Fees, charges and donations

This page sets out the requirements and information for schools and parents about what schools can charge for and how schools can opt in to the donations scheme. It also provides information on those schools that have opted in to the scheme.

Schools and kura cannot charge domestic students a fee for enrolment or attendance or for delivery of the curriculum (eg subject fees). There are however some situations where parents, caregivers and whānau might want to make a payment.

Payment types

Section 33 of the Education and Training Act 2020(external link) states that every person who is not an international student is entitled to free enrolment and free education at any state school during the period beginning on the person’s fifth birthday and ending on 1 January after the person’s 19th birthday.

These three types of payments include:

Payment type	Description
Donations	These are voluntary payments, no matter who asks for them. Parents can pay them in part, in full or not at all. They can be for general purposes, or for a specific purpose. Anyone can chose to make a donation to a school or kura at any time. GST is not payable. Donation tax credits can be claimed. Decile 1-7 schools and kura who opt in to the donations scheme will receive $150 per student payment for that year in exchange for not asking for donations- with the exception of donations for school camps. Decile 8 -10 schools and those who chose not to opt-in can still ask for donations but payment cannot be compelled or enforced. Parents can choose to pay a donation in full, in part, or not at all.
Purchases of goods and services	Schools and kura can ask parents and whānau to pay for goods and services they provide that are optional (eg pens and lunches) but it is up to parents/whānau to decide whether to buy them from the school/kura or somewhere else. All purchases/signups are voluntary and cannot be enforced. If a purchase is agreed, payment can be enforced. GST is chargeable and a tax credit cannot be claimed.
Attendance dues	These are compulsory for students attending state-integrated schools and kura, regardless of whether the school or kura has opted in to the donations scheme. Payment can be enforced and GST is payable. A tax credit cannot be claimed. State integrated schools and kura cannot increase attendance dues without the approval of the Minister of Education.

Requirements about what schools can charge for

We have developed guidance which makes it clear what schools can charge for and what parents need to pay for.

What families/whānau need to know about school/kura donations and payments

What families/whānau need to know about school/kura donations and payment

What families/whānau need to know about school/kura donations and payment (A3 poster) [PDF, 684 KB]

New Zealand Sign Language video version:

Requirements for boards of trustees of decile 1-7 schools and kura and schools and kura choosing to opt in to the Donations Scheme

Requirements for boards of trustees of decile 1-7 schools and kura choosing to opt in to the Donations Scheme

Requirements for boards of trustees of decile 1-7 schools and kura choosing to opt in to the Donations Scheme (A3 poster) [PDF, 1 MB]

New Zealand Sign Language video version:

Requirements for boards of trustees of decile 8-10 schools and kura and schools and kura choosing not to opt in to the Donations Scheme

Requirements for boards of trustees of decile 8-10 schools and kura and schools and kura choosing not to opt in to the Donations Scheme (A3 Poster) [PDF, 1 MB]

New Zealand Sign Language video version:

Requirements about what schools can charge for in different languages

Opting in to the donations scheme

Schools are to opt-in to the donations scheme as part of the July roll return process. For more detail refer to the School Roll Return Guidelines(external link).

Activity Centres and Attached units that do not submit a roll return can opt-in to the scheme by completing the Donations Scheme Opt-in form(external link).

Schools that opt-in to the scheme will receive their donations payment as part of their January operational funding instalment. The donations payment will be calculated based on the previous year’s July roll.

Decile reviews

Decile 8-10 schools that believe there has been a significant change in their school's roll profile since deciles were last recalculated in 2014 and want to opt in to the donations scheme can apply for a decile review.

Applications for the 2020 Decile Review open on Monday 20 July 2020 and must be returned to the Ministry before 5.00pm Monday 21 September 2020. Further information can be found here Decile Review – Education Counts(external link).

Cabinet has agreed that deciles will not be recalculated using the 2018 census information. Schools can still seek a decile review until deciles are replaced but this will be based on 2013 census information.

If a board successfully applies for a decile review that results in them gaining eligibility for the Donations Scheme, they will be advised before the start of the 2021 school year.

Boards of Trustees will have until 1 March 2021 to consult with their communities and let us know their decision by filling in the online declaration form.

They will receive their funding in their April 2021 Operational Funding Instalment. The funding will be calculated based on the previous year’s July roll return.

If a school applies for a decile review and anticipates that they will be eligible to opt in to the scheme, they must not ask families for donations in the 2021 school year.

