Is the Government on track to meet its child poverty targets after Budget 2026?

Treasury projections show child poverty after housing costs remaining above the Government's 2026/27 and 2027/28 targets. The Green Party says Budget 2026 leaves the Government off track.

What is the child poverty target after housing costs?

The after-housing-costs fixed-line target is 14% of children for 2026/27 and 10% for 2027/28.

What does Budget 2026 do for child poverty?

Treasury says a temporary $50 per week increase to the in-work tax credit is expected to reduce some income-based child poverty measures in 2026/27, but later impacts are small and not statistically significant.

Budget 2026 Child Poverty Targets at Risk

ByThe Daily Blog 29 May 202629 May 2026

Budget 2026 child poverty targets are already slipping beyond the Government’s reach, with Treasury projections showing child poverty after housing costs remaining well above the targets National is legally required to pursue.

The Green Party says this year’s Budget shows the Government is failing to meet child poverty targets.

“This Budget does nothing to lift the hundreds of thousands of children now living in poverty, even as the Government’s own child poverty report confirms it is not on track to meet the targets it is legally bound to hit.”

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Budget documents show the Government is on track to miss both the 2026/27 and 2027/28 targets for children living in poverty after housing costs, with this number still sitting at almost 20%.

“Behind every one of these numbers is a tamaiti going without a warm bed or a decent feed. This Budget had the power to change that for whānau, and the Government has chosen instead to leave children and their whānau struggling,” says Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson.

“The Child Poverty Reduction Act means the Government has to put a child poverty report on the table every single Budget. Today’s report confirms the everyday strain that whānau have been talking to us about, and it tells us this Government is still leaving them behind,” says Davidson.

“You don’t get to set targets in law, miss them year after year, and then act surprised when one in seven kids is still going without the basics.

“This is a political choice. Child poverty is not a force of nature. It goes up when governments strip support away from people, and it comes down when governments trust whānau with what they need to raise their tamariki with dignity,” says Davidson.

“Our tamariki and mokopuna can’t wait for the economic fantasy of ‘growth’, and they can’t wait for this Government to find its conscience. This is a solvable problem. What’s missing is the will and the heart to solve it,” says Davidson.