About the subsidy for families

Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) offer an Out of School Care and Recreation (OSCAR) Subsidy.

This payment helps families with the costs of before and after school care for up to 20 hours a week, and school holiday programmes for up to 50 hours a week.

There are eligibility requirements which include, but are not limited to, income thresholds and you will need to pay the difference between the cost of the programme and the subsidy amount. We recommend you look at the full details on the WINZ website here.

How to apply

1. Review the table below to see if you might be eligible for the subsidy
2. Download and complete the WINZ Childcare Assistance Application Form
3. Email it to us at info@youthtown.org.nz so we can complete the OSCAR Programme supervisor’s form section of the application and return to you
4. Send the completed form to WINZ, who will confirm how much subsidy you will get each term and holiday period
5. If you are approved, WINZ will pay the subsidy payment directly to us as the provider. You then simply pay us the remaining difference. NOTE: The subsidy payment is paid directly to us from WINZ and is delayed by a week, as they pay weekly for bookings in the week prior
6. You must submit the completed form to WINZ before the first day of care

Future applications

For every future programme you enrol in (or any alterations you make to existing bookings), you must complete and submit an OSCAR Subsidy Declaration form to WINZ. This must be submitted before their deadline and before the start of the programme.