The recent severe weather event has had impacts across our city. There is a range of support services available including temporary accommodation assistance and tax support.
Taking care of the Mauao temporary memorial site | Temporary Accommodation | Tax Support | Tauranga Mayoral Relief Fund | Support with Insurance Claims | Financial Assistance | Wellbeing | Resident Permits | General Support
Taking care of the Mauao temporary memorial site
Memorial message boards and non-organic mementos that were situated at the memorial site on the corner of Leinster Avenue and The Mall will be relocated to He Maimai Aroha – Community Care Centre, 249 Maunganui Road so people have easy access to continue to see them.
New message boards are now located on the grassed area on the corner of Marine Parade and Adams Avenue.
Tauranga City Council staff are maintaining the memorial site as a mark of respect. As panels with condolence messages become full, they are being relocated to He Maimai Aroha - Community Care Centre 249 Maunganui Road.
Temporary Accommodation
Whānau who are unable to return to their damaged property can register for support with temporary accommodation at Severe Weather Events January 2026 » Temporary Accommodation
Tax Support
Inland Revenue may be able to help if your business or personal income is affected: IRD Support.
If you are self-employed or own a business, they can provide some tax relief and help you manage your business tax following an adverse or emergency event.
They can help if you are unable to file or pay your tax on time during a natural disaster, adverse or emergency event. They may be able to write off some tax, penalties or interest, and can help you set up an instalment plan.
Get in touch when you reasonably can. You may still receive computer generated letters and notifications from IRD; however, they understand if you’re putting your immediate response and recovery first.
They may be able to help:
- you
- your family
- your business
- your client.
Dedicated phone line for those impacted by weather events in BOP: 0800 473 566
Tauranga Mayoral Relief Fund
Tauranga City Council has established a Mayoral Relief Fund to provide timely financial assistance to families, residents, and businesses experiencing urgent, unmet needs following the recent severe weather events across Tauranga.
The fund also acts as a flexible, locally administered mechanism to support immediate recovery where existing support may be delayed, incomplete, or unavailable.
This fund operates alongside and is complementary to, the Western Bay Emergency Response Fund, which is a joint initiative between Acorn Foundation, BayTrust, TECT, Tauranga City Council, and Western Bay of Plenty District Council that channels support to local organisations, marae, and charities.
Learn more about the Mayoral Relief Fund
Support with Insurance Claims
The New Zealand Claims Resolution Service can support homeowners with their residential insurance claims resulting from natural disasters: Claims Resolution Service
Financial Assistance
- If you are struggling to meet your essential costs, Work and Income may be able to help you, even if you are working: Work and Income
If someone is worried about their job or is working fewer hours and has a lower income, they may be able to get some financial assistance.
Even if someone doesn’t think they qualify, they can talk with someone about their situation.
- Work and Income Support for employers:: There is also a range of services and financial support available to businesses including:
- Redeployment support service (helping to connect staff with new employment or upskilling opportunities).
- Redundancy Support: Confidential support and advice for you, and your staff, if you think you might need to make staff redundant or reduce their hours.
- Retaining and/or retraining staff: Financial support to help retain and/or retrain staff into other areas of your business
- If you are experiencing financial hardship due to the event, contact your bank. The banks have Hardship Teams who can talk to you about options.
- The Tauranga Mayoral Relief Fund is also open for applications.
- The Tauranga Chamber of Commerce has free confidential support available to help businesses: Support for Mount Maunganui businesses after landslides
You can also meet with a business advisor to access any eligible government-funded support & other resources.
Phone:07) 577 9823
Email: chamber@tauranga.org.nz
Wellbeing
Trained counsellors are available for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week for mental health support following the extreme weather events. To speak to a counsellor, phone or text Need to Talk? on 1747 for help after an extreme weather event. You can also access three free counselling sessions with a referral.Other options include:
Diversity Counselling NZ: provides free counselling and support for migrants and former refugees in a range of different languages
Email: contact@dcnz.net Phone: 0210 262 5587
Grief Support Services Tauranga - Offers subsidised counselling to individuals, children and families/whanau whose lives are affected by grief and loss. This may be due to a loss of a loved one or from circumstances that have caused change that is difficult to manage.
Phone: 07 578 4480
Resident permits
If you live, have a business, or are staying within the cordoned-off area, from Friday 30 January you will need a permit to get through the road closures with a vehicle.
To get your permit: go to He Maimai Aroha – Community Care Centre at 249 Maunganui Road
When: daily, 9am-9pm
What to bring: proof of address or accommodation booking e.g. bank statement, power bill email, hotel reservation, AirBnB booking etc. Council staff will issue your permit immediately.
Note: on-street parking behind the cordoned-off area is limited. If you don’t have off-street parking, please park outside the cordon and walk in, if you can.
Access to the cordoned area is strictly controlled. Entry will not be granted without a resident’s permit and correct identification. Without a resident's permit you will be sent to He Maimai Aroha – Community Care Centre to obtain one. Limited, managed allowances are solely at the discretion of on-site security staff. Vehicles must remain within designated areas and comply with all directions once inside the cordon.
Links to General Support
Where you can get support in an emergency: NEMA’s accessible resource
Here to Help U: A free service that connects individuals and whānau to the right help, at the right time.' It is a first point of contact service that connects those in need to hundreds of community providers who deliver wellbeing and social support. Phone: 0800 568273
Need a Hand: quick reference guide to local support services in Tauranga (520kb pdf)
CAB Community Directory: Directory of social services
Health NZ handout: Emergency Health Advice from Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand (639kb pdf)
Need to talk?: Wallet card (91kb pdf)
Immigration New Zealand: For visa related questions contact Immigration New Zealand for assistance
Employment New Zealand: Employment during and after disasters
Business.govt.nz - Extreme weather information for businesses
Bay Wide Community Law - lawyers can provide advice on a range of issues (tenancy, family, criminal, estates, Māori land law) Although they don’t provide advice on commercial issues/relationship property/trusts etc.
If business owners are not sure what sort of assistance they require, they are welcome to call Bay wide and if they can’t provide them with legal advice, we can at least help them to navigate their legal issues and provide them with a list of lawyers to contact.
Phone: 0800 905 916 Email: tauranga@baywidecls.org.nz