Child Travel Fund
When someone is in prison, whānau often face extra costs and limited support. Visiting regularly can be hard. Te Pā offers travel subsidies to help keep whānau connected — a vital part of reintegration.
Te Pā also manages the Child Travel Fund nationally, on behalf of the Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Societies and the Salvation Army Reintegration Services.
Eligibility
See below to check if you’re eligible and apply.
Te Pā, with support from Ara Poutama (Department of Corrections), has reopened the Child Travel Fund for July 2025 – June 2026. To support fairness, funding is capped at $8,500 per month. Once reached, travel may need to shift to the next month.
We process requests on a first-come, first-served basis — please get yours in early. We appreciate your understanding if plans need to change.
Applications are for:
- A child or children (17 years and under) to visit their whānau member in a New Zealand prison/facility.
- A whānau member to visit their child (17 years and under) who is held in a New Zealand prison/facility.
- Please note that return trip mileage of less than 50km is unable to be funded.
- Child Travel Fund is financial support only and doesn’t include providing the means of transport.
- Reimbursement is 95c per km and is capped at $300 total for a return journey.
- If the travel is over 700km return, there is also accommodation assistance of $100 available on top of the travel assistance.
- Payments are made every Wednesday. Paperwork must be submitted by the Tuesday prior to the visit date.
- The distance travelled is calculated from the address where the child/children or whānau member resides, direct to the facility being visited.
- Whānau can apply once a month for a visit. Special exceptions can be made for unique events (such as family days and parole hearings).
- To enquire about extra visits, please contact us via Whānau Services at whanau@tepaa.nz.
Please complete the online form at the bottom of this page.
When applying for the first time, proof of bank account details must be provided. This can either be a screenshot of the account information (including the bank logo, name on the account, and account number) or a bank statement. This is the account Te Pā will make payment to.
A Confirmation of Visit form must be signed and stamped by a staff member at the site visited.
This can be either a Corrections Officer or Youth Justice Worker. Please ensure the staff member prints their name as well as signing and stamping the form as this enables us to contact them, if needed.
The fully completed form is to be emailed to Whānau Services at whanau@tepaa.nz.
Please note that if a completed form is not returned, there may not be eligibility to any further assistance.
If a visit doesn’t happen for any reason (such as COVID), the Confirmation of Visit form must still be returned, along with an explanation for why the visit didn’t go ahead.
Depending on the circumstances, Te Pā may require the payment to be returned or to be used for the next planned visit.
If we don’t receive this information, further assistance may not be possible.
Child Travel Fund Application
PLEASE NOTE
Regrettably, the Child Travel Fund is now closed for applications for the month of December as all available funding has been allocated.
Applications will reopen in the new year, from 10am on Monday, January 5th 2026.
Please note that whānau are now only able to apply every second month (bi-monthly) after an approved application. For example, if you receive funds in December you will not be eligible to apply again until February.
Ngā mihi o te wā.