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FamilyBoost is a new childcare payment available to eligible households with children aged 5 and under, to help with the costs of early childhood education. Inland revenue will closely monitor and report on the ongoing results of Family Boost.

Parents and caregivers can claim back up to 25% of their fees, or a maximum of $975 every 3-months. This maximum payment slowly reduces for families with incomes over $35,000 but under $45,000 per quarter. Families with incomes over $45,000 per quarter are not eligible.

Find out more about FamilyBoost payments.

Can you get FamilyBoost?

Data is collected throughout the quarter and will be updated a minimum of two months post the end of each quarter. Information will also be included in our annual reports for 2024-25 onwards.

Timeline for delivery of FamilyBoost

May 2024

  • Enabling legislation passed

1 July 2024

  • Legislation was enacted

September 2024

  • Registrations for FamilyBoost open

October 2024

  • Claims open for the first quarter (1 July-30 September 2024) and payments are made to eligible households

Funded cost

This table shows the funded cost for Inland Revenue, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Development for 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2027-28.

2023-24 ($m) 2024-25 ($m) 2025-26 ($m) 2026-27 ($m) 2027-28 ($m)
Inland Revenue - administration cost $13.900 $11.100 $9.100 $9.100
Ministry of Education - administration cost   $0.175 $0.100 $0.100 $0.100
Ministry of Social Development - administration cost $0.242 $1.604 $1.322 $1.322 $1.322
Forecast amount paid to eligible households $174.000 $171.000 $167.000 $165.000

Note:

  • FamilyBoost is integrated with the delivery of IR main’s products. Given its relatively small size compared to tax, a breakdown of actual costs is not possible.

Indicators of performance

The following tables track the performance indicators for FamilyBoost.

Registrations

This table shows the registrations made per quarter for the 2024-25 financial year.

Performance indicator Q1 (Jul-Sep 2024) Q2 (Oct-Dec 2024) Q3 (Jan-Mar 2025) Q4 (Apr-Jun 2025)
Registrations processed 23,200* 36,800
Accepted registrations 22,900* 36,400
Accepted registrations processed within 5 working days (target 85%) 99.96%* 99.6%

*Registrations received from 16 September to 30 September 2024.

Note:

  • The data in this table shows point-in-time for registrations processed during each quarter for 2024-25 financial year

Amount of claims

Note: Claims for FamilyBoost opened on 1 October 2024; reporting on claims commenced from Q2 2024-25.

This table shows the claims made per quarter for the 2024-25 financial year.

Performance indicator Q1 (Jul-Sep 2024) Q2 (Oct-Dec 2024) Q3 (Jan-Mar 2025) Q4 (Apr-Jun 2025)
Households claiming N/A 52,000
Claims received N/A 58,300

Note:

  • The data in this table shows point-in-time for claims processed during each quarter for 2024-25 financial year.

Volume and processing of claims

This table shows the volume and processing of claims made per quarter for the 2024-25 financial year.

Performance indicator Q1 (Jul-Sep 2024) Q2 (Oct-Dec 2024) Q3 (Jan-Mar 2025) Q4 (Apr-Jun 2025)
% of processed claims approved N/A 72.7%
Value of claims paid N/A $16.026m
Average claim amount paid N/A $377
% of claims approved within 5 working days N/A 55.7%
% of claims approved within 10 working days N/A 91.3%

Note:

  • The data in this table shows point-in-time for claims processed during each quarter for 2024-25 financial year.

Supporting information

This table shows supporting information for claims for the 2024-25 financial year.

Performance indicator Q1 (Jul-Sep 2024) Q2 (Oct-Dec 2024) Q3 (Jan-Mar 2025) Q4 (Apr-Jun 2025)
Number of children included on all processed claims N/A 61,600
Number of children on approved claims N/A 50,200

Note:

  • The data in this table shows point-in-time for claims processed during each quarter for 2024-25 financial year.

Quarterly income brackets of successful claimants

This table shows the quarterly income brackets of successful claimants by total claim count as at the end of each quarter

Quarterly income brackets - Total claims count Q1 (Jul-Sep 2024) Q2 (Oct-Dec 2024) Q3 (Jan-Mar 2025) Q4 (Apr-Jun 2025)
Less than or equal to $15,000 N/A 9,000
$15,000 - $25,000 N/A 8,200
$25,000 - $35,000 N/A 12,400
$35,000 - $45,000 N/A 12,800
Total claims paid N/A 42,400

Notes:

  • The data in this table shows point-in-time for claims processed during each quarter for 2024-25 financial year.
  • Totals may not equal the sum of rows due to rounding.

This table shows the quarterly income brackets of successful claimants by total claims paid as at the end of each quarter

Quarterly income brackets – total claims paid Q1 (Jul-Sep 2024) Q2 (Oct-Dec 2024) Q3 (Jan-Mar 2025) Q4 (Apr-Jun 2025)
Less than or equal to $15,000 N/A $2.577m
$15,000 - $25,000 N/A $3.036m
$25,000 - $35,000 N/A $5.658m
$35,000 - $45,000 N/A $4.755m
Total claims paid N/A $16.026m

Notes:

  • The data in this table shows point-in-time for claims processed during each quarter for 2024-25 financial year.
  • Totals may not equal the sum of rows due to rounding.
Last updated: 24 Mar 2025
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