What ECE Teachers and Workers Earn: Pay, Benefits and Conditions
Anyone thinking about getting a job in early childhood education, working in ECE or thinking about moving to a different service will find clear, practical information in this article about pay rates, employment conditions, and what to expect in different roles. It explains everything from starting salaries and pay‑step calculations to workplace rights, benefits, and how to recognise a supportive, professional environment.
Contents – on this page you will find:
- What’s the minimum adult wage? And what’s the current living wage?
- Home-based pay rates
- How much does an ECE teacher earn in their first year?
- How to work out what pay step you should be on
- Who to contact regarding problems with your pay if working in teacher-led centre
- Are you paid a salary but asked to work more than 40 hours a week?
- Early childhood centre teacher minimum pay scales for salary attestation with the Ministry of Education
- Kindergarten Association and Primary School teacher pay parity salaries under Collective Agreements with the Government
- Employment benefits and job perks
- The value of working in a happy supportive professional atmosphere
- Should we rely on the Kindergarten Teachers Collective agreement as the benchmark for pay parity?
- Salary attestation rate changes overtime
You’re welcome to join the Facebook group for discussions and questions on pay parity
(1) The minimum adult wage and the current living wage
The minimum adult wage for a worker in NZ is $23.95 an hour (effective from 1 April 2026).
The 2026/27 Living Wage rate is $29.90. The Living Wage website states that: “Employers who pay the Living Wage want to make sure their workers get enough money to live with dignity.” However, “paying the Living Wage rate is voluntary.”
(2) Home-based pay rates
Homebased ECE is a teacher-led service, which means visiting teachers must be qualified and certified. Although the government does not provide pay‑parity funding for home‑based services, agencies still need to offer competitive salaries to attract teachers. As a result, visiting‑teacher pay is usually similar to centre‑based rates. Employers also typically reimburse work‑related costs such as phone use and travel.
Home‑based educators, however, are usually independent contractors. They do not receive employment protections such as sick leave, holiday pay, or guaranteed hours. An educator can care for up to four children, and charges per child vary widely – typically between $7 and $15 per hour. What an educator earns depends on what families agree to pay and how much of the Ministry subsidy the agency passes on. While some educators may earn more than a centre‑based teacher, they also face significant costs when providing care in their own home (some of which may be tax‑deductible).
Nannies are often employed directly by families, although home‑based agencies can also provide support and supervision for nanny arrangements and receive funding through the Ministry of Education
(3) How much does an early childhood teacher earn in their first year?
In your first year of teaching after gaining your qualification and registering with the Teaching Council for a practising certificate you may earn as little as the minimum adult wage (see above). But if your centre has opted in to receive funding for the first pay step for pay parity then you should be paid at least $27.58 (rate effective from 1 Dec 2023). After completing a full-time year of work (or equivalent of 2080 hours) you can expect to go to the next pay step.
Teachers can negotiate and ask for higher pay above the minimum pay parity amounts.
(4) How to work out what Pay Step you should be on
There is an official Ministry pay calculator if you would like to use it to work out and check what the right pay step is for you.
Before accepting any teaching position, clarify with your employer that they offer at least Full pay parity and not partial or no pay parity. Ideally your centre will provide its teachers with FULL pay parity.
Read: How to ask for more pay and negotiate a pay increase with your employer
Learn more about: Pay Parity
Join our Pay Parity Facebook group
(5) Who to contact regarding problems with your pay or what pay step your employer has put you on
Teachers who are not satisfied with what pay step their employer has placed them on can Email: ECE.PayParity@education.govt.nz
When a centre does not pay all of its certificated teachers correctly you should inform the Ministry of Education as it could be breaching the conditions of the funding it receives. Email: ECE.funding@education.govt.nz When asking questions or reporting a centre you can ask to be anonymous and for the Ministry not to reveal your identity.
There is a ministry list of what level of pay parity (extended, Steps 1-6, Step 1 only, or full pay parity) each ECE service has signed up for. Names of ECE Centres Providing Pay Parity Centres can change their attestation response with the ministry at any time, for example it may have opted-in for extended pay parity funding and then change its mind and tell the ministry it wants to be funded for full pay parity.
(6) Are you paid a salary but asked to work more than 40 hours a week?
QUESTION: Can a centre meet the Ministry of Education salary attestation rules by paying a teacher at the stated salary amount for their pay step when the teacher works 40 hours a week and attends 2 hourly staff meetings each week (total hours per week are 42)?
ANSWER: No, an employer must pay more. The stated salary minimum amount for a pay step should be calculated as a salary or wage for someone working 40 hours, not more than 40 hours. For example, Step 1 minimum pay rate is a salary of $57,358 or $27.58 hour. If a teacher is working 42 hours a week, then for the purpose of salary attestation the employer must be able to show they have paid both the minimum salary amount and $24.69 per hour for any hours above 40. So, someone who works 42 hours a week should be earning a minimum of $57,358.00 + $27.58 +$27.58 = $57,413.16.
(7) ECE centre teacher pay scales
Partial Pay Parity (“Extended” Steps 1 – 11 plus manager; or Steps 1- 6 only; or Step 1 only)
| STEP | QUALIFICATION | FROM 1 DEC 2023 |
| 1 | P1-3 Entry level for a beginner qualified teacher who holds a practising certificate | $57,358 $27.58 hour |
| 2 | $59,544 $28.63 hour | |
| 3 | P3+ Entry level for beginner teacher who also holds a Level 7 qual that is not a teaching qual or holds an honours degree in teaching | $61,948 $29.78 hour |
| 4 | P4 Entry level for beginner teacher who also holds a Masters degree of teaching or two Level 7 qualifications that are not teaching | $64,133 $30.83 hour |
| 5 | P5 Entry level for a beginner teacher who holds a subject or specialist level 9 qualification on the NZQF – masters or doctorate | $67,794 $32.59 hour |
| 6 | $71,869 $34.55 hour | |
| 7 | $74,152 $35.65 hour | |
| 8 | $76,403 $36.73 hour | |
| 9 | $78,715 $37.84 hour | |
| 10 | Maximum pay step for P1-3 | $81,112 $39.00 hour |
| 11 | Maximum step for P3+, P4 & 5 | $85,457 $41.09 hour |
| Manager | Manager minimum pay amount for a head teacher also known as a centre manager, also includes managers responsible for multiple centres – K2, K3, and K4 | $85,457 $41.09 hour |
Full Pay Parity Salary Scale
| STEP | QUALIFICATION GROUP | Full pay parity FROM 1 DEC 2023 |
| 1 | P1-3 Entry level for a beginner teacher who holds a practising certificate | $57,358 $27.58 hour |
| 2 | $59,544 $28.63 hour | |
| 3 | P3+ Entry level for beginner teacher who also holds a Level 7 qual that is not a teaching qual or holds an honours degree in teaching | $61,948 $29.78 hour |
| 4 | P4 Entry level for beginner teacher who also holds a Masters degree of teaching or two Level 7 qualifications that are not teaching | $64,133 $30.83 hour |
| 5 | P5 Entry level for a beginner teacher who holds a subject or specialist level 9 qualification on the NZQF – masters or doctorate | $67,794 $32.59 hour |
| 6 | $71,869 $34.55 hour | |
| 7 | $76,261 $36.66 hour | |
| 8 | $81,566 $39.21 hour | |
| 9 | $85,915 $41.31 hour | |
| 10 | Maximum step for P1-3 | $92,175 $44.31 hour |
| 11 | Maximum step for P3+, P4 & 5 | $96,820 $46.56 hour |
| Management | K2 Centre Manager | $101,120 $48.62 hour |
| K3 senior teacher for staff at more than 1 centre | $106,427 $51.17 hour | |
| K4 manager of the K2 and K3 managers | $115,123 $55.35 hour |
(8) Kindergarten Association and Primary School Teacher Pay Rates
Click on this link to view the variation to Kindergarten Collective that includes salary increases from 3 April.
