What the Property Occupancy Document (POD) is

School property management is a shared responsibility between us and schools. The POD sets out the roles and responsibilities.

The POD is legally binding and not negotiable. This is because we expect a certain standard for every school’s property management.

You do not need to sign the POD because it is not an individual negotiable contract. It continues to apply to your school even when new board members are elected.

Legislation governing the POD

Section 161 of the Education and Training Act 2020 enables the Secretary for Education to specify terms and conditions applying generally to land and buildings occupied by boards.

Section 161 Education and Training Act 2020 – New Zealand Legislation

These terms and conditions are officially notified through the POD for non-integrated state schools. Whenever any changes are made to the standard POD, we re-notify the POD in the New Zealand Gazette.

New Zealand Gazette

What boards need to do

You need to read and understand the POD to understand your responsibilities in relation to managing the property.

Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa (formerly New Zealand School Trustees Association) has an introduction to school property management with an overview of the main roles and responsibilities as covered in the POD.

Help for boards – Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa

Sign a memorandum of acknowledgement

We ask the board of each new or merging school to sign an acknowledgement of the POD. By signing you're showing you're aware that the POD is the basis of your school occupancy. Even if you don’t sign the memorandum, the POD still applies.