Your entitlement date is the date that your situation changed and you became eligible for a benefit. For example, this could be the day after:
your “employment ceased date” (see below), or
the date your cost started (e.g., your rental cost if you are applying for Accommodation Supplement), or
the date you separated from your partner, or
the date you arrived in NZ, or
the date you were released from prison, or
the date you finished study.