Based on Early Learning Bulletin · Issue: 135, 3 July 2025 – Ministry of Education,
1 July changes to pay parity scheme
From 1 July 2025 until 30 June 2027, education and care (including hospital-based) services that have opted into the pay parity scheme will be able to determine the initial salary step for newly certificated teachers and certificated teachers who are new to working in the New Zealand ECE sector.
These services are required to pay at least step one of the minimum salary scales but will no longer need to consider higher qualification groups, previous relevant work experience and recognised service when determining the initial salary step for the teachers described above.
Once a newly certificated teacher has worked any number of hours as a certificated teacher while directly employed by a licensed early childhood service or kindergarten, they are no longer defined as a newly certificated teacher.
This change does not affect the requirement for services to progress teachers up the salary scales as they complete the specified hours of work.
Existing pay agreements with teachers will still need to be honoured. This means currently employed certificated teachers should not be affected by the change. This change and the moratorium will also not affect the existing funding rates that services receive.
See the ECE Funding Handbook for the definition of a newly certificated teacher or a teacher that is new to working in the New Zealand ECE sector:
Certificated teacher – Ministry of Education
Information on the recent changes to the pay parity scheme can be found at:
