The report shows there has also been an increase in the number of young people in families receiving a benefit. Photo:

A new government child poverty report shows more kids and young people are living in material hardship than last year.

The annual report on the child and youth strategy looked at a range of child poverty measures and indicators between July 2023 and June 2024.

It showed that 13.4% of people aged between 0 and 17 were classified as being in material hardship.

That's a 0.9% increase from the year prior and a 2.9 per cent rise from July 2021 to June 2022.

Over the period of the latest report there has also been an increase in the number of young people in families receiving a benefit, more avoidable hospitalisations, declined immunisation rates for babies and more food insecurity compared to the year prior.

However, just over half of students (53.7%) aged 6 to 16 attended school for 90% of the term.

That's an increase of just over six per cent compared to the year prior.

There has also been an increase in the number of three-year-olds attending early childhood education.

Chief Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad said the annual report showed the government needed to step up the urgency to help kids.

"It shows that on the most basic things, like having enough healthy food, safe and healthy housing, and physical health, we are majorly letting children down."

Achmad said there needed to be a central focus put on children in Budget 2025.

"This is necessary to deliver on the government's stated commitment in its Child and Youth Strategy to 'make New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child'."

She said there needed to be an investment in policies that would help lift the burden of material hardship off children.

"The government needs to make ending child poverty an ongoing project of national significance."

Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston said many of the findings continued to reflect the challenges of a "prolonged cost of living crisis".

"We know there are Kiwi families and their kids still doing it tough. We are working hard to fix that through initiatives like FamilyBoost, which as at April 2 had supported close to 52,000 households with the cost of early childhood education.

"Going forward, our coalition government's work will continue to be informed by our social investment approach."

Upston said the findings confirmed they were focusing on the right priorities in education and health.