Cost of living is the defining story. Crisis and emergency relief nearly doubled from 14% to 20% between 2024 and 2025, and financial hardship cases rose from 3.4% to 18.7%. Both are forecast to grow further in 2026 as housing costs and everyday expenses continue to outpace incomes.

More families are coming forward for support. The families, health and wellbeing category grew from 5.8% to 15%, with single-parent households, domestic violence cases, and mental health referrals all rising. NZF is increasingly being approached early, not just as a last resort.

The Gaza cohort has settled, but refugee need continues. Gaza resettlement accounted for 63.8% of distributions in 2024. As those families settled, the share fell to 26.8% in 2025. Broader refugee and asylum seeker cases grew, and with government funding cut sharply, community Zakat is one of the few sources of support left.

Education demand nearly doubled in one year. Up from 3% to 7%, with Islamic education and support for newly arrived refugee children leading the growth. More of the community is using Zakat to invest in long-term foundations, not just respond to immediate need.

Zakat administration is reducing as collections grow. The assessment team held at 12.5% in 2025, within the Al-Amilina Alayha ceiling. For 2026, this drops to 9.6% through efficiencies we are working on to optimise our case management & Zakat distribution processes. This allocation goes directly to the case workers who assess applicants, verify eligibility, and process payments. It covers no other operational or administrative costs.