Financial assistance

Returning to Teaching Allowance

There are many ex-teachers in the community who may be seriously considering re-entering the profession.  The $2000 Returning to Teaching Allowance is designed to help meet any costs incurred in returning to teaching.  It applies to secondary and early childhood teaching positions only.

For more specific details and criteria, click on Returning to Teaching Allowance (secondary) and Returning to Teaching Allowance (early childhood).

Māori immersion teacher allowance (MITA)

Full-time Māori immersion qualified teachers who teach the curriculum in te reo Māori at immersion levels 1-3 for more than 31 percent of their teaching time, are entitled to an annual allowance equivalent to one salary unit.

Full-time unqualified teachers who teach the curriculum in te reo Māori at immersion levels 1-3 are entitled to an annual allowance of $1500.  Schools can download the MITA application form from the Ministry of Education’s website.

National Relocation Grant (NRG)

This is an incentive from within New Zealand only to encourage primary and secondary teachers to positions that are hard-to-staff or have priority staffing status, and early childhood teachers to hard-to-staff services.

    NRG for school teachers

• teachers of full time primary or 0.5 FTTE secondary or more are eligible for either $1500 for a 6 – 9 week appointment or $3000 for an appointment of 20 weeks plus.
• teachers may have the option of choosing the NRG or contract entitlements such as transfer and removal provisions if they meet the eligibility criteria.
• teachers must apply for the NRG within 8 weeks of being appointed.

    The link to application forms can be viewed below.

    NRG for ECE teachers

This is an incentive to encourage early childhood teachers to secure a teaching position in hard-to-staff areas. The Grant is for $3000 where the term of employment is for 20 teaching weeks or more.  The link to application forms can be viewed below.

Retraining programmes

Retraining programmes funded by the Ministry of Education are offered free through a range of providers.  From July 2007 the following providers are offering retraining courses:  University of Auckland for primary and secondary teachers, University of Waikato for secondary teachers at two locations - Hamilton and by flexible delivery which will take primary teachers.  Secondary retraining will also take place at Massey University and the University of Canterbury.

Contact your nearest teacher education provider to discuss programmes they have planned or to place your name on a list of interested participants. 

Primary and secondary teachers completing retraining programmes funded by the Ministry of Education are given the same allowances as beginning teachers and qualified teachers when they return to the classroom.