Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said the Government and Fisher and Paykel Appliances finalised a whiteware buying agreement yesterday.
Hardship assistance would be available to beneficiaries - and those on low incomes - to buy fridges, freezers and washing machines. The grants had to be repaid, she said.
The ministry spent more than $10.5 million on whiteware last year.
''Second-hand products are commonly bought, which can ultimately cost hundreds of dollars extra in repair and maintenance costs, increasing debt for beneficiaries,'' Ms Bennett said.
Beneficiaries could apply for hardship assistance and, if they qualified, would be given the appliance and the cost would be repaid to the ministry.
The ministry expected to save $10 million in hardship assistance for whiteware in five years.
''The new units will cost around the same as an average second-hand unit to buy, but maintenance costs over five years will be more than halved.''
The whiteware would have at least a two-year warranty and ''24/7'' customer support service.
The scheme would start in the South Island later this month and in the rest of New Zealand early next year.
Methodist Mission chief executive Laura Black, of Dunedin, said a ''central supply system'' could result in families waiting for whiteware when second-hand appliances were more readily available.
''What you really don't want is families going for two weeks without access to a washing machine or a fridge.''
A spokeswoman for Ms Bennett said the ministry had not anticipated new appliances taking longer to obtain than second-hand goods.
Beneficiaries could buy second hand appliances with hardship assistance payments if they wanted.
