Supporting older relatives in multigenerational households: 2026 New Zealand election

For a multigenerational Pacific household, supporting older relatives is about more than aged-care facilities. It can mean making it financially and practically possible for grandparents, parents and other older family members to remain living with their children and grandchildren.

There are four important policy areas to examine when comparing parties:

1. Household costs: Superannuation, benefits, rates, food, power and financial support for family carers.
2. Housing and space: Affordable, accessible homes with enough bedrooms, bathrooms and living space for multiple generations.
3. Healthcare: Affordable GP visits, prescription costs, home-based nursing, disability support and access to specialists.
4. Family caregiving: Whether relatives who provide unpaid care receive financial assistance, respite care and practical support.

An important distinction is that policies supporting older people generally do not necessarily provide direct support to the families caring for them.

1. What the main parties are proposing

The following comparison reflects policies and party responses available as at 1 November 2026. It focuses on older people living in family homes, rather than assuming residential care is the preferred option.

National

Housing, independence and protection of older people

National's retirement policy includes:

• Reserving at least 20% of places in the Housing Flexible Fund for affordable housing for older people.
• Expanding the rules allowing granny flats and making them easier and cheaper to build.
• Extending the granny-flat rules to tiny homes.
• Establishing a free 0800 Seniors helpline to help older people access government services.
• Reviewing protections against elder abuse and financial exploitation.
• Extending compulsory employer KiwiSaver contributions to working people over 65 from July 2027.

Relevance to your household: The granny-flat policy is particularly relevant if your family wants grandparents to have a separate but nearby living space. It could help with privacy and independence while keeping family members close.

Source: National – Retirement policy.

Labour

Healthcare affordability and care-worker pay

Labour's 2026 proposals include:

• Three free GP visits per year for everyone through a proposed Medicard.
• Removing the $5 prescription charge.
• Restoring pay equity legislation and providing an immediate $4-an-hour pay increase for care and support workers.
• Investing in additional social housing.
• Introducing a $20 weekly public transport fare cap.
• Introducing measures to reduce household energy costs.

Relevance to your household: Free GP visits and prescriptions could reduce the cost of looking after older relatives. Better pay for care workers could also help strengthen the workforce providing professional support in homes and communities.

However, the care-worker pay proposal is not the same as paying a family member who provides unpaid care to an elderly parent or grandparent.

Sources: Labour – 2026 election policies and The Conversation – election policy tracker.

Green Party

Ageing in place, accessible housing and community healthcare

The Greens have proposed:

• Moving towards free public primary healthcare, including free dental care and prescriptions.
• Fully implementing the Dementia Mate Wareware Action Plan over five years.
• Building more accessible public housing.
• Establishing a state-owned, not-for-profit retirement village scheme.
• Expanding home insulation and solar support.
• Supporting community-based care and family carers.

Relevance to your household: The focus on accessible housing, dementia support and community care is particularly relevant if an older relative has mobility difficulties or needs ongoing assistance but wants to remain with family.

The emphasis on family carers is important, although you should check the precise eligibility and payment arrangements for any proposed assistance.

Source: Grey Power – parties' policies for older New Zealanders.

New Zealand First

Aged-care reform and housing for seniors

New Zealand First has proposed:

• A Seniors Housing Plan.
• More options for older people to age in place.
• Better coordination between primary healthcare, community healthcare and aged care.
• Aged-care reform as a policy priority.
• Maintaining NZ Super at 66% of the net average wage.

Relevance to your household: Better coordination between healthcare providers and community aged-care services could make it easier for families to look after older relatives at home.

The publicly reported proposals are less specific about direct financial payments to unpaid family caregivers.

Source: Grey Power policy comparison.

The Opportunities Party (TOP)

Community support and long-term healthcare planning

TOP has proposed:

• A ten-year cross-party Health Plan to improve long-term funding stability.
• Greater investment in preventative and primary healthcare.
• Stronger community-based services to help older people remain at home.
• More support for family carers.
• Replacing the Accommodation Supplement with a universal housing payment.
• More social housing and interest-free rates deferral for older homeowners.

Relevance to your household: TOP's emphasis on community healthcare and family-carer support is directly relevant to families providing ongoing care at home. Its housing payment proposal may also be worth examining if housing costs are a significant pressure.

Source: Grey Power – older New Zealanders' policy comparison.

ACT

Information on older people's policy is less complete

ACT did not complete Grey Power's questionnaire on older people's policies. Its position therefore cannot be fairly compared on the same basis.

