Every question, every answer, every source

If your main voting issue is “I provide substantial unpaid care to an older relative, work part-time because of it, and need both income recognition and reliable respite,” the important point is that the parties are not currently offering equivalent policies. As of 4 October 2026, there is no major-party promise I found for a straightforward, universal “carer’s allowance” for people in your position.

The main picture

Party	What it is proposing/relevant to carers	Direct financial recognition for unpaid carers?
National	Has launched a permanent Mahi Aroha Carers’ Strategy Action Plan, with financial security as a priority. Separately, Disability Support Services is developing a package that could include a carer payment and better respite, but the payment has not yet been designed or promised at a particular amount. New roadmap for supporting unpaid carers | National Party	Potentially, but amount/eligibility/timing are unspecified
Labour	Would repeal the 2026 Disability Support Services Act and replace it with legislation developed with disabled people and carers. It promises a $4/hour increase for care and support workers from January 2027, but that applies to people employed as care/support workers, not ordinary unpaid family carers. Release: Labour will scrap harmful disability Bill	No specific unpaid-carer payment found
Greens	Would restore pay-equity law and fund a settlement for about 65,000 care/support workers, potentially worth around $1.1bn annually. It strongly opposes the Government's DSS approach and says family carers deserve proper support, but I found no specific election commitment for a carer's allowance/payment. Greens commit to pay equity for care workers - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand	No specific unpaid-carer payment found
ACT	Its 2026 welfare policy focuses on tightening health/disability-benefit eligibility and requiring some long-term Jobseeker recipients to use managed payments. I found no specific financial recognition scheme for unpaid family carers. ACT New Zealand	No
NZ First	Its published material emphasises seniors, aged care and accessibility. I found no current 2026 commitment for a payment specifically compensating unpaid family carers. Its 2026 Accessibility Standards Bill would have broader benefits for older people, families and carers, but isn't a carer-income policy. Establishing an Accessible New Zealand for everyone - New Zealand First	No specific payment found

National is the closest to what you're asking for—but there is a big caveat

The current Government has just launched the Mahi Aroha Carers’ Strategy Action Plan, explicitly identifying financial security as one of its three priorities. It covers unpaid carers supporting people because of ageing as well as disability, illness and other conditions. The New Zealand Carers' Strategy - Ministry of Social Development

More significantly, Disability Support Services says it is developing a new package of financial and practical support for family carers. One option explicitly being considered is a “carer payment”, alongside better respite. Improving support for family carers | Disability Support Services

But this is not yet a firm election promise saying “unpaid carers will receive $X per week.” The Government says the package is still being developed. Questions and answers about improving carer support | Disability Support Services

That distinction matters in your situation: a policy to develop a payment is quite different from a legislated entitlement with a known rate and eligibility rules.

What about the fact that you're working part-time?

This is where the existing system is also important.

New Zealand currently has Supported Living Payment in some circumstances for someone caring for a person at home who would otherwise require hospital-level, rest-home or equivalent care. Caring for someone with a health condition, injury or disability | Work and Income

There is also Carer Support, which is intended to give full-time unpaid carers a break rather than provide them with a wage. For carers of older people, Health NZ says it can apply where you provide more than four hours a day of unpaid care, subject to assessment. Carer Support Subsidy

And, depending on the older person's circumstances and assessment, a family member can sometimes actually become a paid family/whānau carer through publicly funded home-support arrangements. That is different from being an unpaid carer. Home support services for older people and others

So your situation sits in an important policy gap: someone can be doing substantial caring while remaining partly employed, losing income and accumulating less retirement saving, without necessarily qualifying for a dedicated carer's payment.

How I'd interpret the parties if this is your key voting issue

If I reduce their positions specifically to your concern:

• National: “We recognise the problem and are developing a financial support package, potentially including a carer payment.” This is the clearest current commitment toward a new unpaid-carer payment, but the crucial details are still missing.
• Labour: “Care work should be paid fairly where it is employment, and we will change the disability-support framework.” Its $4/hour commitment could help you if you become an employed care/support worker, but it doesn't compensate your existing unpaid hours. Pay Equity - NZ Labour
• Greens: Similar distinction, but more strongly focused on pay equity and protecting family carers from being left carrying inadequate disability support. Their care-worker settlement is not a payment to unpaid carers. Greens commit to pay equity for care workers - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
• ACT: I found little specifically aimed at reducing the financial penalty of unpaid caring; its welfare proposals instead emphasise tighter eligibility and stronger work expectations. ACT New Zealand
• NZ First: Its emphasis is more on aged-care capacity and older people's services than compensating the family member providing the care. 2023 Election Policies - NZ First

One particularly important distinction

Don't let campaign language about “supporting carers” blur three very different things:

1. A payment to the unpaid carer — money recognising your own caring contribution.
2. Respite funding — money to pay somebody else so you can take a break.
3. Payment for employed family care — you become a paid worker under an approved care arrangement.

For someone in your position, they can have very different financial consequences.

My bottom line: If your priority is specifically financial recognition for unpaid family care, National currently has the most directly relevant proposal because it is developing a potential carer payment. However, it hasn't told voters how much it would be, who would qualify, whether part-time workers would qualify, or when it would begin. Labour and the Greens have more concrete promises around paid care workers, but I would not count those as promises to compensate you for your existing unpaid caring.

There is also a broader issue worth watching before you vote: advocacy groups are asking parties specifically what they will do about lost income, reduced employment and retirement disadvantage caused by long-term caring, rather than simply offering respite or praise. Carers and Whānau Disability Issues NZ | Election 2026

If you want, I can next make you a party-by-party comparison focused specifically on your circumstances—part-time employment + caring for an older person—including likely eligibility for existing payments, respite, tax/benefit changes, retirement impacts, and each party's 2026 promise.