Breakdown of schools that have opted in to the donations scheme for 2021 by region, type and decile

Education Region	Schools Opting In	Roll Count of Participating Schools	Funding Going to Schools in 2021	Average Roll Count	Average Amount Going to Schools in 2021	Total Eligible Schools	% Opting In
Tai Tokerau	138	27,834	$4,175,100	202	$30,254	140	98.6%
Auckland	321	137,695	$20,654,250	429	$64,343	356	90.2%
Waikato	214	49,813	$7,471,950	233	$34,916	225	95.1%
Bay of Plenty / Waiariki	157	47,271	$7,090,650	301	$45,163	163	96.3%
Hawke's Bay / Tairawhiti	155	33,150	$4,972,500	214	$32,081	156	99.4%
Taranaki / Whanganui / Manawatu	175	34,785	$5,217,750	199	$29,816	187	93.6%
Wellington	168	39,901	$5,985,150	238	$35,626	175	96.0%
Nelson / Marlborough / West Coast	90	20,891	$3,133,650	232	$34,818	95	94.7%
Canterbury / Chatham Islands	139	39,434	$5,915,100	284	$42,555	144	96.5%
Otago / Southland	107	16,461	$2,469,150	154	$23,076	122	87.7%
Total	1,664	447,235	$67,085,250	269	$40,316	1,763	94.4%

Decile	Schools Opting In	Roll Count of Participating Schools	Funding Going to Schools in 2021	Total Eligible Schools	% Opting In
1	304	61,346	$9,201,900	313	97.1%
2	247	54,673	$8,200,950	254	97.2%
3	241	64,314	$9,647,100	244	98.8%
4	230	68,045	$10,206,750	237	97.0%
5	231	67,361	$10,104,150	245	94.3%
6	204	67,119	$10,067,850	226	90.3%
7	207	64,377	$9,656,550	244	84.8%
Total	1,664	447,235	$67,085,250	1,763	94.4%

School Type	Schools Opting In	Roll Count of Participating Schools	Funding Going to Schools in 2021	Total Eligible Schools	% Opting In
Composite	78	19,697	$2,954,550	86	90.7%
Intermediate	87	39,542	$5,931,300	90	96.7%
Kura	55	6,195	$929,250	59	93.2%
Primary	1,179	244,582	$36,687,300	1,209	97.5%
Secondary	197	133,205	$19,980,750	245	80.4%
Specialist	35	3,570	$535,500	36	97.2%
Other	33	444	$66,600	38	86.8%
Total	1,664	447,235	$67,085,250	1,763	94.4%

Breakdown of schools that have opted in to the donations scheme for 2020 by region, type and decile

Education Region	Schools Opting In	Roll Count of Participating Schools	Funding Going to Schools in 2020	Average Roll Count	Average Amount Going to Schools in 2020	Total Eligible Schools	% Opting In
Tai Tokerau	138	27,434	$4,115,100	199	$29,820	140	98.6%
Auckland	314	131,795	$19,769,250	420	$62,959	358	87.7%
Waikato	208	48,381	$7,257,150	233	$34,890	224	92.9%
Bay of Plenty / Waiariki	150	44,572	$6,685,800	297	$44,572	163	92.0%
Hawke's Bay / Tairawhiti	148	32,587	$4,888,050	220	$33,027	155	95.5%
Taranaki / Whanganui / Manawatu	176	36,395	$5,459,250	207	$31,018	187	94.1%
Wellington	166	38,518	$5,777,700	232	$34,805	176	94.63
Nelson / Marlborough / West Coast	89	19,910	$2,986,500	224	$33,556	95	93.7%
Canterbury / Chatham Islands	132	36,282	$5,442,300	275	$41,230	144	91.7%
Otago / Southland	105	16,099	$2,414,850	153	$22,999	123	85.4%
Total	1,626	431,973	$64,795,950	266	$39,850	1,765	92.1%

Decile	Schools Opting In	Roll Count of Participating Schools	Funding Going to Schools in 2020	Total Eligible Schools	% Opting In
1	300	61,109	$9,166,350	312	96.2%
2	234	52,763	$7,914,450	250	93.6%
3	239	62,496	$9,374,400	246	97.2%
4	226	66,531	$9,979,650	235	96.2%
5	231	65,993	$9,898,950	248	93.1%
6	195	60,517	$9,077,550	228	85.5%
7	201	62,564	$9,384,600	246	81.7%
Total	1,626	431,973	$64,795,950	1,765	92.1%

School Type	Schools Opting In	Roll Count of Participating Schools	Funding Going to Schools in 2020	Total Eligible Schools	% Opting In
Composite	73	18,712	$2,806,800	85	85.9%
Intermediate	85	37,818	$5,672,700	90	94.4%
Kura	53	5,533	$829,950	59	89.8%
Primary	1163	242,911	$36,436,650	1,212	96.0%
Secondary	185	123,161	$18,474,150	244	75.8%
Specialist	33	3,424	$513,600	34	97.1%
Other	34	414	$62,100	41	82.9%
Total	1,626	431,973	$64,795,950	1,765	92.1%

Further Information

Donations scheme FAQs

Schools that have opted in to the donations scheme in 2021 [XLSX, 81 KB]

Schools that have opted in to the donations scheme in 2020 [XLSX, 79 KB]

Policy documentation on the donations scheme

Last reviewed: 24 November 2020 Has this been useful? Give us your feedback