eligible for the First Home Grant.

You can talk to your employer, check any statements you may have received from your provider, or talk to Inland Revenue on 0800 549 472.

If you are not a member of KiwiSaver and would like to join, either call 0800 549 472 or visit www.ird.govt.nz/kiwisaver(external link) or go to www.sorted.org.nz(external link) for further information on KiwiSaver.