The Budget 2004 Overview
Working for families
If you have questions about how the Budget 2004 - Working for Families package can help you or your family, please phone 0800 774 004.
The Working for Families package means an average increase of around $100 a week in direct income assistance to families with children in the $25,000 to $45,000 band by 2007. Many families with higher earnings will also benefit.
Further information about Working for Families can be found here
| Total cost: |
$1.1 billion a year from 2007 |
| Objectives: |
to ensure work pays, to ensure families have sufficient income to give their children a good start in life, to reduce the barriers to work, to simplify the benefit structure, to ensure people receive their full entitlement. |
| Components: |
Increases to Family Support, Childcare Assistance, the Accommodation Supplement, introduction of a new In Work payment for working parents, more generous work provisions for recipients of the Invalids Benefit. |
| Numbers affected: |
the new Family Assistance regime will touch 61 per cent of all families with dependent children, netting them on average an additional $66 a week. Families in the lower - $25,000 to $45,000 - income range will net an extra $95 to $100 a week. |
| Implementation: |
begins on 1 October, 2004 and runs through to 1 April, 2007. |
| Package to be future-proofed: |
Family Support, Childcare Assistance, the In Work Payment and the Parental Tax Credit will be subject to periodic review after 2007 to ensure they maintain their value over time. |
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