A teacher and two secondary school students at a table and chatting in a library
A teacher and two secondary school students at a table and chatting in a library
Principals and schools

Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement negotiation

Update on Collective Agreement negotiation for Secondary Teachers
A teacher and two secondary school students at a table and chatting in a library
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Last updated 5 December 2025

On 4 December 2025, following seven days of facilitated bargaining, the offer made to the Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua for the Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement (STCA) was ratified by their members.

The offer includes a cumulative pay increase of 4.7% for secondary teachers on the top two steps (trained scale steps 9 and 10) of the trained teacher salary scale within 12 months. The remainder of secondary teachers receive a 4.6% increase within the same term. This is comprised of a base salary increase on 28 January 2026 of 2.5% and an additional 2.0% (or 2.1% for secondary teachers on the top two tiers of the trained teacher salary scale) within 12 months.

The offer of a 25-month term includes an increase in the value of middle management allowances and units, and the introduction of a Principal's Nominee. The offer also amended the claim to increase the number of call-back days but shifted these to term-break and removes expenses.

The Terms of Settlement document, published on 4 December 2025, is available here.
Terms of Settlement launch

Previous offers can be found in the resources section of this web page.

For more information on the existing Secondary Teachers’ Collective Agreement
education.govt.nz launch

The current base pay scale for secondary teachers covered by 2022 to 2025 collective agreement ranges from $61,329 to $103,086.

Teachers may also receive allowances, management units and other payments. There is no standard pay for teachers. What teachers are paid is dependent on where they are on the base pay scale and a mix of units, allowances and other payments.

The average salary for all secondary teachers in 2024 was $100,933.

The average starting salary for secondary teachers in 2024 was $78,300.

Teachers who are not at the top of the base pay scale are also entitled to annual service-based pay progression of between $2,503 and $6,960. In percentage terms, pay progression ranges from 3.9% and 7.7%.

Additional information about teacher and principal remuneration and demographic trends is available in the resources section of this web page.  

For more information

Enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Education Media Centre.
Media Centre | Education

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