Pacific Immersion Teachers’ Allowance

The Pacific Immersion Teachers’ Allowance (PITA) serves to support teachers to carry out their work in immersion teaching and learning environments.

As part of Budget 2023, funding was allocated to establish this teachers’ allowance ($5.423m over 4 years). 

• Overview and key information for first payment
• Purpose of the PITA
• Eligibility for the PITA
• How to apply and what information you need
• More information and resources

Overview and key information for first payment

The PITA applies to Pacific bilingual and immersion services to provide certificated teachers in these services with an allowance on top of their salary, to recognise their extra language and cultural competencies.  

The rates for this allowance are based on rates provided to school teachers in the Primary Teachers Collective Agreement. The rates, per certificated teacher, per year, are:  

Pacific bilingual and immersion services must apply to receive the PITA for their certificated teachers. These services will be required, as a condition of funding, to attest:  

1. whether their service teaches in a single Pacific language at bilingual and immersion,
2. Full Time Equivalent (FTE) and years of service teaching at bilingual and immersion for all certificated teachers in their service, and 
3. that the service is paying this allowance to teachers on top of their base salary.  

The PITA will be pro-rata for part-time teachers, with allowance based on the part-time teacher's total hours of employment. 

It is intended for the PITA to be paid monthly. 

Key information for the first payment 

The PITA was introduced on 1 January 2024. Services will receive their first payment for the allowance on 3 June 2024.This payment will be backdated to 1 January 2024. 

Submit the application form by 8 May 2024 to receive the first payment on 3 June 2024. We cannot guarantee the back pay to 1 January if you do not apply for the first payment by 8 May. 

Purpose of the PITA 

The purpose of this allowance is to: 

1. give practical recognition to the revitalisation and protection of Pacific languages and cultures within New Zealand
2. recognise the additional language and cultural competencies that teachers working in Pacific bilingual and immersion services have to teach the curriculum in their Pacific language
3. support language-based education and care services to recognise, retain and attract certificated teachers with the additional language skills they require.  

Eligibility for the PITA 

Every certificated teacher employed by and teaching in a Pacific bilingual or immersion education and care service is eligible to receive a PITA. The allowance is irrespective of the language competency of individual teachers or the children attending the service. It will be prorated for part-time teachers and teachers who work across more than one eligible service. 

Service eligibility 

The PITA is only available to licensed education and care services, it is not available to other types of ECE services. It is also only available for services who operate in a single pacific language for at least 51% of the time.  

Services who use multiple Pacific languages are eligible as long as a single Pacific language is used to teach the curriculum at least 51% of the time for bilingual or 81% of the time for immersion. The centre will be recognised as bilingual or immersion for that single Pacific language.  

Definition of immersion and bilingual levels 

The PITA is applicable to level 1 and 2 of Pacific language learning. The definitions of these are: 

Level 1: Immersion 81% to 100%

• A single Pacific language is the principal language of communication and instruction with children (used 81% or more of the time), including in the implementation of the curriculum. 
• It’s expected that children in the centre can interact freely in the Pacific language.  

Level 2: Bilingual 51% to 80% 

• A single Pacific language is used at least 51% of the time as the language of communication and instruction with children, including in the implementation of the curriculum. 
• English is accepted as a temporary language of instruction and communication. 
• It’s expected that not all children in the centre can interact freely in the Pacific language. 

Definition of Pacific languages 

The Ministry’s current definition of Pacific languages are the indigenous languages from the Pacific region. This includes the following Pacific languages:  

• Te Reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani | Cook Islands Māori
• Gagana Tokelau | Tokelauan 
• Vagahau Niue | Niuean 
• Gagana Samoa | Samoan 
• Lea Faka-Tonga | Tongan 
• Vosa Vaka-Viti | Fijian
• Te ‘Gana Tuvalu | Tuvaluan 
• Te Taetae ni Kiribati | Kiribati 
• Pukapukan | Pukapuka | Bukabuka 
• Fäeag Rotuam | Rotuman 
• Solomon Aelan Pijin | Solomon Islands 
• Dorerin Naoero | Nauru 
• Reo Tahiti | Tahiti 
• Vanuatu Languages 
• Central Pacific - not elsewhere classified 
• Micronesian - not further defined 
• Central Pacific - not further defined. 

