Eligible kura#

To be eligible for Māori-medium school transport assistance funding, kura must:

• have a designated character under Section 204 of the Education and Training Act 2020 and provide a kaupapa Māori education (for example, kura kaupapa Māori, kura-a-iwi or wharekura), and
• deliver the curriculum through te reo Māori over 51% of the time at levels 1 or 2.

Section 204: Education and Training Act 2020 – New Zealand Legislation

How Māori-medium school transport funding works#

We provide funding for every ākonga who lives at least 3.2km (Years 1-8) or 4.8km (Years 9-13) from their kura, kura kaupapa Māori or wharekura.

Kura receive a daily amount for each eligible ākonga, for each gazetted school day. We also provide a per-student amount to cover administration costs.

Kura must use this funding to provide school transport assistance to all eligible ākonga. Kura can choose how to provide the assistance. For example, this could be via a place on a vehicle or as a transport allowance payable to caregivers.  

As kura are provided funding to assist all their eligible ākonga, ākonga are not eligible for the conveyance allowance.

Funding rates and payment#

We pay Māori-medium school transport funding quarterly at the same time as operational funding.

We set a range of funding rates depending on:

• whether the kura is urban or rural – this information is provided by Statistics New Zealand and is typically updated following a national census
• the Equity Index (EQI) number of the kura.

We review the rates each year to account for changes in transport costs. We use Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency index data and processes to calculate any adjustments.

Funding review cycle#

Māori-medium funding is reviewed 3 times a year:

• January review – funding amount adjustments are made based on movements in the EQI numbers. Any changes in funding take effect from Quarter 1 (January).  
• March review – funding amount adjustments are made based on the number of eligible ākonga. Any funding changes take effect from Quarter 2 (April).
• July review – funding rate adjustments made based on movements in the transport costs index. Any funding changes take effect from Quarter 3 (July).

If your kura experiences a significant change in the number of eligible ākonga, you can request an out-of-cycle review of your funding. You can only request 1 out-of-cycle funding review every 2 years and it must be at least 6 months since the latest March funding review.

Support with Māori-medium schools transport assistance funding#

Contact our team for support, or if you would like to apply for transport assistance funding for your kura.

School transport contacts