Compare the parties.

Party proposal

ACT would limit state schools to three compulsory branded uniform items and require generic options for everyday clothing such as trousers and socks. Families could buy those items from ordinary clothing retailers.

Who it covers

State-school families. Sports strips, kapa haka uniforms and tracksuits would be excluded from the proposed rules.

Timing

No implementation date specified in the reviewed source.

Cost & funding stated by the party

This is a proposed change to education law. The reviewed page does not provide a programme cost or quantified household saving.

Party proposal

ACT would let teachers send seriously or persistently disruptive students to a supervised room, with escalation before reasonable physical removal. It proposes mandatory stand-down or suspension after assaults, parent meetings, fines for unexplained non-attendance and recovery of deliberate property-damage costs.

Who it covers

Schools, students and parents. Removed students must stay supervised; empty or lockable rooms and corporal punishment would remain prohibited.

Timing

No implementation date is specified in the accessible summary.

Cost & funding stated by the party

The summary gives no staffing or implementation cost. The fiscal plan has no separately named behaviour-policy line and retains unannounced initiatives.

The linked full behaviour paper could not be retrieved. The summary caps missed-meeting fines at $300 initially and $3,000 for later offences, with a reasonable-excuse exception.

Party proposal

The Greens propose free early childhood education delivered as a public good, ending for-profit provision; wider learning-support eligibility; and expanded locally made school lunches towards universal coverage. They would reset curriculum reforms and co-develop a long-term educator workforce plan.

Who it covers

Children, families and educators, including learners needing disability or health support and Māori-medium education communities.

Timing

The chapter describes these commitments without a dated implementation or transition schedule.

Cost & funding stated by the party

No total package cost or annual funding path is specified in the reviewed education chapter. Free early learning, support services and a wider lunch programme require public funding.

Party proposal

The Greens propose a universal student income, including postgraduates, and at least living-wage pay for required work placements. They would expand free apprenticeships, reduce loan repayments and work towards fees-free tertiary study and a student-debt write-off, alongside stronger local polytechnic funding and governance.

Who it covers

Tertiary students, including postgraduates, placement students and apprentices; tertiary staff and local communities would also be affected.

Timing

No dated rollout. Fees-free study and debt relief are directions to work towards, without an immediate universal entitlement.

Cost & funding stated by the party

The reviewed tertiary chapter does not quantify the student income rate, total reform cost or annual financing schedule.

Party proposal

The Greens propose a pathway into work, education or training for 16–24-year-olds out of work for six months. A Jobs for Young People pilot would fund additional community jobs, while expanded Mayors Taskforce for Jobs support would target 32,000 placements across all 67 councils.

Who it covers

Young people meeting the six-month unemployment criterion, with councils, iwi, businesses and community organisations involved. The page says programme jobs must not replace existing workers.

Timing

Announced 11 October 2026. A dated pilot rollout and the period for the 32,000-placement target were not verified from the available web sources.

Cost & funding stated by the party

Detailed funding and costings remain unverified: the official full-policy link could not be read during this review. The accessible web announcement and summary do not state a dollar amount; that is a source-access limit, not evidence the full paper lacks costings.

The guarantee includes education or training pathways; it should not be described as an immediate unconditional job for every young person. The placement target is not verified as annual.

Party proposal

Labour proposes limits on compulsory branded uniform items and cheaper generic alternatives, locally made school lunches funded at $5 per meal ($6.50 for Years 9–13), and restoring cancelled rural school bus routes where possible.

Who it covers

School families, participating school-lunch students and affected rural communities. The page does not promise every rural route can be restored.

Timing

Uniform changes and fresh school lunches from Term 1 2028. No fixed date for rural bus restoration is given.

Cost & funding stated by the party

The fiscal PDF lists $590.8m for school lunches in 2028/29–2030/31. Its first allocation is later than the web page’s Term 1 2028 start; scope and timing need reconciliation. Separate uniform and rural-bus amounts were not identified in that table.

The fare cap is covered separately under Living costs & tax. A timing or source-edition difference does not establish an unfunded programme.

Party proposal

Labour would reduce qualifying graduates’ outstanding student loans by 10%. Existing graduates qualify on 1 April 2027; current and future students qualify after three years based in New Zealand following study. Balances of $2,000 or less would be cleared under that three-year route.

Who it covers

New Zealand-based borrowers who have finished study, meet their loan obligations and did not receive Fees Free. Repayments remain income-based.

Timing

Existing eligible graduates: 1 April 2027. Labour expects the first three-year-route reductions in 2031.

Cost & funding stated by the party

The fiscal plan sets aside $420m capital for the initial write-off and $163.1m operating over 2026/27–2030/31. The policy estimates nearly $40m annually once fully running from 2031; costs use loan fair value rather than the face value owed.

Party proposal

Labour proposes $500 monthly employer payments for two years, a $1,000 starter toolbox grant, five additional training areas and a mentoring pilot. New areas include road construction, water and sanitary engineering, personal services, sales and marketing, and sports and recreation.

Who it covers

Employers and apprentices in accredited programmes, with expanded eligibility. Grants cover starting tools, kit, uniforms and course materials.

Timing

New areas, grant and mentoring pilot: 1 July 2027. Two-year employer payments: 1 July 2028.

Cost & funding stated by the party

The fiscal plan allocates $21m/$64m/$69.5m/$71.5m in 2027/28–2030/31: $226m total, or $56.5m annually on average. It is funded within Labour’s Budget allowances.

