New Zealand FamilyBoost supports over 97,500 families

Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced that more than 97,500 New Zealand families have received payments under the FamilyBoost scheme to help cover early childhood education costs. The program was expanded last year, raising the rebate from 25 % to 40 % of eligible expenses, lifting the maximum weekly payment from $75 to $120 and extending eligibility to households earning up to $229,000 a year.

Willis said the average payment has risen by 70 % and that an average of 12,331 families each quarter have claimed $75 or more. By the latest quarter, 9,498 families have received the higher payment, bringing total registrations to about 115,000. The government frames the support as a way to ease budget pressures on working parents, help them balance work and family life, and strengthen the wider economy.