Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Budget 2025: Best Start payments to be means-tested across all three years

NZ Herald
22 May, 2025 03:14 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

KiwiSaver cut, Best Start means-tested, $6.6 billion for business. Nicola Willis’ Budget aims for growth but warns of slow wages and high unemployment. Video / Mark Mitchell

The weekly Best Start payment will now be means-tested across all three years it is offered to new parents, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said in today’s Budget announcement.

Currently, all parents receive the payment in the first year after having a child, with means-testing in years two and three.

The payment will now be means-tested for all three years, saving $211 million, Willis said.

Best Start payments start to diminish above a family income of $79,000 and cutting off entirely when a family earns just over $97,000 a year, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Families of children born before April 1 next year won’t have their Best Start payments income-tested and would continue to receive the maximum amount until their child turned 1.

Means-testing had been expanded to help fund changes to the abatement threshold for Working for Families.

The current threshold has been unchanged since 2018, despite inflation and wage growth, Upston said.

“This means the scheme has become less effective at supporting low- and middle-income families.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“Accordingly, the Government is lifting the Working for Families abatement threshold from $42,700 to $44,900 and raising the abatement rate from 27% to 27.5%.”

Families with incomes close to the new threshold will get greater additional payments – up to $23 a fortnight, she said.

“The cost of the extra support will be met by income-testing the first year of the Best Start tax credit.”

Willis said the move to means-test Best Start was to ensure money went to families who needed it the most.

Her Budget increased spending in areas such as health, education and spending while reducing debt, Willis said.

“The Government is not promising today’s Budget will solve all of New Zealand’s problems.”

In its first response to Budget 2025, Labour labelled it an “Austerity Budget that leaves women out”.

“After a year of job cuts, now we are on to pay cuts and stealing from our kids’ retirement funds,” Labour leader Chris Hipkins said.

Working for Families changes – $14 a fortnight

Tweaks to Working for Families tax credits meant people would keep more of their tax credits as their income from work rises with wage inflation, Upston said.

The increase was worth $14 a fortnight on average and up to $23 a fortnight.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The cost of the change was $205m over four years.

However, the Government was also raising the abatement rate from 27% to 27.5%.

This meant when people’s incomes rose, they’d lose their tax credits faster than before.

It marked a steady increase in the abatement rate over successive governments. Not long ago it was closer to 20%.

Do you have questions about the Budget? Ask our experts – business editor at large Liam Dann, senior political correspondent Audrey Young and Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny – in a Herald Premium online Q&A here at nzherald.co.nz at 9.30am, Friday, May 23.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern AdvocateUpdated

'Harder on the younger generation': Will Budget changes push Kiwis overseas?

22 May 06:40 AM
Premium
Opinion

Liam Dann: Upbeat Treasury forecasts GDP growth, rising house prices

22 May 05:39 AM
live
Northern Advocate

Live: What's in the Budget for you - student loan borrowers pay more; Best Start payments cut

22 May 05:15 AM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'Harder on the younger generation': Will Budget changes push Kiwis overseas?

'Harder on the younger generation': Will Budget changes push Kiwis overseas?

22 May 06:40 AM

The public share their thoughts on changes to Best Start, KiwiSaver and student loans.

Premium
Liam Dann: Upbeat Treasury forecasts GDP growth, rising house prices

Liam Dann: Upbeat Treasury forecasts GDP growth, rising house prices

22 May 05:39 AM
Live: What's in the Budget for you - student loan borrowers pay more; Best Start payments cut
live

Live: What's in the Budget for you - student loan borrowers pay more; Best Start payments cut

22 May 05:15 AM
Premium
Why the Government's $200m gas move marks a major shift in energy policy

Why the Government's $200m gas move marks a major shift in energy policy

22 May 04:36 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP