To ease the pressure on Kiwi families, we’re lifting incomes and increasing support for thousands of households.
More than 340,000 families $20 a week better off on average
From 1 April, we’re rolling out extra support for low and middle income families. This includes improvements to Working for Families that will see more than 340,000 families better off by an average of $20 per week, along with increases to the Family Tax Credit and Best Start, which helps parents with the costs of a newborn. We’ve also expanded Childcare Assistance, so more Kiwi families can access it.
This support for families is part of a suite of changes coming into force on 1 April that will see many New Zealanders better off.
The rising cost of living, driven by worldwide inflation and the war in Ukraine, is making things tough for a lot of Kiwis right now. While there’s no easy fix, we’re taking a range of actions to ease the pressure – and our 1 April changes are the next step.
The Working for Families improvements, and other changes coming in from 1 April, are just the latest initiatives in our work to support Kiwi families.
Our Families Package was the biggest boost to household income in a decade for hundreds of thousands of families. We’ve introduced free lunches in schools, made doctor’s visits cheaper, boosted police, nurses’ and teachers’ pay, and expanded Working for Families. We've also provided immediate relief from the global petrol price spike caused by the invasion of Ukraine, with a 25 cent per litre reduction in fuel tax and half-price public transport fares.
You can read more about these initiatives, and other ways we’re looking out for families, here.