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16/01/2026
James Webb
[FYI request #33065 email]
Tēnā koe James
OIA: GEMS-46063 – Ministry recruitment, restructuring and contractors
Thank you for your email of 30 November 2025 to the Ministry of Education (the Ministry)
requesting the following information:
1. When did the Ministry decide to begin a 'hiring freeze' in preparation for the restructure
that occurred in 2024? Was this decided by Senior Leadership or a direction from the
Minister of Education?
2. How many positions were disestablished in each department? Please include both the
total and the positions left vacant due to a lack of hiring.
3. What was the average salary of staff disestablished? Please include the Ministry-wide
total, and per department average.
4. How many currently contracted staff have previously worked for the Ministry?
5. How many permanent staff have been employed as contractors with the Ministry in the
last 12 months?
6. Are contractors subject to the same hiring process as internal or external candidates?
Please detail this process
Your request has been considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act).
1. When did the Ministry decide to begin a 'hiring freeze' in preparation for the restructure
that occurred in 2024? Was this decided by Senior Leadership or a direction from the
Minister of Education?
We have interpreted “the restructure” as
structural changes resulting from the Ministry’s savings
programme.
Due to the Government’s savings requirements at that time, the Ministry identified ways to achieve
these savings and took a number of steps to reduce costs. The decisions to do so were made by
the Ministry’s Senior Leadership Team.
Wellington National Office, 1 The Terrace, Levels 5 to 14, Wellington 6011
PO Box 1666, Wellington 6140, DX SR51201 Phone: +64 4 463 8000
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From November 2023, these decisions included a pause on recruitment for certain roles only, while
recruitment for specified frontline delivery roles continued. Further information on the Ministry’s
savings programme is publicly available and can be found her
e: https://www.education.govt.nz/our-
work/information-releases/issue-specific-information-releases/ministry-educations-savings-
programme.
Parts two and three of your request have been interpreted as relating to the above-mentioned
structural changes resulting from the Ministry’s savings programme.
2. How many positions were disestablished in each department? Please include both the
total and the positions left vacant due to a lack of hiring
Table One: Total Ministry net position change in the 2024/25 Savings Programme
restructure
Disestablished
New
Net change
Notes
-1143
483
-660
Includes 343 vacant positions
Table Two: Total number of positions disestablished in the 2024/25 Savings Programme
restructure by Business Group, broken down by total and vacant only
Business Group
Positions
Positions
Disestablished (Vacant Disestablished (Vacant
& Occupied)
only)
Te Mahau Takiwā | Te Tai Raro
53
5
Te Mahau Takiwā | Te Tai Runga
72
9
Te Mahau Takiwā | Te Tai Whenua
60
12
Te Pae Aronui
245
118
Te Pou Hanganga, Matihiko |
240
36
Infrastructure & Digital
Te Pou Kaupapahere | Policy
44
1
Te Pou Ohumahi Mātauranga | Education
58
28
Workforce
Te Pou Rangatōpū | Corporate
75
37
Te Pou Tuarongo
10
5
Te Poutāhū (Curriculum Centre)
286
92
Ministry Total
1143
343
OIA: GEMS-46063
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3. What was the average salary of staff disestablished? Please include the Ministry-wide
total, and per department average
We have interpreted part three of your request as
only staff that were made redundant (voluntary
or otherwise) and were in a disestablished position. Please find the information requested in
Table
Three below.
Average salary of staff in disestablished roles is the employee's salary as of the time
that consultation ended. The total process spanned several months, so some employees’ salaries
may have changed between the time this data was captured and when the employee left the
disestablished role. Due to the numbers of disestablished staff being below five, I am withholding
the averages for two Ministry business units – Te Pou Ohumahi Mātauranga (Education
Workforce), and Te Pou Tuarongo – under section 9(2)(a) of the Act, to protect the privacy of
natural persons.
As required under section 9(1) of the Act, I have considered the public interest in releasing the
information withheld. I do not consider that the public interest considerations favouring the release
of this information are sufficient to outweigh the need to withhold it at this time.
Table Three: Breakdown by Business Group of the average salary of staff that were made
redundant (voluntary or otherwise) and were in a disestablished position
Business Group
Average full time equivalent base salary
Te Mahau Takiwā | Te Tai Raro
$118,710
Te Mahau Takiwā | Te Tai Runga
$119,637
Te Mahau Takiwā | Te Tai Whenua
$115,562
Te Pae Aronui
$128,436
Te Pou Hanganga, Matihiko | Infrastructure &
$128,675
Digital
Te Pou Kaupapahere | Policy
$168,331
Te Pou Rangatōpū | Corporate
$163,275
Te Poutāhū (Curriculum Centre)
$120,216
Ministry Average
$128,474
4. How many currently contracted staff have previously worked for the Ministry?
We have used a period of two years to determine when a contractor has previously worked for the
Ministry. As of 15 December 2025, there were six contractors working for the Ministry who have
previously been employed in a permanent or fixed-term capacity in the last 24 months.
OIA: GEMS-46063
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5. How many permanent staff have been employed as contractors with the Ministry in the
last 12 months?
We interpreted
part five of your request as current permanent staff who have previously
contracted for the Ministry in the last 12 months, excluding staff who have since left. As of
15 December 2025, there were five permanent staff who worked as contractors for the Ministry in
the last 12 months.
6. Are contractors subject to the same hiring process as internal or external candidates?
Please detail this process.
The hiring process for contractors is not the same as for employees. Contractors are sourced
through recruitment agencies, whereby CVs for the role are submitted to the Hiring Manager, who
may undertake interviews or appoint directly, depending on the market and also the tenure. Due
diligence such as reference and police checks are undertaken if needed.
Please note, we may publish this response on our website after five working days. Your name and
contact details wil be removed.
Thank you again for your email. You have the right to ask an Ombudsman to review my decision
on your request, in accordance with section 28 of the Act. You can do this by writing to
[email address] or to Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, Wellington 6143.
Nāku noa, nā
Anne Marie Taggart
Hautū (Taupua) | Deputy Secretary (Acting)
Te Pou Rangatōpū | Corporate
OIA: GEMS-46063
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