Languages that are not indigenous to the Pacific region (or Te Reo Māori), such as Hindi, are not currently eligible. This is consistent with the Ministry of Pacific Peoples’ current position, which is based on StatsNZ ethnicity definition. These classifications are in line with ethnographic profiles, which include peoples with common languages, customs and traditions.

Teacher eligibility 

The allowance is only available for certificated teachers, permanently employed and teaching in an eligible Pacific language bilingual or immersion service.  

Definition of certificated teachers 

Certificated teachers have a current practising certificate issued by the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. Certificated teachers must have either a: 

• NZ ECE or primary teaching qualification 
• comparable overseas qualification as assessed by NZQA 
• have a letter from the Teaching Council with a clear “endorsement” (where registration has been gained through the Council’s discretionary pathway). 

Other eligibility criteria 

Certificated teachers must be in a permanent teaching position. Certificated teachers working in other roles (for example administrators, chef or gardeners) are not eligible for the PITA.  

Relievers are also not eligible for the PITA.

Teachers in split roles 

Where a certificated teacher is employed part-time in a teaching or management role and part-time in another role, the certificated teacher is eligible to receive the PITA for all hours connected to their employment in that teaching or management role.  

Where a certificated teacher, employed in a non-teaching role, engages in a teaching role regularly, for example to regularly cover breaks, they are eligible to receive the PITA for all hours they are engaged in a teaching role.

How to apply and what information you need before applying

The PITA will be introduced on 1 January 2024. Services will receive their first payment for the allowance on 3 June 2024.This payment will be backdated to 1 January 2024.  

This section tells you what information you need to collect before completing the application form. You will need information like teacher registration number, hours worked in a year, and FTE for all permanent certificated teachers in your service. 

Please submit the application form by 8 May 2024 to receive the first payment on 3 June 2024. We cannot guarantee the back pay to 1 January if you do not apply for the first payment by 8 May. 

How to apply 

Services can apply for the PITA by emailing ECE.MaoriPacificFunding@education.govt.nz to request an application form. The Ministry will then send the electronic form out. You will then need to complete this application form - please ensure all information is entered correctly (information cannot be changed once the application has been submitted – services must email ECE.MaoriPacificFunding@education.govt.nz if information submitted is incorrect). Once the application form has been completed, the Ministry will process the claim and deliver funding to the service for each certificated teacher.  

Each month an email will be sent asking if any updates to the information we hold need to be made. This gives services a chance to update the level of language they operate in, any changes to the recorded teachers, and any changes to a teachers FTE or years of service. It is important that services update the Ministry with any changes so funding can be adjusted as needed.  

How it works 

• Pacific bilingual and immersion education and care services apply for the allowance on behalf of their certificated teachers. 
• The Ministry pays the allowance to the service, and services must pay the allowances to their certificated teachers. 
• This payment must be on top of their usual salary. The Ministry will pay services a proportion of the allowance for each teacher every month.  

Information required to apply 

Services will need to provide the Ministry with information on the level of language they operate in, and the experience and total FTE for each of their certificated teachers. This information will be collecting through an online form.  

Language is determined across the service 

Language level (bilingual or immersion) is assessed across the whole service. This recognises how the service promotes and encourages the use of a Pacific language. The average amount of time spent teaching in a Pacific language across the entire service license will be used to determine the immersion level. It is the responsibility of the service to self-determine what level of language they operate in.  

For example, a service that operates a bilingual and immersion room within their service, it is likely that they would sit in the bilingual level. As they do not operate at an immersion level across the entire service, only in one of the rooms, they are unlikely to meet the immersion level.  

