Foster Care Allowance vs Unsupported Child's Benefit in New Zealand

Two Different Systems for Two Different Arrangements

The Foster Care Allowance (FCA) and the Unsupported Child's Benefit (UCB) both provide weekly payments to people caring for children who are not their own. But they come from different agencies, cover different situations, and you cannot receive both for the same child.

Understanding which one applies to your situation matters because applying to the wrong agency wastes time you may not have — especially with UCB's 20-working-day application deadline.

Foster Care Allowance — Oranga Tamariki

The Foster Care Allowance is paid by Oranga Tamariki — Ministry for Children under Section 363 of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989. It applies exclusively to children who have been placed in formal state custody or care-and-protection arrangements. This includes:

• Children subject to a custody order under the Oranga Tamariki Act
• Children placed with a caregiver through a formal Oranga Tamariki care arrangement
• "Home for Life" placements managed by Oranga Tamariki

If Oranga Tamariki has placed the child with you, they are your paying agency. You receive the FCA directly from Oranga Tamariki, not from Work and Income.

Unsupported Child's Benefit — Work and Income

UCB is paid by Work and Income (part of the Ministry of Social Development) under Section 46 of the Social Security Act 2018. It covers community-based, informal, and whānau care arrangements where the child is not in state custody:

• A grandparent who takes in a grandchild after family breakdown
• An aunt caring for a nephew whose parents are unable to provide care due to addiction, imprisonment, or illness
• Any eligible caregiver in an informal arrangement where the parents cannot care for or financially support the child

The key distinction: UCB is for children outside the statutory state care system. If Oranga Tamariki is involved and has custody of the child, UCB does not apply.

You Cannot Receive Both

A child cannot be on both FCA and UCB simultaneously. The two payments are mutually exclusive for the same child. If a child is in Oranga Tamariki custody, the caregiver receives FCA; if the child is in informal or whānau care outside the state system, the caregiver applies for UCB through Work and Income.

This creates a clear boundary: if Oranga Tamariki has placed the child with you, go to Oranga Tamariki for FCA. If the child came into your care through family arrangements without Oranga Tamariki involvement, go to Work and Income for UCB.

What About the Rates?

The weekly rates for UCB and OB are aligned with the Foster Care Allowance rates and adjusted annually on 1 April. The base amounts are comparable across both systems — the difference is not in how much you receive but in which agency administers the payment and what documentation and obligations come with it.

FCA recipients deal with Oranga Tamariki social workers, formal caregiver agreements, and Oranga Tamariki-managed reviews. UCB recipients deal with Work and Income case managers, Form M14, and the 20-working-day application process.

When the Lines Blur

Sometimes a child's situation changes. An Oranga Tamariki placement may end and the child remains with the caregiver informally — in which case the caregiver needs to transition from FCA to UCB. Or a family arrangement that started informally may escalate to involve Oranga Tamariki, shifting the child from UCB to FCA.

In either case, contact both agencies promptly when the care arrangement changes. The incoming caregiver must make their own UCB application through Work and Income; the payment does not transfer automatically, so do not assume there will be no gap.

Working Out Which Applies to You

If you are unsure whether your arrangement falls under Oranga Tamariki or Work and Income, ask whether Oranga Tamariki has formally placed the child in its care. If yes, contact Oranga Tamariki. If there is no formal state-care placement — even if a Family Group Conference has taken place — contact Work and Income about UCB.

The Unsupported Child's Benefit and Orphan's Benefit guide includes a benefit route flowchart that walks you through exactly this decision, mapping your care arrangement type to the correct agency and payment.

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