Party proposal

Labour proposes a contestable fund for Māori providers, including marae and iwi trusts, to deliver employment-focused training linked to local employers and recognised qualifications. Programmes would combine practical skills with mentoring and support to complete training and remain in work.

Who it covers

Māori of all ages seeking a first job, retraining or more secure work; Māori providers would apply to deliver programmes shaped around local skills needs.

Timing

As soon as possible after Budget 2027; no exact commencement day is given.

Cost & funding stated by the party

The policy specifies $21m annually through reprioritisation and existing baselines in Budget 2027. The fiscal table separately includes $21m in each of 2027/28–2030/31: $84m over four years. This is separate from Apprenticeship Boost.

Party proposal

National proposes school-readiness checks, screen-use rules, consistent term dates and qualification changes. Its manifesto also describes learning-support coordinators and teacher-aide hours as already delivered or funded reforms.

Who it covers

Children, families and schools. The coordinator proposal covers schools with Year 1–8 students; students would stay until Year 11 is completed or age 16, whichever is later, with exemptions for employment or further training.

Timing

NCEA replacement begins in 2028. The coordinators and two million additional annual teacher-aide hours are part of an already funded rollout from 2028.

Cost & funding stated by the party

The ECE paper refers to existing $266m Early Intervention Service funding. Screen-use changes are primarily regulatory; checks build on existing information. A whole-package new spending cost is not stated in these papers.

Party proposal

National would lower the compulsory domestic student-loan repayment rate from 12% to 10% and add penalties and enforcement for overseas borrowers. Lower repayments do not cancel the loan.

Who it covers

Domestic borrowers making income-based repayments and overseas borrowers covered by the enforcement proposals. Existing repayment thresholds remain relevant.

Timing

The domestic repayment-rate change starts 1 April 2027. The cost table covers 2026/27–2030/31.

Cost & funding stated by the party

The five-year net operating cost is $372.6m after forecast penalty revenue and enforcement recoveries, matching the fiscal plan. The $296m current-year charge is principally a loan-book valuation effect; slower cash repayments affect debt on a separate path not fully scheduled here.

The enforcement estimate assumes $25m gross annual recoveries for $10m of extra annual funding, leaving $15m net. This is a collection assumption, not a guaranteed return.

Party proposal

A signed NZ First response proposes ECE group-based supervision ratios and spot checks, retaining 20 free hours without minimum-hours loopholes, and an Independent Curriculum Council. It also proposes higher student-allowance and loan-repayment thresholds, matching repayments for graduates working here, and vocational pathways.

Who it covers

Children, families, tertiary students and trainees.

Timing

No commencement dates or new thresholds are given.

Cost & funding stated by the party

The response gives no total cost or annual funding schedule for these proposals.

This party-signed response is hosted externally; it is not a consolidated manifesto or fiscal plan.

Party proposal

Opportunity would increase science and technology funding, support small businesses, and strengthen Commerce Commission powers through the High Court.

Who it covers

Researchers, businesses, returning graduates and consumers. The July paper includes conditional student-loan interest forgiveness, rather than cancelling every returning graduate’s loan.

Timing

Longer-term R&D targets extend over a decade and to 2050. There is no full annual rollout schedule for the package.

Cost & funding stated by the party

Listed annual operating additions sum to $1,330.5m, consistent with the $1.33bn headline. The party proposes future Tax Reset revenue or a Budget allocation; the timing of funding remains a question.

Party proposal

Opportunity would seek a ten-year cross-party education plan and an independent curriculum and assessment council. Within that plan it would advocate better teacher support, tighter early-learning quality standards, more community-owned provision, and stronger connections between academic and vocational education.

Who it covers

Learners, whānau and educators from early childhood through tertiary study. Proposed early-learning ratios are 1:3 for under-twos, 1:5 at 24–36 months and 1:8 from age three, with 80% minimum qualifications in teacher-led services.

Timing

A ten-year school and early-learning plan and a 20-year tertiary Skills and Learning Accord; no commencement date or complete rollout schedule is supplied.

Cost & funding stated by the party

No total cost is provided. Opportunity would seek additional teaching and early-learning funding through the cross-party plan, rather than publishing committed annual allocations in this paper.

The paper advocates these changes within a negotiated long-term plan. It would leave qualification decisions, including the proposed NCEA replacement, to the independent council.

Party proposal

Te Pāti Māori supports Māori-led education authority, more Māori knowledge within learning, and greater Māori participation in education governance. It also proposes removing obstacles to whānau accessing education and training.

Who it covers

Māori learners, whānau and communities participating in education and training.

Timing

No implementation date is stated in the current official summary.

Cost & funding stated by the party

The reviewed summary does not specify a total budget or particular funding allocations.

A full current education programme paper was not located. This card is limited to the official position available now.

Party proposal

Te Pāti Māori would make te reo Māori compulsory in education with age-appropriate progression, require bilingual public institutions, and support staff to learn the language. It would fund whānau, marae, hapū and iwi revitalisation and support Māori-language broadcasting and digital content.

Who it covers

Learners, educators, public servants, whānau and Māori-language providers. The full paper does not specify a Year 10 cutoff for compulsory provision.

Timing

The Manifesto 2026 paper does not state a commencement date or complete rollout.

Cost & funding stated by the party

Stable investment in language initiatives, broadcasting and public-service capability is proposed. The paper gives no total cost or annual allocations.