Download Submission Guide_Education Amendment Bill_November 2025
The Education and Training Act is being amended again – have your say
Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill is making its way through Parliament. It seeks to make significant structural changes to the education system.
It is currently at the Select Committee stage where we can make submissions.
Submissions close midday on 14 January 2026.
We are encouraging members to get together before the end of the school year to make a submission. The other option is to make an individual submission over the summer break.
What is in the Bill? Why do we need to submit?
The Bill contains changes to a number of systems that affect secondary teachers and principals, in ways that seek to significantly increase the powers of the Minister of Education in the education sector. The two things that are of most concern are:
- Giving the Minister of Education the ability to make changes to the curriculum without consulting the sector.
- Moving the professional standard setting functions from the Teaching Council to the Ministry of Education, giving further political influence over the profession.
What else is in the Bill?
The Bill also contains:
- Changes to allow state schools that have been converted into Charter Schools to convert back
- The introduction of “schools of serious concern” as a category for ERO.
Your submission does not need to cover all of these changes, and can be as thorough or as brief as you require to make the points that are of most importance to you.
These changes represent a significant change to the education sector, and we urge you to have your say, even though it comes at this inconvenient time when teachers most need to rest and recharge.
Read about the changes and make your submission here:
Attached to this page is a submission guide to help you. It covers all the relevant areas of the Bill in detail so you choose the parts that relate to the areas you want to address.
Thank you for all the time, effort and care you continue to put into ensuring that the education sector is the best it possibly can be for teachers and students.