Apply for Best Start payments
You may be able to get a weekly payment to help support your newborn baby. Best Start payments are available until your child turns 3. Whether you can get the payment depends on your family income.
Main points to know about Best Start
- Payments start when your parental leave payments end.
- Whether you can get it and how much you can get depends on your family income.
- If your child was born before 1 April 2026, you’ll get the full Best Start payment until they turn 1, no matter what you earn.
- When the child turns 3, you stop getting Best Start payments.
- You need to confirm your details each year that you’re eligible — payments do not automatically keep going, see what happens next.
Who can get Best Start
You can get the payments if:
- you’re the primary caregiver
- your child was born on or after
- you’re an NZ citizen or resident, or you care for a child who is a resident and present in NZ.
Inland Revenue has more information about eligibility for Best Start, which is 1 of 4 types of Working for Families payments.
You can use the Working for Families calculator to check if you can get the other types of payments.
How much you can get
Inland Revenue (IR) lists the amounts for:
- weekly Best Start payment
- how much a family can earn before Best Start payments start to reduce.
You’ll get your Best Start payments after your paid parental leave (PPL) finishes (if you’re getting PPL).
Babies born after 1 April 2026
The payment amount for Best Start depends on your family income. This includes the first year of your baby’s life.
Babies born before 1 April 2026
It does not matter how much you earn — you can get the full weekly payment until your child’s first birthday.
After your child turns 1 and 2 years of age
You'll need to confirm your details with IR.
Getting payments after your child’s first and second birthdays depends on your family income.
Get your information ready
You’ll need to give your:
- IRD number — find my IRD number
- name and contact details
- bank account details (if you’re not already a Working for Families Tax Credit or Ministry of Social Development customer)
- citizenship or resident status
- MSD client number (if you’re a Ministry of Social Development customer).
If you have a partner (or had a partner in the last year), you need to give their:
- name
- contact information
- IRD number.
You’ll need to give your children’s:
- names
- birthdays
- IRD numbers.
You need to estimate your family income, including:
- your income
- your partner’s income
- any other income or payments your family receives.
Family income — child born before 1 April 2026
If you apply for a child born before April 2026, when your child is under 12 months old, you do not need to complete the family income section.
How to apply for Best Start
Best Start is 1 of 4 Working for Families payments. You may qualify for some or all of the other types of payments. You need to be registered for Working for Families to get Best Start.
You can apply online to get Best Start payments.
Already registered for Working for Families
If you’re already registered for Working for Families, you’ll need to add your child to your Working for Families to receive Best Start.
Not yet registered for Working for Families
You need to check that you meet the requirements and register for Working for Families to receive Best Start.
What happens next
Your payments start as soon as your application is processed and approved. It usually takes about 3 weeks.
Confirm your details — Best Start does not automatically renew
You need to confirm your details for Best Start each year — it does not automatically keep going.
Contact us — Inland Revenue
If you did not get a letter to confirm your details or you have questions, contact IR.