Payroll update 11 December 2025

 

Payroll update 11 December 2025

Kia ora koutou

Here’s another bumper edition with information about changes to collective agreements and allowance funding, cut-off times in the next pay periods, and our phone hours over the term four break.

Changes to cut-off times in pay periods 20 and 21

The January cut-off times in PP21 remain the same. You can see these times on our website’s payroll calendar.

Our phone hours over the term four break

During the term four break, our phone lines will be open for our standard hours:

9.30am – 3.30pm, Monday to Friday, except for national public holidays.

You can also contact us on Wellington Anniversary Day, Monday 19 January.

Backpay in PP18 for missed priority teacher supply allowance for 2025

Some eligible teachers didn’t receive the priority teacher supply allowance (PTSAP / PTSAR / HPTSA) in 2025. We have now paid these teachers backpay in pay period 18.

Priority teacher supply allowances are for teachers and area and secondary principals working in a Ministry-identified priority supply school. Their employment must be:

• permanent, or
• fixed-term for two or more consecutive terms.

Who isn’t eligible for a priority supply allowance?

Teachers cannot receive this allowance if they are:

• receiving the Staffing Incentive Allowance at the same time, or
• unregistered or employed on a limited authority to teach (LAT).

For more information and to see all conditions, read the collective agreement for the school's sector.

Budget 2025 changes

Funding for Resource Teachers: Literacy (RT Lit) and Resource Teachers: Māori (RT Māori)

In the Government's Budget 2025 announcements, funding for RT Māori and RT Lit roles was discontinued and will be redirected from 28 January 2026. Schools need to decide whether employees in those roles will:

• continue with a change in designation (and possibly funding), or
• be made redundant.

The Ministry will send surplus staffing instructions for employees that schools choose to make redundant.

For more information, see the Ministry’s releaseabout the changes. 

Kāhui Ako | Communities of Learning allowances

In Budget 2025, it was also announced that funding for Kāhui Ako | Communities of Learning roles will end on 28 January 2026. After this date, Education Payroll will only pay these allowances to employees:

• identified by the Ministry as an exception, or
• whose appointment extends beyond the start of the school year and whose employment agreement has salary protection provisions.

This table shows the allowances affected by the change.

Allowance and salary protection codes

From 28 January:

• Kāhui Ako allowance codes will no longer be available in EdPay, and
• new salary protection codes will show on SUE reports and payslips.

Forms

The EP16C, NOVO28a and NOVO28b forms will be removed from our website on 19 December 2025. If you need to apply for a retrospective allowance, ask your payroll advisor for the form.

For more information, see the Ministry’s guidance on Kāhui Ako.

Collective agreement changes

Primary principals’ collective agreement (PPCBU)

The new PPCBU collective agreement (CA) features an increase in pay rates for all employees covered by the CA and its corresponding individual employment agreement (IEA), provided they:

• have a current Primary Principal role, and
• are not NZEI union members.

It includes increases to some allowance rates and a new allowance from term two 2026.

Effective dates

The new agreement is effective from 17 October 2025. Employees will see the new rates in their payslips from 23 December 2025.

This table shows the effective dates for new allowance rates.

New allowance from term two 2026

Principals selected to mentor aspiring and beginning principals will receive $5,000 per year effective from the gazetted term two start date in 2026. The new allowance code will show in the SUE report, funded from Teachers’ Salaries.

See the Ministry’s page for more information about the programme. We will provide the allowance form and instructions for schools next year.

Individual employment agreements (IEA)

We will let you know when the new IEA is available on the IEA Change screen in EdPay.

Specialist residential schools non-teaching staff – new collective agreement

Non-teaching staff at Specialist Residential Schools who are covered by the new collective agreement (CA) and its corresponding individual employment agreement (IEA) will receive an increase in pay rates.

The new agreement includes:

• a new personal care allowance, limited to designation S52
• an hours of work amendment where staff can work on the Sunday before a new term, to support students who return to school early, and
• the merging of steps two and three, which means a decrease in step for employees on steps three and over.

Please see the Ministry’s Specialist residential school non-teaching staff employment agreements for more details.

Effective dates

The changes are effective from 8 October 2025. Employees will see the new rates and steps in their payslips from 3 February 2026. SUE reports will show the new allowance code. Any back pay will be paid in PP23.

Individual employment agreements (IEA)

We will let you know when the new IEA is available on the IEA Change screen in EdPay.

Survey feedback and annualisation screen

Thank you for your responses to our recent surveys. As always, we are grateful for your feedback and do our best to improve our service where we can. For example, in response to your feedback about the new annualisation screen in EdPay, we plan to make the grade and step fields auto-populate next year.

Support email address

You may notice our support email is now support@edpay.govt.nz, both in the emails you send and where we send you responses. If you use the old address by mistake - don't worry, it will still arrive in the same inbox.

 

This will be our last payroll update for this year. From everyone at Education Payroll, thank you for the work you do all year to help the payroll run smoothly. We hope you enjoy a well-earned and restful break.

Ngā mihi
Education Payroll