View the Act:
The Act updates the Pacific Education Foundation Act 1972 (the PEF Act), with the following key changes:
- revising the definition of a ‘Pacific person’ who can benefit from the Foundation, to better reflect the Pacific population in New Zealand.
- modifying the purpose, composition, and constitution of the PEF Board to enhance its functions, including explicitly providing information and advice to the Minister of Education, the Ministry of Education, and other education agencies (i.e. ERO, TEC, NZQA, the Teaching Council and the Ministry for Pacific Peoples).
- acknowledging the Crown's unique relationship with New Zealand Realm countries and the Treaty of Friendship with Samoa.
- updating the authorised expenditure for the Pacific Education Foundation.
The Act amends the Ngarimu VC 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships Act 1945 (the Ngarimu Act) to:
- recognise the 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board (the Ngarimu Board) as the successor of the 28th (Māori) Battalion (NZ) Association.
- establish a new national Māori representative position on the Ngarimu Board for an individual who has served or is currently serving in the New Zealand Armed Forces.
The Act amends the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 to ensure that Police vetting is conducted for non-teaching and unregistered employees at unlicensed childcare centres, such as gym and mall creches. This vetting must be completed and used to assess any risks to the safety of children before the individual begins work.
The Act amends the Children’s (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children’s Workers) