The Teal Card
A long-term investment in our young people.
Our young people are walking into a difficult world. They will face a future of extreme weather, barriers to secure housing and widening inequality.
To overcome these challenges, our future citizens deserve a fair start, the opportunity to thrive and the chance to build life skills through training and service.
To get there, this is what we propose:
We’ve supported our older generations with the Gold Card, and now it’s time to invest in our future generations.
The Teal Card delivers a series of investments in all residents and citizens under 30.
Fully-funded healthcare for
young people.
Fully-funded public transport
for young people.
A Universal Savings Boost paired with a National Civic Service program.
The Teal Card
The Teal Card is a physical card and digital app which enables young people to easily access healthcare, transport and financial support.
As well as integrating into government systems (like IRD and HealthNZ), the card’s open access structure will enable public, private and civic organisations to develop their own Teal Card applications. Future initiatives like carbon credits, educational qualifications or health data will all live here.
Initially, young people will use the Teal Card to access:
Fully-funded healthcare
A huge investment in health and wellbeing through:
GP visits
Primary dental care (e.g. annual check ups, x-rays, fillings)
Annual eye checks (including glasses)
Mental health care (including up to five sessions per year)
Fully-funded public transport
Encouraging a shift away from cars (which contribute over ⅓ of our emissions) through:
Fully funded public transport (including buses, trains and ferries)
$1,500 credit for bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters
Universal Savings Boost
Giving every child a fair start, on completion of the National Civic Service Program:
$5,000 tax-free savings boost at age 18 into a savings account through KiwiBank, which can be accessed for education, training or placed into a KiwiSaver account.
National Civic Service
To access the Universal Savings Boost, young people must complete a National Civic Service Program before age 23.
This program is about future-proofing New Zealanders to become more resilient citizens through a focus on the 4 C’s: Conservation, Civil Defence, Community Service and Civics.
How the program will work:
What is included:
Taking inspiration from proven programs like Outward Bound, Defence Force development courses and the Student Volunteer Army, the program will include:
A five day residential course
First Aid
Civics
Finance
Driving Lessons
How it will be structured:
The program will support better social cohesion across our society – young people across different socio-economic, regional and ethnic groups will all serve together.
Includes transport costs and being paid while completing the program
Is not mandatory, but is a requirement to access the Universal Savings Boost component of the Teal Card
Run at a projected cost of $5,000 per person
The Teal Card is an investment we have to make
We need to invest in our future, now. At a total cost of $1.5 billion per annum, the policy is fully funded.
Universal Savings Start - $333m
National Civic Service - $333m
Public transport & bike subsidy - $220m
Health & wellbeing initiatives - $594m
Policy delivery - $20m
Funded through:
Climate Emergency Response Fund - $200m
Income Tax shifts (income over $180,000 taxed at 42% (up from 39%) and a new top rate of 45% for income over $250,000) - $550m
Corporate Tax shift (from 28% to 29%) - $750m
Not included in this funding model are the downstream benefits that would accrue over years - like improved health outcomes, greater access to education, stronger communities and more secure housing.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TEAL CARD