Base Salary Scale for Kindergarten Assn and Primary School teachers
| STEP | Qual GROUP | Primary & Kindergarten Rates from 2 Dec 2024 |
| 1 | P1 Entry | $61,329 |
| 2 | P3+Entry | $64,083 |
| 3 | P4 Entry | $66,586 |
| 5 | P5 Entry | $70,779 |
| 5 | $75,340 | |
| 6 | $80,224 | |
| 7 | $86,123 | |
| 8 | $90,960 | |
| 9 | P3 Maximum | $97,920 |
| 10 | P3+M, P4M, P5M | $103,086 |
Management scale for teachers in Kindergarten Associations
| FROM 1 JULY 2024 | FROM 2 DEC 2024 | |
| K2 reliever (less than 10 weeks) centre manager | $101,622 | $105,664 |
| K2 centre manager | $103,662 | $107,664 |
| K3 Senior Teachers | $109,061 | $113,315 |
| K4 Senior Teachers | $117,972 | $122,574 |
(9) Employment benefits and job perks
In addition to pay, employment benefits may be provided, such as:
- Free tea/coffee and/or lunch
- Paid staff social outings. This is a perk if it is optional for you to participate and not expected by your employer.
- Car park. This is a perk if the employer covers the cost of renting or leasing the park. If it is on land owned by the service or available to staff or users of the service then it’s not technically a benefit that forms part of the pay package.
- Gym membership or subsidised membership at a local gym
- Flexibility in work hours. This is a big benefit for many working in early childhood education, who may have young children or school aged children or elderly parents and other family responsibilities.
- Free or subsidised childcare. It is common for discount of around 50% to be given to staff by employers. Few services offer entirely free childcare except in hard-to-staff areas and not all will allow staff to enrol their child at their service.
- Paid doctor visits
- Health insurance cover
- Income protection insurance cover
- Check out if your ECE employer offers more than the minimum legally required conditions under employment law for:
- Kiwisaver
- Annual leave
- Sick leave
What is not a perk or benefit of the job – but rather should be treated as part of the job
- Non-contact time
- Professional development leave and course fees paid where directly related to the work of the teacher.
- Payment of cost of renewing teaching practising certificate, first aid refresher courses, etc.
- Uniform or items of clothing with the service logo – unless wearing the uniform is optional this is not a perk of the job but a requirement of employment.
(10) The value of working in a happy supportive professional atmosphere
People who are attracted to working in early childhood education and care usually decide on this occupation for social reasons; they like people and they like children.
Social support, friendship and having colleagues you can rely on really do matter!
Working with children as part of a team is a reason why many people go for early childhood teaching over primary teaching. In primary teaching you can be in a classroom with a group of children alone whereas in early childhood you are part of a team!
(11) Why we should not rely on the KTCA for pay parity
The government has backtracked on being the part-owner of kindergartens and says kindergartens are not state services. It sees teachers as being employed by kindergarten associations even though it negotiates a collective agreement for teacher pay and conditions with the NZEI. Therefore, in case the government ever chooses to walk away from the pay negotiating table with the union at any time in the future, it is necessary for pay parity for ECE teachers to be enshrined in law so no government can renege on the commitment to pay parity.
The government needs to make a legal commitment to pay parity for teachers in kindergartens and non-kindergarten teacher-led centres pegged to what public school teachers earn.
(12) Attestation rate changes overtime
The table below shows changes in salary attestation rates for teachers in different qualification groups since 2015.
| Qual Group | 2015 | 2017 (from 1 July) | 2019 (from 1 Aug) | 2020 (from 1 July) | 2021 (from 1 July) | 2022 |
| P1& P2 | $19.45 | $19.74 | $21.87 | $23.97 | $24.69 | $24.69 |
| P3 | $21.33 | $21.65 | $21.87 | $23.97 | $24.69 | $24.69 |
| P3+ | $21.96 | $22.29 | $22.51 | $23.97 | $24.69 | $26.90 |
| P4E | $21.96 | $22.29 | $22.51 | $23.97 | $24.69 | $27.95 |
| P5E | $21.96 | $22.29 | $22.51 | $23.97 | $24.69 | $29.71 |
