Building the Future:

At the heart of National’s plan to build the future are dedicated mums and dads, balancing long hours at work with the excitement and pressure that comes with raising young kids. The arrival of a new baby is often one of the happiest times in a family’s life, but it also comes with higher costs and tough choices. Many parents are forced to juggle the financial impact of taking time away from work alongside a real desire to spend more time at home with their babies.

Now, National is laying out a long-term vision to modernise Paid Parental Leave as a whole and provide new mums and dads with the financial flexibility they need to spend more time at home with their new baby.

A re-elected National Government will:

• Extend paid parental leave – from 26 to 30 weeks in three stages over the next term, as the first step in National’s longer-term vision to extend paid parental leave to 40 weeks.
• Shared parental leave – allowing parents the flexibility to take their paid parental leave entitlement at the same time, or in overlapping instalments.
• Protect full holiday pay for new parents – by passing and protecting new employment leave legislation that enhances rights to annual leave for working mums and dads.

Together, these three policies give families more time with their new baby and more choice about how they use it.

Extending Paid Parental Leave from 26 to 30 weeks

To address those pressures, National is laying out a long-term vision to extend paid parental leave from six months to nine months, with an initial increase of four weeks over the next term.

Paid parental leave entitlements will increase from 26 weeks to 30 weeks over three Budgets:

Shared parental leave

Under National’s policy, parents would have the option to take all or some of their paid parental leave at the same time.

In short, under this policy new parents could mix and match their combined right to 30 weeks of paid parental leave as they see fit, with flexibility to take leave together, then apart, then together again, in whatever order and combination works best for them.

Every family has different needs: this policy recognises that and gives mums and dads the chance to choose what will work best for their family.

Full Holiday Pay for Parents Returning to Work

Under the new Employment Leave Act, workers will continue to earn annual leave while on parental leave, and when they take annual leave after returning to work, they will be paid in full. These changes take effect from 1 July 2027, ahead of the wider reforms, so that parents see the benefit as soon as possible.

A re-elected National Government will protect that legislation and oppose any efforts to water down the rights of working mums and dads to take a holiday with their new child, without being financially punished.

KiwiSaver Paid Parental Leave TopUp

National believes strong families are the cornerstone of a more prosperous society, and that starts with supporting every family to save for their future and build their own financial security.

Under National’s policy, from 1 July 2027, the Government will provide a KiwiSaver contribution to people on paid parental leave even if the person is not contributing themselves. This contribution will be made at the default rate applied against the amount of paid parental leave a person is receiving.

Read the full policy

Download and read the full policy document for further detail on extending paid parental leave, shared parental leave, full holiday pay for parents returning to work, and KiwiSaver Paid Parental Leave TopUp.