The minimum wage in New Zealand for 2026: the three rates, who gets which, and how to check your pay

The three rates from 1 April 2026, and who gets each

The rates are set each year by an Order in Council under the Minimum Wage Act 1983. The Minimum Wage Order 2026 came into force on 1 April 2026 and sets them by the hour, the day, the week and the fortnight:

The adult rate is for everyone aged 16 or over who is not on one of the two lower rates. It is the default: an employer who wants to pay less has to fit you into one of the classes below.

The starting-out rate covers three groups, and only if you are not supervising or training other workers:

• You are 16 or 17 and have not yet completed six months' continuous employment with your current employer.
• You are 18 or 19, you have been paid one or more specified benefits continuously for at least six months, and you have not yet completed six months' continuous employment with any employer since the benefit started. The benefits are emergency benefit, jobseeker support, sole parent support, supported living payment, young parent payment and youth payment.
• You are 16 to 19 and your employment agreement requires you to do at least 40 credits a year of training under a training agreement or an apprenticeship training agreement with your employer.

Employment New Zealand counts six months as the next six calendar months from your first day of work, however many hours or days a week you work, and the Act counts work you did for the same employer before you turned 16. Once you complete the six months, the Act says your employer must pay you at least the adult rate. The same applies from the day you stop fitting the class, for example when a 17 year old turns 18 and the training and benefit groups do not cover them.

The training rate is for workers aged 20 or over who are trainees under the Education and Training Act 2020 and whose agreement requires at least 60 credits a year of training, again only if they are not supervising or training others. In practice this mostly means apprentices.

Supervising matters more than people expect. Employment New Zealand is clear that someone who supervises or trains other workers must be paid at least the adult rate, whatever their age or training. The Act also sets a floor under the lower rates: neither may be less than 80% of the adult rate.

A few people sit outside the Act altogether. A Labour Inspector can issue a minimum wage exemption permit to a worker whose disability significantly limits them in the work, and the Act does not apply to a short list of groups, such as members of a charitable institution doing its work.

Every hour counts, on a salary or a piece rate too

Section 6 of the Act entitles you to be paid for your work at no less than the minimum rate, whatever your agreement says. Employment New Zealand applies that to every kind of pay: wages, salary, commission and piece rates all have to clear the minimum for the hours you work. Our article on overtime and the law covers how extra hours are paid; this section is the check itself.

For a salary, Employment New Zealand's check is to divide your pay before tax by the hours you worked in the pay period. The Order sets the minimum by pay period. Paid weekly, an adult must get at least $958 a week plus $23.95 for each hour over 40 that week. Paid any other way, such as fortnightly or monthly, it is $1,916 a fortnight plus $23.95 for each hour over 80 in the fortnight.

Here is that check for a 50-hour week. A salary of $54,000 a year, paid weekly, is $1,038.46 a week. The minimum for 50 hours is $958 plus 10 hours at $23.95, which is $1,197.50, so the week falls $159.04 short. Spread over the 50 hours, the salary paid $20.77 an hour. That salary covers just over 43 hours a week at the adult rate, and every week longer than that needs topping up.

Piece rates work the same way. Take a made-up picking week: 30 bins at $28 a bin is $840, earned over 38 hours. That is $22.11 an hour, so the employer must top it up to $910.10, the adult minimum for 38 hours, an extra $70.10. A fast week that clears the minimum does not cancel out a slow one: each pay period is checked on its own.

The hours are the hours you work, not only the ones on the roster. Employment New Zealand says an activity is generally work if it is an integral part of the main job, and gives staff meetings before a shift, opening and closing the business, cleaning up and on-the-job training as examples. Unpaid minutes like these are where most shortfalls hide.

Under 16: no minimum wage

The adult rate starts at 16, and Employment New Zealand confirms there is no minimum wage for employees aged 15 or under. An employer can lawfully agree a lower hourly rate for a first job at 14 or 15.

The minimum wage is the only right that falls away. Someone under 16 who is employed is still an employee, so the rest of employment law applies to them as to anyone, starting with a written employment agreement. Employment New Zealand adds two limits for school-aged employees under 16: work must be outside school hours, and not between 10 pm and 6 am.

The rate changes on the 16th birthday. From that day the adult rate applies, unless one of the starting-out groups fits. A 16 year old who has already worked six months for the same employer cannot be in the first group, because their time before turning 16 counts towards the six months.

What can be taken off first, and why holiday pay stays out

Some deductions come off after the check, and a few change it. Three rules matter.

• Board and lodging. If your employer provides accommodation, section 7 of the Act limits how far it can reduce your minimum wage pay. Unless a value is fixed by an Act, a determination or your agreement, the limit is 15% for board (accommodation and meals) and 5% for lodging (accommodation only). Employment New Zealand says the minimum wage is worked out before the accommodation deduction is made.
• Other deductions. Under the Wages Protection Act 1983, anything else needs your written consent or written request, a specific deduction under a general deductions clause needs consultation first, and an unreasonable deduction is not allowed. Charging you a fee to get or keep a job is illegal. Our article on what your employer can deduct from your pay goes through the rules.
• KiwiSaver. Your employer's compulsory KiwiSaver contribution is paid on top of at least the minimum wage, never out of it.

Holiday pay is the other trap. Some casual and short fixed-term employees are paid holiday pay as they go: at least 8% of gross earnings, which the Holidays Act 2003 says must be an identifiable part of your pay, and which Employment New Zealand describes as paid on top of your pay. It is holiday pay, not pay for the hours you worked, so leave it out of the check. A made-up example shows why. An offer of $24 an hour "including 8% holiday pay" leaves $24 divided by 1.08, or $22.22 an hour, for the work itself, which is below the adult minimum wage.

How to check your pay, and what to do if it falls short

The check needs two things for each pay period: the hours you worked and your gross pay. Your payslip gives the pay, if you get one; Employment New Zealand notes payslips are only required where your agreement provides for them, and you can always ask for your wages and time record instead. The hours are best taken from your own record, written on the day, with start, finish and unpaid breaks.

1. Add up the hours worked in the pay period, less unpaid breaks. The weekly timesheet calculator adds a week of start and finish times for you, counts a night shift to its finish, and warns if your hourly rate is below the adult rate.
2. Take your gross pay for the same period, leaving out any 8% holiday pay, reimbursements and your employer's KiwiSaver contribution.
3. Divide the pay by the hours, or compare it with the Order's figure for your pay period: $958 a week plus $23.95 for each hour over 40 on the adult rate.
4. Do the same for the next period. A shortfall in any one period is a shortfall.

Your Timesheets at jobtracker.co.nz keeps that record as you go: start a timer when you start, or type the start, finish and unpaid break afterwards, with a note for the evening you stayed late, and every change is kept in the entry's history. Logging is free on every plan. It gives you the hours; the comparison with your payslip is yours to make, and the calculator above helps with it.

If the numbers fall short, raise it with your employer in writing, with the dates and hours. You can ask for your wages and time record, which your employer must give you immediately for any time in the last six years. Section 11 of the Act lets you, or a Labour Inspector, recover the difference through the Employment Relations Authority, even if you accepted the lower pay at the time, and Employment New Zealand says arrears of wages can go back six years. Its helpline is 0800 20 90 20, and its free mediation service can help you settle it. Our article on claiming unpaid wages walks through each step.

If your pay clears the minimum but still feels low for the work, that is a market question rather than a legal one, and our article on whether you are being underpaid shows how to compare your pay with what employers are paying for the same role.

Keep the hours you check your pay against