Stats NZ has changed how we measure material hardship to ensure continuity between the new Household Income and Living Survey (HILS) and the Household Economic Survey (HES) it replaced in 2024.
HILS was introduced to streamline and modernise how Stats NZ collects and produces household income, expenditure, net worth, and child poverty statistics. It incorporates updated collection technology and questionnaire design to reduce the survey burden on respondents and improve data quality. To address the impact of these design changes, the Government Statistician has made the decision to update the methodology used to measure material hardship.
In February 2026, Stats NZ will produce material hardship statistics using an updated methodology that includes the use of a new 18-item index called MH-18.
Like the previously used DEP-17 index, MH-18 includes a set of questions about basic needs regarded as essentials, and goods and services commonly aspired to. These include suitable clothing for special occasions, shoes in good condition, and visits to the doctor or dentist. A child is in material hardship if their household goes without seven or more of these items, and in severe material hardship if they go without 10 or more.
MH-18 has 16 items in common with DEP-17. One item has been removed (doing without or cutting back on visits to local places, including the shops) and two new items have been added (having a good bed to sleep in, and access to a computer and the internet).
"We are changing the way material hardship is measured to ensure continuity between the Household Economic Survey and the Household Income and Living Survey. The new approach is robust and will enable us to continue to effectively measure rates of material hardship in Aotearoa New Zealand," Acting Stats NZ Chief Executive and Government Statistician Mary Craig said.
"The new methodology's ability to identify children experiencing material hardship, easy-to-interpret scores, and its similarity to DEP-17 − a tool our customers are already familiar with − makes it the best index to use with the new survey."
The questions for measuring material hardship in HES were first included in the 2012/2013 HES collection year. There have been no substantial changes to the question design or material hardship methodology until the transition to HILS.
The Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018 requires the Government Statistician to report annually on 10 measures of child poverty. Three of those measures relate to material hardship. To enable assessment of changes over time, the Act requires a continuous time series of material hardship rates.
Material hardship rates derived from the new methodology will be published on 26 February 2026 with Child poverty statistics: Year ended June 2025.
Measuring child poverty: Material hardship in the Household Income and Living Survey has further information on the new measure of material hardship.
