Changes to the Primary Teachers' Collective Agreement 2023–25

The variation to the Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement (PTCA) is effective from 3 July 2023.

The variation maintains the unified base salary scale (UBSS) for all teachers employed in state and state-integrated schools and kura. 

Primary Teachers Collective Agreement

Key features of the variation

Teachers will still receive 3 pay increases over the term of the collective agreement. 

Changes to the UBSS

The first increase to the UBSS is effective from 3 July 2023.

Changes to the July 2023 increase to align with area school teachers' UBSS affects teachers at step 1 and step 2. These steps combine into a new step 1 with a salary of $56,757. This means teachers on step 1 will receive a $1,399 annual increase.

Teachers employed on step 2 between 3 July 2023 and 29 October 2 2023 (inclusive) will receive an equalisation allowance of up to $787 to ensure they don’t have any drop in salary as a result of Steps 1 and 2 merging. Fortnightly gross pay for these teachers will not be reduced. The equalisation allowance will remain payable until the employee becomes entitled to be paid on a higher salary step or 3 April 2024,  whichever occurs first. More increases to pay rates will be effective from 3 April 2024 and 2 December 2024 to match the base salary scales of secondary and area school teachers. 

Changes to qualification groups

There are some small changes to the qualification groups.

• Q1 and Q2 teachers will be re-designated as Q3.
• Q3+ qualification will include initial teacher education qualification at Level 8 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF).
• A teacher with trade or vocational qualifications below Level 7 on the NZQF may be eligible to be placed on the Q3+ qualification step if they also have at least 6,000 hours of applicable trade or vocational experience. See below for more details.

Implementation: The variation to terms and conditions of the PTCA 2023-2025. That is, salary increases and the change related to the qualification   groups will not be implemented before pay period 3, 30 April 2024. The variation will be backdated to 3 July 2023 (when it is effective from).  

Individual employment agreement

Non-union employees who have already signed the individual employment agreement (IEA) based on the PTCA 2023–2025 do not need to sign a new IEA as they will receive the terms and conditions of this variation. 

• Primary teachers will receive 3 increases to the unified base salary scale (UBSS) over the term of the agreement in 2023, 2024 and 2025. The 2023 increase is:
  • 6% or $4,000 (whichever is larger) to all steps effective from 3 July 2023, and paid in pay period 12 on 5 September 2023.
• Untrained teachers will also receive 3 increases to the minimum and maximum pay rates over the term of the agreement. The first of these increases will be effective from 3 July 2023 and paid in pay period 12 on 5 September 2023.
• A one-off gross payment of $3,000 is paid to all full-time teachers employed as at 12 June 2023. This payment is pro-rated for part-time teachers and short-term relievers.
• A one-off gross payment of $1,500 is paid to each primary teacher who was a union member as at 12 June 2023. This payment is pro-rated for part-time and short-term relievers.
• A one-off gross payment of $710 is paid to each primary teacher who was a union member as at 12 June 2023. This is broadly equivalent to the cost of renewing a teaching practising certificate.
• The lump-sum payments to union members were paid in pay period 9 on 25 July 2023.
• From 3 July 2023 the motor vehicle allowance will increase to $0.83 per kilometre.
• The learning support coordinator role is now expressly recognised in the collective agreement.
• From 3 July, sick leave taken will only be deducted from a teacher's entitlement for days that the school is open for instruction and on which the teacher would normally have worked.
• From 17 July 2023, the Māori immersion teaching allowance rates will increase for primary school teachers who teach in te reo Māori in immersion Levels 1 and 2.
• Schools now have more flexibility with their use of the within-school teacher roles and allowances from 6 September 2023.
• From 3 July 2023, beginning teachers who progress from their provisional to full practising certificate during the term of the collective agreement will be entitled to have their fees paid centrally.

From 3 July 2023, Q3+ criteria will include recognition of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 5 and 6 trade or vocational qualifications where a teacher has at least 6,000 hours of applicable trade or vocational work experience. 
 
A teacher will also be eligible to be placed in the Q3+ qualification group even without a Level 7 (or higher) subject or specialist qualification on the New Zealand Qualification Framework (NZQF), as long as they have 6,000 hours of work experience in their applicable trade and hold one of the following qualifications or equivalent: 

• NZ Certificate in Building, Engineering, Quantity Surveying or Draughting 
• Advanced Technical Trade Certificate 
• Advanced Trade Certificate. 

