Te Kaunihera Wahine o Aotearoa National Council of Women of New Zealand welcomes the Government’s announcement of increased access to childcare subsidies. Resetting the threshold for low income earners will ensure almost all sole parents are able to benefit from this significant step forward.

Rising costs of childcare over the last decade have eroded parents’ ability to choose whether or not to work. High housing costs and increasing inflation mean many families with children are simply unable to pay for childcare. In these cases, it is mostly women's choices that are limited and women who have to drop their hours at work or bring their babies with them. Increased access to childcare subsidies will have far-reaching effects on the ability to work, on lifelong earnings and economic independence, and on access to more choices for sole parents – who are primarily women.