Teacher Bonding Scheme
Learn about how the Teacher Bonding Scheme helps Priority Staffing Schools attract, retain, and distribute teachers.
What is the Teacher Bonding Scheme (TBS)?
From October 2025, teachers recruited to eligible schools for a Teacher Bonding Scheme vacancy will receive annual payments accumulating to a maximum of $40,000 (before tax) after 5 years.
Any teacher (beginning, experienced, or overseas trained) can apply for a vacancy that attracts the TBS incentive. This should support more applications for vacancies, giving principals more choice in appointing teachers who best suit the school.
The TBS aims to:
- reduce recruitment challenges for principals at Priority Staff Schools
- increase the distribution of teachers to our Priority Staffing Schools
- increases retention of teachers at these schools and kura
- more beginning teachers on longer-term contracts.
Eligibility and information for schools
The Teacher Bonding Scheme (TBS) will have 185 places available per year. This will be targeted using the Priority Staffing Schools criteria. The list of eligible schools will be published here before the end of September and also shown in the WISP tool.
Eligible schools may request one of the 185 places per year if they have a vacancy starting Term 4 2025 or Term 1 2026. The places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
If allocated one of the 185 places, schools can then use the TBS as a recruitment and retention incentive in one job advertisement. Once recruited, the teacher will receive their TBS payment(s) in T1 of the following year. This payment will be prorated according to their FTTE and whether they taught for the full or part year.
Payment Information
Teachers appointed to one of the 185 TBS roles will receive a lump sum payment annually through payroll following each year of teaching service. Please see the below table for a breakdown.
TBS payments are made directly to the teacher.
Payments are subject to income tax, an ACC earners levy, and may have an impact on your income tax obligations, Working for Families payments, and child support payments, etc.
We suggest participants seek independent tax advice on how scheme payments may affect your tax position. For further tax information, contact Inland Revenue on 0800 775 247 or visit the IRD website.
Allocation of places
There are 185 Teacher Bonding Scheme places per year. Eligible schools will need to apply for one of the 185 places. This will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
There is a cap of one programme place, per year, per school. Schools with more than one vacancy can decide which vacancy to attach the incentive to.
Existing incentive schemes: Voluntary Bonding Scheme and BeTTER Jobs Programme
You may be familiar with similar programmes – the Voluntary Bonding Scheme (VBS) and BeTTER Jobs Programme.
From 5 October 2025, the existing Voluntary Bonding Scheme and BeTTER Jobs Programme incentives will be closed. Teachers currently in these programmes will continue to receive payments, provided they continue to meet all existing criteria. This includes teachers who have been employed in a VBS school before 5 October 2025 and are still waiting to apply for their future payments.