In recognition of the benefits arising out of the parties’ relationship, including the role of NZEI Te Riu Roa in negotiating terms and conditions for primary teachers, employees who were members of NZEI Te Riu Roa as at 12 June 2023 will receive two additional payments as follows:

• A one-time gross payment of $1,500 which will be pro-rated for part-time and short-term relievers.
• A one-time gross payment of $710 (the Teaching Council Matatū Aotearoa fees payment). Short-term relievers will receive this payment if they worked at least one day of short-term relief teaching in Term 1 or 2 2023. The Teaching Council Matatū Aotearoa fees payment is not pro-rated but each teacher is only entitled to be paid it once, even if a teacher holds other teaching roles. This means that if a teacher is entitled to be paid this payment under another employment agreement, they won’t be paid it again.

Primary teachers who were on approved unpaid leave as at 12 June 2023 are entitled, on application, to receive the applicable payments on their return to their position, providing that they return either on or before the end of Term 1 2024, or on or before Term 1 2025 for those on parental leave. The payment(s) will be based on the teacher’s FTTE hours as at their last working day before going on leave. The principal or another authorised signatory can apply on their behalf using the EP31 form.

Lump-sum payments to union members will be made in pay period 9 (25 July 2023) from the funding code that applied on 12 June 2023 (date of ratification).Where a teacher is employed from a school’s bulk grant or operating funding, the school board is responsible for the payment of any associated costs, including any collective agreement entitlements that arise. This is in accordance with section 580(b) of the Education and Training Act 2020. Please refer to our website for further information:

Employing teachers from operational funding – Education in New Zealand

Please note any changes made to funding codes from pay period 9 (25 July) will not alter this.

The collective agreement now expressly recognises learning support coordinators.

The functions of the role are set out in the coordinator role description drafted by the Ministry of Education along with any distinct responsibilities and/or activities that are defined by the employing school, in consultation with other schools in the Kāhui Ako or cluster, where applicable. Each coordinator will be fully released from timetabled duties.

Where a coordinator is allocated additional leadership, management or other responsibilities for learning support, consideration should be given to whether a unit should be allocated in line with the school’s unit allocation policy. The employer must consider the balance of the allocated responsibilities to allow the coordinator to fulfil their role effectively.

Short-term relief teachers are fixed-term employees who are temporarily employed on a casual basis to relieve in a teaching position for a period not exceeding 3 weeks. 

A trained teacher employed as a short-term reliever is currently paid a daily relieving rate of 1/190 or an hourly rate of 1/950 of the appropriate annual salary step on the unified base salary scale (UBSS). These rates include holiday pay. 

Effective from 3 July 2023, the maximum annual salary step on the new UBSS, for short-term relief teachers is capped at step 5 of the UBSS. (Note this is after Steps 1 and 2 have merged – see notes on the variation of the PTCA). Starting from 28 January 2024, the maximum salary cap will be raised to step 6 of the UBSS.   

Untrained teachers are paid a daily relieving rate of 1/190 or an hourly rate of 1/950 on the base scale for untrained teachers. This scale has only 2 steps. 

Full-time classroom teachers will receive 3 increases to their classroom release time (CRT) phased in over the term of the collective agreement. 

• The first increase of 5 hours per term will be added to CRT entitlements starting from Term 1 2024. 
• Another 5 hours per term will be introduced from Term 3 2024.
• Finally, an additional 5 hours per term will be implemented starting from Term 1 2025. 

These additional CRT hours will, in total, provide full-time teachers with 2.5 hours per week or 25 hours of CRT per term. 

Part-time classroom teachers employed for at least 0.8 FTTE per week will also receive the 3 increases to their CRT. This will be calculated on a pro-rata basis and based on a teacher's FTTE hours. 

Teachers who hold 1 or more permanent units shall receive an additional 10 hours of CRT per term from Term 1 2025. 

From 28 January 2024, overall sick leave entitlements will improve. 

Sick leave entitlements will be based on a teacher’s employment history, as a teacher or a principal in any state or state-integrated school. This includes all full-time and part-time employment and any short-term relieving. It also includes any previous employment covered under clause 4.1.2. 

Clause 4.1.2 of the Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement(external link)  

Under the new sick leave entitlement, primary teachers will be given an initial allocation of 20 days of sick leave upon their first appointment to a state or state-integrated school. For every 6 months of continuous employment (up to 30 months) teachers will receive another 10 days. After that, they will receive 10 days for every 12 months of employment. 

