If you have any further questions please call the Voluntary Bonding helpline on 0800 550 790 or email voluntary.bonding@minedu.govt.nz.
To read the Guide for the scheme click here.
For a list of the schools that qualify for the Voluntary Bonding Scheme click here.
The New Zealand education system needs a good supply of teachers in all schools and all subjects. Recognising this, the Voluntary Bonding Scheme was introduced in 2009 to encourage teachers to teach in certain schools and subjects.
If you’re teaching in an eligible school or subject, the scheme will pay you $3,500 before tax per year, for up to five years. The payments will be made at the end of your third, fourth and fifth years – as long as you continue to teach in an eligible school or subject.
If you have a student loan, the money will go towards paying it back; if you don’t, it will go into your salary account to spend on whatever you wish.
The first payments in the scheme were made to teachers at the end of the 2011 school year. To read about voluntary bonding eligibility and view the guide and forms click here.
To see the list of eligible schools and subjects click here.
There’s no up-front ‘bonding agreement’ to sign. You simply start teaching in an eligible school or subject, then apply for your payments after three, four and five years.
You qualify for the Voluntary Bonding Scheme if:
and
and
* This is based on the date on your statement of completion of studies, for a course that qualifies you to receive provisional registration with the New Zealand Teachers Council for the first time.
Note that to receive your payments you must continue teaching in an eligible school or subject for at least three years.
If you think you qualify but haven’t been teaching in an eligible school or subject for three years, complete and send us a Registration of Interest form (found here). We’ll let you know if you’re provisionally eligible.
If you think you qualify for a payment, complete and send us an application form. To read about voluntary bonding eligibility and view the guide and forms click here.
No, only service completed after the scheme was introduced in 2009 counts. Teachers who entered the scheme in 2009 and complete three years’ teaching will receive their first payment at the end of the 2011 school year. To read about voluntary bonding eligibility and view the guide and forms click here.
The Voluntary Bonding Scheme pays you $3,500 before tax, in addition to your salary, for up to five years – as long as you teach in an eligible school or subject.
You get the payment for the first three years at the end of your third year of teaching, then at the end of your fourth and fifth years. The scheme began in 2009, so the first payments will be made to teachers at the end of the 2011 school year. To read about voluntary bonding eligibility and view the guide and forms click here.
Note: To be eligible for a Voluntary Bonding incentive payment you must be registered with a current practising certificate.
The eligible schools are all decile one and severely isolated schools. Read the list of eligible schools, from 2009 to date here.
The eligible subjects since 2009 are:
Note that the eligible schools and subjects are reviewed each year and may change. Check this website for updates.
More than 360 schools throughout New Zealand are in the scheme. Read the list of eligible schools, from 2009 to date here.
Note that the eligible schools and subjects are reviewed each year and may change. Check this website for updates.
You’ll still qualify for payments until your next payment is due, but you won’t receive any subsequent payments.
So, for example, if your school’s decile rating increases in your second year of teaching, you’ll still qualify for the first payment after your third year at the school – but not for payments for teaching at that school in your fourth and fifth years.
If your school stops being eligible for the scheme during your fifth year of teaching, you’ll qualify for payments to cover that fifth year.
If you start teaching within 12 months after completing your teaching qualification, in a school or subject that later becomes eligible for the scheme, you’ll qualify for payments to reflect your service from the time that the school or subject comes into the scheme, until the end of your fifth year of teaching.
For example, if you teach in a decile two school in your first year of teaching, and in your third year that school’s decile decreases to decile one, you’ll qualify for:
Teachers must continue to work in the eligible school(s) or subject areas (but can move within them) for three years in order to receive the first payment.
You apply for your first payment when you’ve completed three years’ teaching in an eligible school or subject. You then apply again at the end of your fourth and fifth years of teaching. To read the scheme's Guide click here. The application form for the 1st payment is available here.
Also, if you as a teacher qualify for voluntary bonding through the subject you’re teaching, your school principal has to sign a Principal’s Declaration form to confirm this (found here).
Note: To be eligible for a Voluntary Bonding incentive payment you must be registered with a current practising certificate.
Under the Voluntary Bonding Scheme:
To qualify for the first payment, you must teach in an eligible school or subject for at least three years continuously (except when you’re on approved leave).
If you take a break in service of more than 14 weeks, excluding approved leave, you will not be eligible for the Voluntary Bonding Scheme.
Note you can move schools and subjects within this timeframe, as long as the school(s) and subject(s) you move to qualify for the scheme.
If you work less than three years, you won’t qualify for any payments.
You can take any paid leave as long as it’s approved and complies with your school’s collective agreement.
If you take a break in service of more than 14 weeks, excluding approved leave, you will not be eligible for the Voluntary Bonding Scheme.
Any unpaid leave you take that lasts more than 90 days in any year, and any single periods of unpaid leave (except unpaid parental leave), are considered pauses in the scheme.
If you take unpaid parental leave lasting more than 14 weeks in any year, or any continuous periods of unpaid leave, this is also considered a pause in the scheme.
A pause does not count toward your payment. It does allow you to resume teaching in an eligible school or subject and accumulate further service towards your payment.
If you take leave leading to a pause in your service, you must complete your first three years eligible service within five years of starting and you must complete the full five years eligible service within eight years of starting.
This is ok, if you stop teaching in an eligible school or subject after three years you will only be eligible for the first payment.
If you’re bonded as a result of a TeachNZ scholarship, you won’t qualify for voluntary bonding payments until you’ve completed your scholarship bonding period.
However, you might qualify for voluntary bonding payments to cover service you’ve completed after your scholarship bonding period, up to the fifth year after you complete your teaching qualification.
Yes. The only restrictions under the Voluntary Bonding Scheme relate to bonded TeachNZ scholarships, the Loan Support Scheme and the Secondary Subjects Trainee Allowance.
You must be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident to be eligible for the scheme and receive payments. If you are not a permanent resident or New Zealand citizen within 12 months of graduation from your teaching qualification then you are not eligible for the voluntary bonding scheme and cannot apply for payments.
Once the Ministry of Education has received and approved your application for a payment, the money goes towards paying off your student loan. If you don’t have a student loan, it goes into your salary bank account.
School principals need to be aware of the Voluntary Bonding Scheme, as it may apply to their staff or roles they’re advertising.
Principals can assist by identifying teachers at their school who may qualify for the scheme by letting them know they’ll need to apply to receive payment. Please also be prepared to complete a form verifying a teacher’s application, if it is subject-based.
Also, if you are a school principal and qualify for voluntary bonding through the subject you’re teaching, your Board of Trustees Chair need to sign a Principal’s Declaration form to confirm this (found here).
You can find more by calling the Voluntary Bonding helpline on 0800 550 790 or emailing voluntary.bonding@minedu.govt.nz