You would need to examine its published 2026 health, housing, welfare and retirement policies to establish what specific assistance it proposes for unpaid family caregivers.

Source: Grey Power's party questionnaire results.

Te Pāti Māori

Whānau-centred services and disability support

Te Pāti Māori did not respond to Grey Power's older-person questionnaire.

Its reported 2026 policy proposals include:

• Supporting Māori-led disability services.
• Making disability support easier to access.
• Rebuilding the Māori Health Authority.
• Shifting healthcare towards prevention and community wellbeing.

These proposals may be relevant to families supporting older relatives with disabilities or ongoing health needs. However, they should not be mistaken for a confirmed older-person or unpaid-carer payment policy.

Source: The Conversation – 2026 policy tracker.

2. How the proposals compare against your family's needs

Your concern	Policies worth examining
Keeping older relatives at home	Greens, TOP, NZ First
Having enough space for generations	National's granny flats and tiny homes; Greens' accessible public housing
Reducing healthcare expenses	Labour's free GP visits and prescriptions; Greens' free healthcare proposals
Supporting unpaid family carers	Greens and TOP explicitly emphasise family-carer support
Making housing affordable	National's seniors housing; TOP's housing payment; Greens' public housing
Protecting retirement income	All five parties responding to Grey Power support universal NZ Super

One additional point: Labour, the Greens, NZ First and TOP have explicitly committed to retaining the NZ Super eligibility age at 65. National supports universal superannuation but had not confirmed the eligibility age in its Grey Power response. How parties stand on issues affecting older New ZealandersNational’s plan for retirement

3. An important gap: who supports the family member doing the caring?

This is probably one of the most important questions for your household.

Imagine a situation where:

• Grandparents live with their adult children.
• One adult child reduces their working hours to help care for an elderly parent.
• The family pays more for food, electricity, transport and housing.
• The older relative needs help attending medical appointments, preparing meals or managing daily activities.

There are two different kinds of assistance to consider:

A. Support for the older person

• NZ Super.
• Subsidised prescriptions and medical appointments.
• Home-based nursing and personal care.
• Mobility equipment and disability support.
• Dementia services.

B. Support for the family caregiver

• Financial assistance for unpaid caring.
• Paid leave to look after an older relative.
• Respite care so caregivers can rest.
• Counselling and mental health support.
• Help with additional household costs.

The distinction matters because a pay rise for professional aged-care workers does not automatically help a daughter, son or grandchild who provides unpaid care.

The published comparisons identify Greens and TOP as emphasising family carers, but they do not establish a comprehensive new payment entitlement for every unpaid family caregiver. This is an area where you should seek more detailed answers from the parties. How parties stand on issues affecting older New ZealandersElection policy tracker: what the parties are promising

4. Five questions worth asking candidates before voting

For a multigenerational household, I would suggest asking candidates these specific questions:

1. Family caregiving: Will you introduce a regular financial payment for adult children who reduce their working hours to care for elderly parents or grandparents?

2. Housing: Will you provide grants, low-interest loans or other assistance to families wanting to build a granny flat or modify their homes for older relatives?

3. Healthcare: Will older people living with family receive affordable home nursing, physiotherapy, dementia care and subsidised transport to medical appointments?

4. Respite: Will you fund temporary replacement care so family caregivers can work, attend to their children or take a break?

5. Household costs: Will you provide additional assistance to households supporting older relatives, particularly when several generations share one income?

5. Where to check the parties' actual commitments

These sources are useful for checking the details rather than relying only on campaign statements:

• Grey Power – How parties stand on issues affecting older New Zealanders.
• The Conversation – 2026 Election Policy Tracker.
• RNZ Pacific – Where political parties stand on Pasifika issues.
• Vote NZ – official election information.

My suggested focus for your voting decision

I would pay particular attention to three questions:

• Can your older relatives remain living with family without creating financial hardship?
• Can your household obtain a home with enough room for children, parents and grandparents?
• Does the government recognise and support the unpaid work that family members do to care for older relatives?

These are important issues for Pacific families, where caring for older relatives can be a shared family responsibility across generations.

One important question to take into the election: If your family chooses to care for grandparents at home rather than place them in residential care, what concrete financial, housing and healthcare assistance will the next government provide to make that choice sustainable?

That is a question worth putting directly to every party's local candidates, and asking them to identify the actual funding, eligibility rules and implementation dates behind their promises.