Teachers employed before 28 January 2024 will also receive the same entitlement, which will replace previous allocations of sick leave. A teacher’s new sick leave balance will be the new translated entitlement, minus any sick days previously taken. Unused sick leave is carried over.  

When transitioning to the new sick leave entitlement, no teacher will be disadvantaged. No teacher will have a sick leave balance of less than 10 days or less than the balance they had as at 27 January 2024. 

More information about the new sick leave provision and examples of how translation to the new sick leave entitlement will be calculated can be found in the collective agreement. 

4.1.2 Sick leave entitlement from January 2024(external link)

Appendix 7: Sick leave translation(external link)

Sick-leave deductions  

Sick leave taken will only be deducted from a teacher's entitlement for days that the school is open for instruction and on which the teacher would normally have worked.  

Any sick leave deducted from entitlements since 3 July 2023 over weekends will be reinstated before the start of the 2024 school year.   

If a teacher exhausts their sick leave balance before the correction is made, the board may can consider using anticipated sick leave. Anticipated sick leave can be applied for using EdPay or via an EP12 form. Any anticipated sick leave will be taken into account when corrections are made. 

More information on anticipated sick leave and how to apply for it can be found on the Education payroll website. 

Sick leave for teachers and principals – Education Payroll(external link)

The Pacific bilingual immersion teaching allowance (PBITA) recognises the additional skills needed to deliver teaching and learning through a Pacific language in a Pacific bilingual or immersion context in a school or kura.  

Primary teachers are eligible for the PBITA allowance if they meet the minimum teaching time criteria and have the necessary proficiency in the Pacific language to teach the curriculum in a Pacific bilingual or immersion programme. 

From 28 January 2024, all eligible teachers who teach in a Pacific language within a Pacific bilingual or immersion unit, programme, or class (as defined by the Ministry in the School Roll Return Guidelines) will receive the allowance. The allowance they get will depend on the highest language level they are teaching and their years of service teaching the Pacific language in a bilingual or immersion setting. 

To be eligible for Level 1, the teacher will teach the curriculum in a Pacific language for between 81–100% of the time. For Level 2, the curriculum will be taught in a Pacific language between 51–80% of class time. 

Hours considered for Level 2 can include hours taught at Level 1, but no Level 2 hours taught can be considered for the Level 1 allowance. 

The starting allowance (for employees with less than 3 years’ teaching in any Level) is $4,000. For Level 1, the allowance increases to $6,000 after 3 years and then to $8,000 after 6 years. Level 2 will increase to $5,000 after 3 years and then to $6,000 after 6 years.  

A teacher can only receive the allowance for 1 level at a time. Schools can apply for this allowance using EdPay form EP37P. 

Form EP37P – Education Payroll(external link)

More information

See detailed information about the PBITA across all collective agreements:

Pacific bilingual immersion teaching allowance

See our guide on how to establish a Pacific bilingual or immersion unit in a school:

How to establish a Pacific bilingual or immersion unit in a school

Several clauses have had wording updates to improve the clarity and readability around entitlements. These are: 

• removals expenses
• parental leave
• parental grant
• disregarded sick leave
• RTLB cluster lead-school changes.

No substantial changes have been made to these provisions.

From 1 January 2023, the advanced classroom teacher allowance (ACET) is no longer open to new applicants.

Unused funding that is a result of the closing of this allowance will be redirected to the introduction of 1,200 cultural leadership allowances. 

Current holders of an ACET allowance continue to be eligible according to the provisions of clause 3.32 unless and until they lose eligibility, at which time the allowance ceases and cannot be reinstated. 

From 28 January 2024, 1,200 cultural leadership allowances will be introduced for primary teachers.

The purpose of these allowances is to build staff capability and cultural leadership in schools and kura, for example a holder of the allowance might coach their peers through engagement with whānau and iwi or Pacific communities, and/or the incorporation of mātauranga Māori into their practice. 

The intention of establishing the cultural leadership allowance is not to create new roles but to acknowledge the valuable work already being carried out by teachers in schools and kura around the country. 

Each allowance will be $5,000 annually and will be provided at the substantive rate, applicable to both part-time and full-time teachers. Additionally, it is possible for the allowance and its responsibilities to be equally shared between two teachers with the agreement of the employer.  

The Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa have collaboratively designed the eligibility criteria and allocation model to distribute the allowance to primary schools.

Eligible primary schools will receive an email from the Ministry of Education in February 2024, advising them of the process to allocate this allowance.

