🏡 New Zealand Living Wage is Going Up: What You Need to Know (2025 Update)
If you're working in New Zealand or just interested in how the country supports its workers, there's some important news for 2025! The Living Wage—the amount of money workers need to earn to live a decent life—is going up later this year.
💬 What is the Living Wage?
The Living Wage is different from the minimum wage. The minimum wage is the legal lowest amount employers can pay. The Living Wage is what experts believe people need to earn to afford essentials like food, rent, and transportation.
📈 What’s Changing in 2025?
🧑💼 Minimum Wage
- Increased from $23.15 to $23.50 per hour (April 1, 2025)
- Smallest percentage rise in 20+ years
- Affects 80,000–145,000 workers
🍼 Benefits & Pensions
- Benefits up by 2.22%, Superannuation by 3%
- Jobseeker Support: $361.31/week (single), $307.42 each (couple)
- Sole Parent Support: $505.80/week
- Superannuation: $1,076.84/fortnight (single), $828.24 each (couple)
💰 Living Wage
- New rate: $28.95/hour
- Starts from September 1, 2025
- $1.15 more than last year, $5.45 above the minimum wage
🏛️ What’s the Controversy?
The government is considering removing the Living Wage requirement for certain public sector contracts. This could affect cleaners, security, and food service workers hired through government tenders.
A recent poll shows 62% of voters disagree with this change. Worker advocates argue this could hurt vulnerable Kiwis who rely on Living Wage jobs to stay above water.
🌱 Why It Matters
Wage increases help people:
- Pay rent and groceries
- Support their whānau (family)
- Participate in their communities
- Plan for a secure future
✅ Final Thoughts
This year’s wage and benefit changes reflect how Aotearoa is adapting to rising living costs. If you're working full-time, earning a Living Wage makes a real difference in quality of life.
Want to check if your workplace is a Living Wage employer? Visit livingwage.org.nz
Also check out:
- Top Cost of Living Saving Tips in New Zealand (2025 Guide)
- Financial Planning for Moving to New Zealand: 2025 Immigration Guide
- 2025 New Zealand Investor Visa Changes: What You Need to Know
Kiwi Money Matters is written and maintained by a New Zealand-based writer with hands-on experience in finance and accounting since 2015.
All posts are personally researched, written to ensure clarity and trustworthiness for everyday Kiwis.
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