Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.
From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ECE fees. Under the scheme, parents can get back up to 25 percent of their weekly fees, to a maximum of $75 per week.
“Many families are struggling with high housing, food, and childcare costs. One of our priorities is to support families to get ahead by helping them with the high cost of living, including help for those bearing the brunt of childcare costs.
“Being able to afford ECE fees can also be a barrier to entering the workforce, particularly for the second earner in a household. FamilyBoost will make it easier and more worthwhile for families with young children to work by directly assisting them to pay those ECE fees.
“FamilyBoost was a campaign commitment and forms part of our overall tax plan. I am delighted we are delivering on our promise today with support for those who need it,” Nicola Willis says.
The FamilyBoost credit of up to $75 per week relates to fees incurred with a licenced ECE provider after the 20 Hours Free and MSD’s Childcare Subsidy are taken into account.
All families earning up to $180,000 with childcare costs are eligible. However, to ensure support goes to families who need it most, the maximum repayment will gradually reduce for families earning more than $140,000. Household income will be calculated by Inland Revenue (IR) using the past three months’ worth of actual reported income to determine eligibility.
To ensure the repayment goes swiftly and accurately to eligible parents and caregivers, ECE invoices are submitted directly through IR’s online system, myIR.
“Parents and caregivers will be able to submit their ECE invoices every three months via myIR, with FamilyBoost refunded as a lump sum. Parents should start collecting invoices from 1 July, so they can begin to apply and be refunded from October 2024.
“IR will now engage with ECE providers ahead of implementation to ensure they are ready to support families access FamilyBoost,” Nicola Willis says.
Full details of FamilyBoost, including how to apply for it, will be available on Budget Day – 30 May 2024.
Image credit: Gautam Arora
OK- what IF you have an autistic child who cannot attend ECE, and you have to home-school him or her?
True, you get a twice-a-year Homeschooling Allowance which pales in comparison to the allowance in the UK, but where is the Special Needs Education Fund of NZ$30 million that John Key never spent that was supposedly set aside for Special Needs?
When the teachers, school staff and school board members who seem to practice nepotism (favouring their little relative over equal treatment of other students…), offer minimum or no support, and instead try to case-build against parents who have Special Needs children with the high hope that the child will then be trafficked into CYFS (Oranga Tamariki) what happens in the long run?
Manchester Street in Christchurch or Gangland in south Auckland!!!! This is usually followed with death by murder!
In addition to that, look at the benefits that have been yanked from disabled Kiwis!!!
All by design…!
And yet, in other Commonwealth Nations, we see euthanasia going on directed against those with disabilities.
Bottom line- governments can’t wait for the next Plandemic to kill off the elderly, the disabled, and the politically incorrect with low social credit scores in order to save money while those in government line their pockets with the savings!
So now I’m not just paying to feed other people kids at school.. I’m now paying for them to be looked after also. Seems fair..have a kid. Get a free ride
Another rort, an insulting small sum that shows again, how money is being paid in taxes but instead of being used where its needed its wasted. $25M just recently to the corrupt govt of Ukraine, one glaring example.