Who qualifies for new $50 a week cost of living relief, and how the scheme works

Tuesday, 24 March 2026

About 143,000 families with children will get an additional $50 a week through a boost to the in-work tax credit, the Government has announced.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced the urgent cost of living relief package on Tuesday, in response to the global fuel crisis.

Who will receive the payments?

Only some working parents would receive the payments.

To be eligible, at least one parent must be in paid employment, and neither parent can rely on a benefit as their primary source of income.

For a family with one child, the payments would go to households earning around $89,000 or less per year.

For families with two children, the cut off was $112,000 per year.

For families with three children, the cut off was $135,000.

On top of the 143,000 families estimated to be eligible for the $50 payments, an additional 14,000 families would receive a higher in-work tax credit of up to $50 per week.

Families relying entirely on Government payments, such as the Jobseeker Support, would not receive any extra assistance as part of this announcement.

When will the payments arrive?

The payments would start on either April 7 or 14.

The Government announced this as a temporary measure, as a direct response to the surging cost of petrol following the Iran War.

These payments would last for one year, or until the price of 91 octane petrol drops below $3 a litre for four consecutive weeks.

What about other families?

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the Government could not alleviate the pressure on everybody.

Willis had signalled earlier that the Government would not be providing additional support to parents who relied on welfare and were looking for work.

“Working families need to pay to get to and from work every day, beneficiaries do not,” she said, on Tuesday.

But parents on Jobseeker Support are required to attend mandatory appointments Work and Income appointments, and go to job interviews. If they refuse to do so, or don’t make those appointments, they can have their benefits cut.

Stuff asked Social Development Minister Louise Upston about that earlier on Tuesday, and whether there would be extra support for transport given the cost of petrol.

She said that those obligations remained unchanged, but urged families to speak to MSD case managers if they were struggling to pay for petrol to attend mandatory meetings and interviews.

Upston and Willis said benefits would increase in April, in line with inflation. But that inflation adjustment would not take into account the recent spike in fuel costs until next year.

What’s the cost?

Willis said the policy would cost $373 million per year, if it ran for the full year.