Teacher FTE 

Any certificated teacher in a teaching or management role will be eligible for the PITA based on their total FTE. Their FTE can be calculated by dividing the hours worked by 40 hours in a standard working week. A teacher cannot receive more than one FTE worth of PITA in a year (a full allowance is considered to be 40 hours a week, 2,080 hours per year). 

The PITA will be pro rata. For example, a teacher who works 0.5 of a full-time equivalent teacher would receive half the allowance. 

For certificated teachers employed in split roles, only the hours they are employed in a teaching role should be counted as hours of work towards the PITA. It is the responsibility of the service to determine which hours count towards the PITA and only claim an allowance for those hours.  

Teachers are eligible to receive their PITA while on paid leave for their usual days worked, excluding government paid parental provisions. If a teacher is on leave without pay for their usual days worked, they cannot claim the allowance during this time. 

If a certificated teacher works across multiple services, they will be eligible for the PITA based on the FTE worked at each service, up to a full FTE. Therefore, if a certificated teacher works 0.2 at service 1 and 0.8 at service 2 they would be eligible for 20% of the PITA entitlement from service 1 and 80% of the entitlement from service 2. It is the responsibility of both services to ensure that a teacher does not claim more than a single FTE worth of PITA.  

Teacher service 

The PITA is paid to certificated teachers at higher rates when they reach three years service and then again at 6 years' service.  

Service recognition includes all previous experience as an employed certificated teacher working in a bilingual or immersion or bilingual environment. The allowance is paid to certificated teachers at higher rates when they reach three years and then again at six years’ service.  

It is up to a teacher to provide evidence, to the satisfaction of their employer, to determine the length of service as a certificated teacher in a recognised immersion environment as: 

• a certificated teacher employed in a teaching position teaching at bilingual or immersion within a New Zealand state or state integrated school. 
• a certificated teacher in a teaching or management position in a licensed Pacific language bilingual or immersion early childhood service. 

Teacher experience must be within New Zealand education Pacific bilingual or immersion environments, experience from overseas (including any Pacific nation) cannot be counted. 

Calculating service 

One year’s service is recognised following the completion of 2080 hours of work. Experience can consist of a combination of service at bilingual or immersion environments. 

Hours of work relates to the total hours required for a teacher to properly fulfil the duties and responsibilities connected with their employment. This will include, rostered hours, non-contact hours, staff meetings, paid professional learning and development and any paid leave. 

Any previous relevant work experience that has occurred more than 10 years ago should not be credited. 

Teaching experience as an un-certificated teacher in an applicable Pacific bilingual or immersion environment should be credited as half-service up to a maximum of two years experience.  

Any previous relevant work experience as a non-certificated teacher that has occurred within the past 10 years should be credited as half-service up to a maximum of 2 years service.  

Half-credit means that each hour worked in the relevant role should be counted as half an hour of work for purposes of calculating experience in an immersion environment. 

How to apply 

Services can apply for the PITA by emailing ECE.MaoriPacificFunding@education.govt.nz to request an application form. The Ministry will then send the electronic form out. You will then need to complete this survey. Make sure  all information is entered correctly.  

Once the survey has been completed, the Ministry will process the claim and deliver funding to the service for each certificated teacher.  

Each month, an email will be sent asking if any updates to the information we hold need to be made. This gives services a chance to update the level of language they operate in, any changes to the recorded teachers, and any changes to a teachers FTE or years of service. It is important that services update the Ministry with any changes so funding can be adjusted as needed.  

More information and resources 

Supporting document for record keeping (editable) [PDF, 204 KB]

Supporting tool to calculate experience and FTE [XLSX, 128 KB]

ECE Funding Handbook 

5-3-2 Allowances for teachers in Pacific bilingual or immersion education and care services: ECE funding handbook

Last reviewed: 29 April 2024 Has this been useful? Give us your feedback