What specialised school transport assistance is#

We provide specialised school transport assistance (SESTA) to children and young people who have safety and/or mobility needs that prevent them from travelling independently to school.

This assistance may be a vehicle service or a contribution towards the costs of whānau | families making their own transport arrangements.

Schools and kura around New Zealand are grouped together into ‘clusters’, based on proximity. Each cluster is serviced under a separate contract.

SESTA procurement#

In 2024, we began the process of procuring new contracts for 57 of our SESTA clusters. The contracts are due to expire from the end of Term 4 2025.

In July 2025, we awarded new contracts. The start date for each contract vary and will be at the start of either Term 1, Term 2 or Term 3 2026.

The contracts are for an initial term of 6 years with 2 2-year rights of renewal.

SESTA clusters and service providers#

Transition to new providers#

If the provider of a school’s SESTA service changes, there will be a plan to make sure there is a smooth transition and start to services.

All current SESTA services will continue to operate as usual during this procurement process.