Who is affected by the changes

Primary teachers who are members of New Zealand Education Institute Te Riu Roa (NZEI) are automatically bound by the Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement 2022-2025 (PTCA).

Primary teachers who are not union members, and who have signed the corresponding Individual Employment Agreement, receive the terms and conditions based on that agreement.

Timeline of changes

This document sets out previous and upcoming changes to the collective agreement.

Download the collective agreement.

Term 3 2024 – 22 July to 27 September

The second increase to classroom release time:

• Full-time teachers must have 2 hours' release time a week (20 hours a term).
• Part-time teachers employed for 0.8 full-time teacher equivalent (FTTE) or more must have the same pro-rated.

Term 4 2024 – 14 October to 20 December

Changes on 2 December:

• The third and final increase to unified base salary scale (UBSS) for trained teachers. The new minimum salary is $61,329 and maximum is $103,086.
• The third and final salary increase for untrained teachers. The new minimum salary is $52,468 and maximum is $54,528.

No action is required for this change.

Term 1 2025 – 27 January to 11 April

The third and final increase is made to classroom release time:

• Full-time teachers must have 2.5 hours' release time a week (25 hours a term).
• Part-time teachers employed for 0.8 FTTE or more must have the same pro-rated

Additional classroom release time is added for permanent units. Holders of 1 or more permanent units receive 1 additional hour of classroom release time a week (10 hours a term).

These changes are set out in part 3 of the collective agreement.