Major support boost: earn up to NZ$25.5 an hour caring for an ill or disabled spouse

Although New Zealand has good healthcare support, illness still pushes some people into poverty.

When a spouse becomes seriously ill or disabled, for example, their husband or wife may be unable to afford hired help and have no choice but to leave work to care for them at home.

To address this situation, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a major support initiative over the weekend.

Jacinda and Associate Minister of Health Julie Anne Genter announced in Wellington on Sunday that partners or spouses caring for ill or disabled family members could receive up to NZ$25.5 an hour.

This subsidised care by family members covers disability, poor health, mental health issues, addiction and aged care.

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Jacinda said people caring for family members would receive between NZ$20.50 and NZ$25.50 an hour. Previously, the government subsidy was NZ$17.7, the statutory minimum wage. An increase from NZ$17.7 to a maximum of NZ$25.5 is a substantial boost.

Prime Minister Jacinda announced the support alongside the Green Party's Associate Minister of Health, Julie-Ann Genter.

They also announced that the law would be amended to remove provisions requiring an employment relationship between the person receiving care and their family carer to qualify for government funding.

 Associate Minister of Health Julie Anne Genter

Payments to people caring for ill family members are made under New Zealand's Funded Family Care policy, which is based on the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000.

However, in 2013, the National government used urgency to introduce Part 4A, which stipulated that carers related to the disabled adult receiving care were ineligible for hourly care payments.

Labour and the Greens strongly criticised this, with Jacinda Ardern describing Part 4A as a breach of human rights and a disgrace to society.