Who is affected by the changes#

Primary teachers who are members of New Zealand Education Institute Te Riu Roa (NZEI) are automatically bound by the Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement 2022-2025 (PTCA).

Primary teachers who are not union members, and who have signed the corresponding Individual Employment Agreement, receive the terms and conditions based on that agreement.

Timeline of changes#

This document sets out previous and upcoming changes to the collective agreement.

Download the collective agreement.

Term 3 2024 – 22 July to 27 September#

The second increase to classroom release time:

• Full-time teachers must have 2 hours' release time a week (20 hours a term).
• Part-time teachers employed for 0.8 full-time teacher equivalent (FTTE) or more must have the same pro-rated.

Term 4 2024 – 14 October to 20 December#

Changes on 2 December:

• The third and final increase to unified base salary scale (UBSS) for trained teachers. The new minimum salary is $61,329 and maximum is $103,086.
• The third and final salary increase for untrained teachers. The new minimum salary is $52,468 and maximum is $54,528.

No action is required for this change.

Term 1 2025 – 27 January to 11 April#

The third and final increase is made to classroom release time:

• Full-time teachers must have 2.5 hours' release time a week (25 hours a term).
• Part-time teachers employed for 0.8 FTTE or more must have the same pro-rated

Additional classroom release time is added for permanent units. Holders of 1 or more permanent units receive 1 additional hour of classroom release time a week (10 hours a term).

These changes are set out in part 3 of the collective agreement.