Premature baby parental leave: Understanding your NZ entitlements
When a baby arrives earlier than expected, parents face unique challenges. If your baby has been born prematurely in New Zealand, you may be eligible for additional financial support through preterm baby payments. This guide explains what you need to know about these special entitlements.
What is a premature baby?
A baby is considered premature if born earlier than 37 weeks' gestation.
Preterm baby payments
If you qualify for government parental leave payments, you can receive additional preterm baby payments if your baby arrives early. These payments are:
Paid at the same rate as your regular parental leave payments
Available for a continuous period of up to 13 weeks
Start from the day your baby is born
End on the date that would have been the end of 36 weeks' gestation (or earlier if you return to work)
How preterm payments work with regular parental leave
There are two main scenarios:
If your baby is born prematurely before you start receiving parental leave payments:
Your preterm baby payments will begin first
Your regular parental leave payments will start after the preterm payment period ends
You can return to work between the end of your preterm payments and the start of your regular parental leave payments if you wish
If you're already receiving parental leave payments when your baby arrives prematurely:
You can apply to the IRD to pause your parental leave payments and start your preterm payments
You can resume your parental leave payments once the preterm payment period has finished
Keeping in touch (KIT) hours during preterm payments
Keeping in touch hours allow you to work occasionally without losing your entitlement to government-paid parental leave or preterm payments. If you receive preterm baby payments, you have additional KIT hours specifically for this period:
The total number of allowable KIT hours during the preterm baby payment period is equal to 3 hours multiplied by the number of weeks you receive the preterm payment
Working more than this allowance means you're treated as having returned to work the day after exceeding this threshold and any preterm baby payments received after this date are considered overpayments
This does not affect your ability to receive regular parental leave payments or use standard KIT hours during your parental leave.
Example
Mia is entitled to receive parental leave payments, and her baby arrives at 32 weeks' gestation. She is entitled to:
Receive up to 5 weeks of preterm baby payments (from 32 weeks to 37 weeks)
Work up to 15 KIT hours during this period (5 weeks × 3 hours per week)
Begin her regular parental leave payments after the preterm payment period ends
Next steps
If your baby has arrived prematurely, contact Inland Revenue as soon as possible to ensure you receive all the financial support you're entitled to.
Now for the important legal part: The information we provide is general and not regulated financial advice for the purposes of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. Please seek independent legal, financial, tax or other advice in considering whether the content in this article is appropriate for your goals, situation or needs. The information in this article is current as at 1 May 2025.
Stephanie Pow
Founder and CEO, Crayon