The Unmet Basic Needs Fund is designed to address unmet basic needs of referred ākonga (students), where these needs:

• are immediate
• impact attendance
• cannot be met from any other source. 

The fund may also be used to meet needs temporarily while a longer-term solution from a more appropriate fund, agency or organisation is arranged.

Unmet basic needs may include but are not limited to things such as uniforms or other clothing items, stationery or transport.

Attendance service providers may use up to 3% of their contract funding to meet these needs. If more than 3% is required, providers must contact us to discuss and agree on next steps.

How to get started#

Establish your fund#

Set up and manage an Unmet Basic Needs Fund using up to 3% of budget. This should include creating policies and procedures for fund management and administration.

Create policies#

Policies and procedures need to be easy to understand and thorough. They should clearly explain how fund requests are handled from start to finish, including how spending is managed and approved, and how finances are checked, recorded and reported.

What not to use the fund for#

Money must be used in line with the purpose of the fund. The fund must not be used for items that are not linked to attendance, such as:

• ongoing costs
• gifts, rewards or incentives
• items covered by other funding (that can also be accessed in a timely manner)
• luxury or non-essential items
• retrospective claims without receipts or documentation (except as detailed in your agreed procedures).

Reports#

You will need to include details about how the funds were used in your usual reports.

Record keeping#

You must keep detailed records of each spend in your accounting or finance system and note the student case number from the attendance service case management system (AS-CMS), so the records can be linked. Do not record ākonga | student names or personal details to protect privacy.

You will need to record:

• who proposed the spend
• who approved the spend (this must be a different person)
• the amount and date
• an itemised receipt
• notes on any changes from the original request. 

These records must be available to us on request.

The spend must also be recorded against the case number in the AS-CMS. This includes the amount spent, the category, the items and a description. AS-CMS guidance explains how to do this using the 'Add UBNF' function.

Managing attendance cases

Policies and procedures#

Consider these points when defining policies and procedures.

• Requests must be reviewed and approved by separate individuals, with the approver in a leadership role. Exceptions to this process must be agreed and documented within your own policy and procedures. For example, use a petty cash or petty spend system, or auto-approval of spend below a specified threshold or for specified purposes.
• Include regular internal reviews to identify patterns, ensure equitable access and confirm compliance with your procedures. In reports, include total spend, percentage of budget used, number of ākonga supported, spend categories and trends, compliance metrics, and strategic insights.
• Consider a petty spending policy for small, urgent purchases with simplified documentation and oversight. Ensure receipts are kept for all purchases.
• Train staff (and regularly refresh them) on your procedures and use checklists to support consistent decisions.
• Actively monitor to look for any disparities in approvals and declines.

Things to consider#

The following may be included as part of your overall service delivery plan, or in your policies and procedures.

• To stretch the fund further, consider ways you could partner with schools, suppliers or community organisations to access secondhand or discounted items, or to negotiate better pricing.
• Consider setting a per-ākonga or term-based limit to manage the fund responsibly and sustainably.
• Encourage staff to give feedback on the application process, declined requests and suggestions for improvement.
• Include insights in reports to us, such as requests that do not fit current rules, common challenges or gaps and ideas for improving the fund. Use insights to improve your own in-house procedures and ways of doing things.
• Consider training on unconscious bias and cultural competency.

Download the Unmet Basic Needs Fund checklist#