Secondary Principals Deliver Overwhelming Mandate With 99% Vote In Favour Of New Collective Agreement

The Secondary Principals' Association of New Zealand (SPANZ) has ratified the Principals' Collective Agreement 2025–2028, with 99 percent of members voting in favour of the settlement.

Scott Haines, SPANZ Union President, said that 92 percent of all eligible members turned out to vote, signalling overwhelming support for the gains secured during negotiations with the Crown.

The negotiations were conducted for the first time directly with the Public Services Commissioner, supported by the Ministry of Education.

"It’s an exceptional result,” said Haines. "This is near-unanimous support, combined with the highest voter turnout we have seen in recent memory.

"This agreement recognises the critical leadership role secondary principals play in our education system, particularly during a period of significant change and economic pressure.”

A Year of Leadership Under Pressure

Haines said that as 2025 draws to a close, it will be remembered as a year marked by government announcements of significant change and the education sector's responses to them.

"It has been a year in which principals' leadership has proven more crucial than ever.

“I am acutely aware of this, particularly as our school budgets, teams, and wider community continue to face the impact of rising costs and economic pressures.

“It was against this backdrop that the SPANZ team entered negotiations on behalf of Aotearoa New Zealand’s secondary principals, emerging with a settlement that delivers meaningful improvements across remuneration, employment protections, and professional recognition,” Haines said.

Renumeration changes include

• A 4.65% base salary increase for members across the 30-month term.
• A one-off $15,000 NCEA Change Implementation Allowance will be paid to recognise the leadership involved in implementing the significant curriculum changes.
• Career Structure payments will increase by $1,500 across all stages.
• Leadership in Realising Youth Potential payments will increase by $1,500, phased over two years.
• An extension of principal salary ‘U-grades’ will recognise those who are responsible for very large schools.
• A Principal Mentor Allowance of $5,000 per annum will be given to those helping to grow the next generation of school leaders.

Personal Grievance Protections Secured:

Following widespread concern about proposed changes to employee protections that would limit the use of personal grievances based on salary earned, SPANZ successfully negotiated to retain personal grievance rights for members earning over $180,000 per annum for the full term of this agreement, regardless of any changes to employment legislation.

"Securing this protection was the most challenging aspect of these negotiations—and one of our most important achievements," Haines said.

Relativity Protection—A First:

For the first time, SPANZ Union has secured a commitment from the Crown to assess and maintain broad comparability between principal and teacher remuneration during the term of this agreement.

"The Crown have been very clear about current fiscal constraints but also noted they are beginning to see the 'green shoots' of an economic recovery.

"This is a significant acknowledgement of the principle of relativity. It establishes a strong precedent for future bargaining rounds," said Haines.

About SPANZ:

The Secondary Principals' Association of New Zealand represents secondary school principals across New Zealand, advocating for excellence in educational leadership and the professional interests of its members.

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