Contents
Childcare Assistance Programme : Contents

Qualifications

A client may qualify for assistance for subsidised childcare of up to 9 hours a week if:

Some clients may be able to get '20 hours Early Childhood Education'.

Childcare Subsidy of more than 9 hours per week

To get a Childcare Subsidy of more than 9 hours per week, the client must meet additional qualifications.

For more information see:

Child's principal caregiver also cares for a child receiving Child Disability Allowance
Child's principal caregiver also cares for a child in hospital

Legislation

  • Eligibility of child for payment of childcare subsidy regulation 30 Social Security Regulations 2018
  • Payment of childcare subsidy if principal caregiver engaged in approved activity regulation 32 Social Security Regulations 2018
  • General limitation on receiving benefit: persons unlawfully resident or present in New Zealand and persons holding temporary entry class visa section 19 Social Security Act 2018
  • MSD may refuse or cancel benefit if person not ordinarily resident in New Zealand section 204 Social Security Act 2018
  • Childcare assistance subpart 6 part 2, Social Security Regulations 2018
  • Dates for starting school under cohort entry policy section 64 Education and Training Act 2020
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Cohort entry schools allow children to start school on the school term or mid-term start-date immediately on or after their 5th birthday whichever is closer.

This is effective from 1 January 2020.

The principal caregiver is the person who has the permanent primary responsibility for the day-to-day care of the child, other than on a temporary basis. It does not include proprietors or employees of any childcare home or institution.

A residence class visa means a:

A residence class visa allows people to live in New Zealand indefinitely. The visa also lets people work and study in New Zealand. There are different travel conditions based on the type of residence class visa.

Residence class visas are granted by Immigration New Zealand.

For the purpose of deciding if a person meets the residence criteria for financial assistance from MSD, people who ...

For Orphans Benefit or Unsupported Childs Benefit, the principal temporary caregiver is the person who has the primary responsibility for the day-to-day care of the child for a short-term, unknown, or uncertain period, and is not the natural or adoptive parent of the child.

A person can be a New Zealand citizen by either:

For New Zealand citizenship, New Zealand includes the self-governing states of:

Citizenship is granted by the Department of Internal Affairs.

Note people born in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, or Tokelau may not automatically be New Zealand citizens. To be considered a New Zealand citizen from birth, a person born on or after 1 January 2006 must have:

A dependent child is a child who is:

A dependent child does not include a:

...

Temporary entry class visas are issued to people who have arrived in New Zealand legally, but are only allowed to stay for a temporary period for the duration and purposes indicated on the visa.

A temporary entry class visa means:

Legislation