More information

Detailed information about the allowance, including eligibility criteria and best practice guidance for employers, can be found on this page. 

Cultural leadership allowance

Union member lump sum payments were paid in pay period 9 on 25 July 2023.

All full-time teachers who were union members and employed as of 12 June 2023 received a one-off gross payment of of $3,000. This payment was pro-rated for part-time employees and short-term relievers.

For non-union teachers to be eligible for the $3,000 lump sum payment, schools must ensure that both the employee and employer have signed the new IEA by 8 October 2023.

Schools are also responsible for ensuring that the payroll system reflects the IEA change, enabling teachers to receive the payment. Depending on when paperwork is submitted to Education Payroll the lump sum may be paid later than 17 October 2023.

Primary teachers who were on approved unpaid leave as at 12 June 2023 are entitled on application to receive the applicable payments on their return to their position, providing that they return either on or before the end of Term 1 2024, or on or before Term 1 2025 for those on parental leave. The payment(s) will be based on the teacher’s FTTE hours as at their last working day before going on leave.

The principal or another authorised signatory can apply on their behalf using the EP31 form. 

EP31 form – Education Payroll(external link)

From 3 July 2023, beginning primary school teachers who progress from provisional certification to a full practising certification during the term of the collective agreement will have the applicable Teaching Council Matatū Aotearoa fee paid for by the Ministry of Education.

The Teaching Council Matatū Aotearoa has made changes to its online registration system, Hapori Matatū, to ensure eligible teachers are no longer charged when applying for full certification from provisional.

Fee and levy information – Teaching Council(external link)

The Ministry of Education is contacting eligible teachers who have paid for registration after 3 July 2023. Teachers can also contact TeacherRegistration.Payments@education.govt.nz to arrange reimbursement.

The purpose of this allowance is to give practical recognition to te reo Māori as a taonga to be actively protected under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to recognise the special and valued skills and knowledge kaiako must have to teach the curriculum in te reo Māori.

Effective from 17 July 2023, the Māori immersion teaching allowance (MITA) will increase to up to a maximum of $12,000 per annum for immersion Level 1 (from $8,000) and a maximum of $8,000 per annum for immersion Level 2 (from $4,000). Rates for Level 3 are unchanged. Rates increase from the base to the maximum rates depending on years of service.

A teacher is eligible for the MITA if they meet the minimum teaching time requirements for that level and have the language proficiency necessary to teach the curriculum in te reo Māori for the period required by the language immersion level they work in.

A teacher can only receive the allowance for 1 level at any 1 time.

Changes to the Kāhui Ako within school teacher allowances have been introduced to provide greater flexibility in the allocation of the allowance.

The board of a primary school may allocate up to 50% of the staffing entitlement allocation it is given for within school teacher roles to Kāhui Ako responsibility allowances. They can be allocated to those not holding the within school role, but who are: 

• undertaking Kāhui Ako related responsibilities
• promoting effective teaching practice and strengthening the use of effective approaches to teaching and learning within the school to achieve shared Kāhui Ako objectives.

The employing board will determine whether the allocation of the responsibility allowance will be permanent or for a fixed term of up to 1 year. A teacher allocated a Kāhui Ako responsibility allowance will be entitled to a payment of $2,000 per year. A teacher may hold more than 1 responsibility allowance at a time. Unlike the within school role where a teacher must maintain a minimum of a 0.8 FTTE classroom teaching load, there is no minimum required load for the responsibility allowance.

It is important for schools to uphold their current agreements with within school teachers. The allocation of responsibility allowances should only take place when there are unallocated allowances. This can occur from 6 September 2023.

A board can also provide a teacher who is allocated a Kāhui Ako responsibility allowance with release time from the within school teacher staffing entitlement. This is subject to at least 50% of the within school teacher release time entitlement continuing to be allocated to teachers appointed to a within school teacher staffing role.  

The allowance holder is subject to the terms of clause 3.35 of the Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement.

For more information, you can contact your local Ministry office to talk to your Kāhui Ako lead advisor and there is further information on the NZSTA Resource Centre related to allocation and appointments of the allowance.

Local Ministry offices

More detailed guidance for the following provisions will be provided closer to the effective dates.

• Second increase to classroom release time (CRT) effective from 22 July 2024.
• Third and final increase to the base salary scales for trained and untrained teachers effective 2 December 2024.
• From Term 1 2025, the third and final increase to CRT.
• From Term 1 2025, the introduction of 1 additional hour of CRT per week for teachers with 1 or more permanent units.