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Ngā Rongo Kōrero o te Wā

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Māehe 31 2026

Sector Update – Fuel Response Plan, emergency management & more

Below is an important message for school boards regarding the Government's announcement of the Fuel Response Plan, along with other key updates.

Fuel Response Plan

Today the Government set out New Zealand’s fuel response plan and you may have seen the Bulletin outlining what this means for schools and kura. The Government has been clear, through the release of the National Fuel Plan, that maintaining access to schools through all phases is a priority.

New Zealand is currently operating at Phase 1, meaning there are currently no restrictions on fuel use. The plan is about being prepared.

School boards should plan and be as prepared as possible and here are some things you can consider now:

  • revising your business continuity plans so your school is ready if there is a change to current settings 
  • reviewing your budget and working with your principal on whether discretionary travel and associated activities can be reduced
  • possible impacts and practical supports for students and families 
  • monitoring attendance closely for any unusual fluctuations 
  • school security, particularly heating and fuel supplies, and any other related utilities.

Please continue to prioritise decisions that support attendance and achievement, and adapt plans as needed based on the information provided.

Further information is available in the School Bulletin.

School boards, emergencies, and the Ministry’s Traumatic Incident team

School boards have a legal responsibility to provide a safe environment for students and staff. This includes having an emergency management plan in place. The way a school manages an emergency influence everyone’s recovery and wellbeing. Planning support can be found here: Prepare for an emergency or traumatic incident - Ministry of Education.

If your school experiences a sudden disruptive event or emergency, put your school emergency plan into action and contact the Ministry Traumatic Incident Team ASAP. Traumatic incident teams are based in all our regional offices. You can contact them 24/7 on free phone (NZ only): 0800 TI TEAM (0800 848 326). The Traumatic incidents checklist for schools can help with your response. 

The Ministry of Education also has two new resources to help schools respond to student self-harm and after a suspected suicide. These resources can be found here.

To support school boards with these two areas and child protection, NZSBA and the Ministry are working on a webinar for late June. More information will be shared nearer the time.

PPCBU Principals Professional Development Fund

The Ministry of Education and the PPCBU have agreed on a variation to the Professional Development (PLD) fund for primary principals covered by the PPCBU Collective Agreement or the corresponding IEA. Primary principals on an IEA will need to have signed the 13 March promulgated IEA to receive the allowance or the fund.

Principals covered by the PPCBU Collective Agreement (or the IEA promulgated 13 March 2026) can access 5 payments of $3,000 over the term of the collective agreement to use in accordance with the Ministry of Education criteria.

For each payment, principals must choose by a cutoff date to:

  • receive it directly as a taxable Curriculum Change Allowance in recognition of work leading curriculum reform; if no election is made by the cut‑off date, it defaults to the PLD fund or
  • leave it as a PLD fund paid to the school and used under the MoE criteria with Board approval.

If no choice is made, the payment will be made to school as a PLD fund subject to the same criteria.

Where a school board receives a PLD payment they are responsible for approving use of the fund for principals to attend professional development activities set out in the Ministry-published criteria, and any fair and reasonable travel and incidental expenses. The Ministry criteria can be viewed here: MoE Guidance PD for Principal Leadership.

Guidance for school boards including an application form and checklist is available on the Resource Centre, here: Professional Development Funding for Principal Leadership (PPCA-PPCBU). 

KiwiSaver 

As of 1 April 2026, the default KiwiSaver contribution rate for employees will increase to 3.5% automatically.

Employees who want to continue contributing at 3% can apply for a temporary rate reduction. Each rate reduction can be for up to 12 months.

Employees who wish to avail themselves of the rate reduction can find out more from Inland Revenue here.

Please let your employees know about this change and the option to temporarily reduce their contribution rate.