Waitaki District Community House

29/05/2026

08/05/2026

On Friday 15 May at 12.30 pm, CABNZ will be chatting with Whānau Āwhina Plunket about employment rights, focusing on rights that are particularly relevant for people who are pregnant or caring for babies and young children.

We welcome you to join us for the live Facebook chat, where we will cover topics like:
• Parental leave (including paid parental leave)
• Job protection while you are on parental leave
• Final pay
• Accommodations and flexibility on returning to paid work
• Job conditions on returning after parental leave

If you're planning a family, navigating a job change, or simply want to know where you stand at work, this could be the chat for you. Come and listen in!

[Image description: a photo of a woman sitting at a table with a toddler on her lap, having a playful interaction. The photo is alongside text which reads "Live chat: Your rights, your whānau: Employment rights, Friday 15 May 12.30pm]

01/05/2026

Are you looking for an affordable, warm and comfortable space to work in???..... Waitaki District Community House (100 Thames Street, Oamaru) has offices available for long term rent or rooms available for meetings so contact us now to find out more: Ph: 03 434 8862 or email [email protected]

17/04/2026

01/04/2026

✔A lot is changing from 1 April to Working for Families payments. The Working for Families package includes the Family tax credit, In-work tax credit, the Minimum family tax credit and the Best Start payment. If you receive any of these payments, here is what’s changing:

👉Family tax credit
The Family tax credit is the main payment for people who qualify for Working for Families. The income threshold for the Family tax credit will increase to $44,900, and the abatement rate will increase from 12 to 12.5 percent. This will mean that your payments will reduce faster the more you earn over the threshold.

👉In-work tax credit
This is for parents who receive some income from paid work, but the family income is below the threshold of $42,700. The income threshold for the In-work tax credit will increase to $44,900, and the abatement rate will increase from 12 to 12.5 percent. This will mean that your payments will reduce faster the more you earn over the threshold.
The Government is temporarily increasing the base rate of the In-work tax credit by $50 a week, taking it to $147.50 a week. This increase will run for one year or until the price of 91 octane petrol drops below $3 for four consecutive weeks, whichever comes first.

👉Minimum family tax credit
Minimum family tax credit payments ensure working families get a minimum level of income every week. The minimum Family Tax Credit threshold will increase to $36,604 after tax per year or $703 after tax per week. If you qualify, your income will be topped up to $703 per week after tax.

👉Best Start payment
If you have just had a baby and you are registered for Working for Families tax credits, you may be eligible to receive Best Start tax credits. Best Start tax credits are for up to the first three years of your baby's life. If your baby is born on or after April 1, the first year's payment will be income tested. If your family income is below $79,000 you will receive the full entitlement of $77 a week. If your family income is over $79,000 your entitlement will be reduced for every dollar you earn over $79,000 (up to $4,041).

For more information, visit cab.org.nz/article/KB00042178

Or contact us by calling our free CAB phone number 0800 367 222, by dropping in to see us at your local CAB (no appointment needed), or by contacting us via our CAB website at www.cab.org.nz.

[Image description: Yellow block with text and blue border, with the CAB logo
underneath. Text reads “How are my Working for Families payments changing from April 1?”]

30/03/2026

👉Did you know that in addition to supporting people with our free service of information and advice, CAB also uses the insights we gain from this mahi to advocate for laws, policies and services that protect and support peoples’ human rights and wellbeing? This is one of our aims as an organisation and has been since the birth of the CAB in Aotearoa in the early 1970s.

Every time we support a client, we record what they wanted assistance with and what we did in response. This gives us unique information about the issues affecting people in our communities. We use the insights this information gives us to seek changes that will benefit the whole community.

Our social justice mahi happens in local areas and nationally, and it can take a lot of different forms.

For example, locally it can involve giving feedback in hui with local organisations about issues affecting the community, making submissions to council, speaking with local MPs and commenting in local media.

Nationally, it includes giving feedback to government agencies, making submissions to Parliament, writing reports, speaking with Government Ministers, commenting in the media, and collaborating with others to raise awareness about issues.

We are guided in our social justice mahi by putting our clients at the centre. The experiences and needs of our clients are our foundation for speaking out and seeking change to make things better for them and for the whole community.
You can learn more about our social justice mahi and some of the issues we have been advocating on recently by visiting the social justice page on our website at:
cab.org.nz/what-we-do/social-justice

You can contact us by calling our free CAB phone number 0800
367 222, by dropping in to see us at your local CAB (no appointment needed), or
by contacting us via our CAB website at cab.org.nz.

12/01/2026

Are you looking for an affordable, warm and comfortable space to work in???..... Waitaki District Community House (100 Thames Street, Oamaru) has offices available for long term rent or rooms available for meetings so contact us now to find out more: Ph: 03 434 8862 or email [email protected]