A government report has found child poverty is getting worse in New Zealand. About 210,600 children are now living in households below the poverty line. The report came out on 2 August 2026, around the same time cuts to disability support were being criticised by advocates who say vulnerable families are being pushed further into hardship (RNZ).

Official figures from Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People, show that more than one in four disabled children live in poverty. Children in households with a disabled person are 4.5 times more likely to face severe material hardship — meaning they regularly go without basics like enough food, warm clothes, or a heated home — compared with children in non-disabled households (RNZ).

Glen McMillan leads a group called Children with Disability New Zealand. He is disabled himself, from a childhood accident. He said the real number of disabled children in poverty is probably much higher than the official count, because many poorer families are afraid to ask for help in case they face discrimination. He also said many disabled children need special diets that cost about $90 a week extra (RNZ).

McMillan said cuts to disability support are pushing families deeper into poverty. He said many disabled people see a proposed law called the Disability Support Services (DSS) Bill as a reduction in help. Instead, they want the government to raise the abatement rate — this is the point at which a person's benefit starts being reduced because they have earned some income from work. A higher abatement rate would let disabled people keep more of their benefit while working (RNZ).

Minister defends DSS Bill

Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston said the DSS Bill is meant to make it easier for disabled people to understand what support is available and to keep improving that support. She said the Bill does not change who is eligible for help or how they access it, and does not increase what families are expected to do themselves (RNZ).

Upston also announced that from 1 April 2026, people already using disability support will get a new flexible funding budget based on how much they have spent before. The government says all the changes to disability support assessment, allocation and flexible funding will be in place by April 2026 (disabilitysupport.govt.nz).

Budget 2026 and sector response

CCS Disability Action, an advocacy organisation, said Budget 2026 includes a $1.46 million cut to Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People (CCS Disability Action). The group also said that while Budget 2026 lists $21.3 million for the Child Disability Allowance, that figure does not actually increase the amount families receive or who qualifies for it (CCS Disability Action).

A poll run by Save the Children in May 2024 found that two-thirds of the public wanted funding for Whaikaha restored after sudden cuts earlier that year in March (Save the Children).

How the poverty figures are counted

Stats NZ released its latest child poverty figures on 26 February 2026. This was the seventh report under the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018, a law that set targets to reduce child poverty. The figures come from a survey of about 17,000 households — the Household Income and Living Survey — which asks families about their income and living costs. The income figures are adjusted for household size so that a big family is not unfairly compared with a small one (Stats NZ).

The survey reached about 17,892 households for the year ended June 2025. Stats NZ also published revised figures for the years 2019 to 2024 in February 2026, after updating its population estimates following a Census (Stats NZ).

For the year ended June 2025, there was no statistically significant change in child poverty rates for disabled children (Stats NZ). In the year ended June 2024, 13.4 percent of New Zealand children lived in a household facing material hardship (Stats NZ).

Stats NZ has also said it will change how it measures material hardship. From February 2026, it will use a new 18-item checklist to work out whether a household is in hardship, replacing the old method (Stats NZ).

What to watch

The report, the DSS Bill, and the April 2026 funding changes are all happening at the same time, which puts disability and poverty firmly on the political agenda.

Advocates say the government's overall package reduces support. The Minister says it clarifies and continues existing support. The figure showing disabled households are 4.5 times more likely to face severe hardship gives that disagreement a hard edge.

The change in how Stats NZ measures hardship adds another layer. Once the new 18-item checklist is in use, comparing this year's figures to last year's will not be straightforward, and the new baseline could change how progress on child poverty targets is judged. The next set of figures under the new method is the one to keep an eye on.