Types of elections

There are 4 types of board elections at state and state-integrated schools and kura:

• Triennial elections – held every 3 years to elect parent and staff representatives.
• Mid-term or staggered elections – held 18 months after the most recent triennial election, by schools that opt in, to elect some of the parent representatives.
• Student elections – held in September each year by schools that have students above Year 9.
• By-elections – to fill a vacancy for a parent, staff or student representative.

The Minister of Education has confirmed the date range for the triennial school board elections to be 3-19 September 2025. Wednesday 10 September will be the suggested common date. 

What the board needs to do

For each election, the board must set an election date and appoint a returning officer. The board should promote an upcoming election in the community to encourage involvement.

The returning officer follows the elections timeline set out in the regulations. Use Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa (formerly New Zealand School Trustees Association) election planning tool to create a timeline.

Election planning – Te Whakarōputanga

After the election the board should update us and Te Whakarōputanga with new board member's details. Use Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 forms to do this.

Appendix 1: Candidates and election results survey

Appendix 2: Change in school board membership – Te Whakarōputanga

Help for returning officers

We work in partnership with Te Whakarōputanga to support the school board election process.

Te Whakarōputanga is available to support returning officers with election matters.

Email Te Whakarōputanga at [email protected].

Returning officers – Te Whakarōputanga

Who can stand in board elections

Any adult can stand as a candidate in an election for parent representatives. They do not need to be the parent of a student at the school but do need to be nominated by a parent.

Any staff member or student can be a candidate in an election for staff or student board members.

There are some people who are ineligible to be board members. They are listed in the Education and Training Act 2020.

Education and Training Act 2020: Schedule 23(9) – New Zealand Legislation

Electronic school board elections

The Education (Board Elections) Regulations 2022 allow electronic voting for school board elections.

If a school wishes to use electronic voting, it must:

• use an accredited provider
• make paper voting forms available to voters that want to use them.

Accredited providers

We evaluate potential providers using our assessment criteria. Read about the accreditation application process. 

Schooled (formerly CES) is accredited to provide electronic voting services. Accreditation for the online voting component only has been granted until 11 April 2025.

For more information, contact Schooled:

Email: [email protected]
Freephone (NZ only): 0800 472 466

Hui-based elections for kura

Te Rūnanga Nui advises its kura on how to choose board members through hui.

Its advice adheres to the Education and Training Act 2020 and the board elections regulations.

Board elections funding

We provide funding to schools for running elections. Mid-term and triennial election funding is provided through the operational grant instalment. By-election funding must be claimed directly from us by schools.

School board election funding