Finance Minister Nicola Willis pictured with Labour's Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Finance Minister Nicola Willis pictured with Labour's Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Less than half of families eligible for the Government’s new FamilyBoost rebate have applied to receive it in the three weeks registrations have been open.
Labour says this is not good enough and “well short” of what was promised. Labour described the administration process to collect the rebate as a “bureaucratic nightmare” that deterred families from getting the extra money many of them need.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has defended the figures, saying registrations have only been open since September 17 and officials were pleased with the take-up rate.
As of October 8, 39,664 households had registered for FamilyBoost and 30,028 claims had been lodged.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has defended the figures. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“We know from hearing from parents and caregivers that the extra support available is making a difference,” the Finance Minister said.
An estimated 100,000 families will be eligible for FamilyBoost over the year. Families have up to four years to lodge claims for their entitlements.
FamilyBoost is a childcare payment that gives $75 a week to households that earn up to $140,000 a year, and less to those who earn up to $180,000 - as long as they send in their Early Childhood Education (ECE) invoices and state their income.
FamilyBoost rebate amounts
FamilyBoost was a National Party election policy. Although National wanted to reimburse families directly every fortnight, Inland Revenue officials advised no such system existed to enable this.
Willis said at the time of the FamilyBoost package details announcement the Government was “determined to reduce the administrative burden for parents” and had asked officials to provide advice by the end of the year on options to reduce compliance.
Currently, to make a FamilyBoost claim, parents and caregivers need to be registered for a personal myIR account with Inland Revenue, collect and submit copies of their ECE invoices every three months and upload them to their My IR account.
FamilyBoost payments are refunded as a three-monthly lump sum.
‘A bureaucratic nightmare’
Labour’s finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds said opting for a rebate instead of a universal policy made it harder for families to access the money to ease living pressures.
“FamilyBoost has seen just 39,664 registrations – well short of the 100,000 promised by Nicola Willis at the Budget and last week.
Finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds with Labour leader Chris Hipkins. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“It’s clear National wants to make it difficult for anyone to actually get this money by making it a rebate. It’s a bureaucratic nightmare – with busy parents having to find invoices or proof of payment from childcare centres and claim back the money themselves from IRD.”
Edmonds said the design of the system meant people must be able to afford the childcare fees in the first place – “making thousands of families ineligible”.
“National should have made the policy universal rather than a rebate, otherwise it isn’t the relief for families struggling with the cost of living that Nicola Willis claims it is.”
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
