Parking fines up, Keytruda more widely available, and other government moves in force from 1 October

A huge leap in fines for wrongly using mobility parks is on a list range of measures coming into effect.

Others include funding more access to cancer treatment Keytruda, new vaping rules, the first chance under the FamilyBoost policy to apply for help with early childhood education costs, and an increase in the cost of visiting New Zealand.

The days of free public access to Covid-19 tests have also come to an end.

Parking fines up

The fine for misusing mobility parks set aside for disabled people leap from $150 to $750 on Tuesday.

Announcing the change in August, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston said misusing mobility parks was the "epitome of arrogance", and that the penalty for misusing the spaces had been far too low, compared to other countries.

At the same time, Transport Minister Simeon Brown said parking infringement fees had not been updated in two decades. In Auckland that had meant that paying a parking ticket was sometimes cheaper than paying for parking. Fines were being increased by about 70 percent - in line with inflation.

Fees for towage and impoundment had also not been updated since at least 2004, which meant tow-truck drivers were often left out of pocket, Brown said.

Towage and storage fees were being increased using a composite index method to reflect the costs of running a towage business - towage fees up 68 percent and storage and mileage fees up 98 percent.

New vaping rules

All vaping devices need to have removeable batteries and a child safety mechanism from Tuesday.

Retailers who continued to sell non-compliant vapes could be fined up to $50,000, or up to $400,000 for a large company, the Ministry of Health said.

The moves had been due to come into effect in March, but were delayed. Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said the reason for the delay had been to ensure enough reusable vaping products were available to help people quit smoking.

Start of a rollout of new medicines

Tuesday is the first day a range of new medicines, including for cancer, will start to become available in hospitals and health centres, the Ministry of Health said.

Access to Pembrolizumab, branded as Keytruda was being widened for five types of cancer from Tuesday. Those are advanced triple-negative breast cancer, head and neck cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, and Hodgkin lymphoma.

Access to two anti-fungal medicines was also being widened from Tuesday. Access to Nivolumab, branded as Opdivo, was being widened for eligible people with kidney cancer from 1 November.

"This is just the beginning of the roll-out and it will take time for the health system to deliver all the medicines," Director-General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati said in a release on Tuesday.

Covid tests no longer free

Winter has gone and so have the days of free Covid-19 rapid antigen tests.

At the start of 2024, the government announced it would keep the tests free until the end of June.

Then in June, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced Health New Zealand was buying 9.25 million more tests, which would allow free public access to continue until the end of September.

"This approach ensures New Zealand has a good supply of tests available through to the end of winter," Reti said in June.

Other measures meant "New Zealanders can feel confident that the government continues to support them in keeping safe from Covid-19".

Professor Michael Baker, from the University of Otago Department of Public Health, said removing access to the free tests created a huge equity problem, with the tests only available for those who could afford them.

But Professor Michael Plank, from the University of Canterbury School of Mathematics and Statistics, said the government had spent up to $410m on RATs up to July 2023.

Testing probably had a marginal effect now there was high population-level immunity from vaccines and prior infections, Plank said. It seemed likely the money that had been spent on RATs could have a bigger impact elsewhere.

Time for some to start claiming part of their ECE fees

Under the FamilyBoost policy, eligible parents and caregivers can claim up to 25 percent of their weekly childcare, or a maximum of $975 every three months.

Families were able to register for FamilyBoost from mid-September. They could submit their claim, for the period from 1 July to 30 September, from Tuesday, IRD said.

To be eligible for the funding, families needed to save copies of their invoices.

Visitors paying more to visit NZ

The International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy rises from $35 to $100 on Tuesday.

A $100 IVL would generally make up less than 3 percent of the total spending for an international visitor while in New Zealand, meaning it was unlikely to have a significant impact on visitor numbers, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Matt Doocey said.

The increase ensured international visitors contributed to high-value conservation areas and projects, such as supporting biodiversity in national parks and other highly visited areas and improving visitor experiences on public conservation land.

Visitors exempt from the IVL include New Zealand and Australian citizens and permanent residents, diplomats and people from many Pacific Island countries.

End of the winter energy payment for 2024

A payment of between about $20 and $32 a week is made to people receiving a range of other forms of government income support. It is paid automatically from 1 May to 1 October, each year.

Those getting the energy support will receive the last full payment this week, with the last two days of the payment sent out next week.

- This story was originally published by Stuff.