The Living Wage is the income necessary to enable workers and their families to live with dignity, afford the basic essentials and participate as active citizens in society.
The current Living Wage rate is $28.95. The current Living Wage rate applies from 1 September 2025 – 31 August 2026.
Paying the Living Wage rate is voluntary. Employers who pay the Living Wage want to make sure their workers get enough money to live with dignity.
The Living Wage considers basic expenses, and gives breathing room for rest, activities, or saving for a rainy day. It’s good for collective wellbeing, and our economy.
We need to be confident that the Living Wage does what we say. That’s why it’s calculated using the latest data, and movement in New Zealand’s average hourly earnings.
For a sound and independent figure, the New Zealand Family Centre Social Policy Unit conducts the calculation of the rate, and provides this to the Living Wage Movement.