Child Support for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in NZ

Can Grandparents Receive Child Support in NZ

Grandparents may apply as non-parent carers if they provide ongoing daily care for at least 35% of the time — 128 nights a year. A parenting order giving you day-to-day care can document the arrangement, but the eligibility test is the care you provide, not whether you hold a court order.

A Family Court parenting order under Section 48 of the Care of Children Act 2004 can be useful evidence of your care arrangement, but a court order is not required to meet the non-parent carer eligibility test.

How Child Support Works for Non-Parent Carers

New Zealand's child support formula is administered by IRD under the Child Support Act 1991. A non-parent carer can apply for an assessment against each parent. IRD determines whether a parent is liable and how much they must pay under the formula.

The formula considers each parent's income and the amount of care each provides, along with other factors. A parent's lack of care does not by itself determine the amount payable.

IRD collects any child support assessed as payable. If you receive the Unsupported Child's Benefit for the child, Work and Income requires you to apply for child support, and payments collected go to the government to help cover the benefit. If you do not receive that benefit, child support collected can be paid to you. IRD can collect overdue amounts from wages, benefits, bank accounts, or tax refunds.

What You Need to Apply

To apply for child support through IRD as a grandparent, you will need to give it information about the care arrangement and the parents. A court order can help document care, but IRD will tell you what other details or evidence it needs. Useful details include:

• A parenting order or other care records — to document the arrangement
• The child's birth certificate identifying both parents
• Your IRD number and the parents' details (names, dates of birth, last known addresses)

If a parent's identity or location is unknown, ask IRD what information it needs to assess the known parent.

What if You Do Not Have a Court Order Yet

You do not necessarily need a formal court order to apply. IRD assesses non-parent carer eligibility based on the amount of ongoing care you provide; contact IRD to confirm what evidence it needs for your arrangement.

A parenting order can document who has day-to-day care, but it does not automatically qualify you for other financial support. Work and Income assesses Unsupported Child's Benefit eligibility separately.

Child Support vs Other Financial Support

Child support through IRD is one piece of the financial picture. It is paid by the parents, not by the government. If the parents have low incomes, the assessment may be small — sometimes only a few dollars a week.

Other financial support that may be available to grandparent carers includes:

• Unsupported Child's Benefit (UCB) — a non-taxable weekly payment from Work and Income for carers raising a child whose parents cannot provide care. Work and Income assesses eligibility and may ask for a court order or other documentation as evidence. This benefit is not based on the parents' income.
• Orphan's Benefit — if both parents are deceased or cannot be located
• Childcare Assistance and school-related grants — various Work and Income supplementary payments

You may qualify for both an Unsupported Child's Benefit and a child support assessment. If you receive UCB for the child, however, child support collected goes to the government to help cover the benefit rather than being passed on to you.

Detailed information about benefit eligibility, rates, and application processes is covered in the sibling product on NZ kinship financial support. This post focuses on the child support mechanism through IRD.

The Practical Reality

Many grandparents in kinship care situations find that the biological parents have limited income — they may be on a benefit themselves, incarcerated, or dealing with addiction. In these cases, the child support assessment produces a modest amount, and actual collection can be inconsistent.

That is why child support should be viewed as one component of a broader financial plan, not the whole solution. A court order can be useful evidence for both applications, but IRD and Work and Income assess eligibility separately.

A parenting order can help document your care arrangement, but it is not a prerequisite for a child support application. The NZ Parenting Orders and Guardianship guide walks through the parenting-order process, from leave to apply through to the sealed order you can provide to IRD or Work and Income.

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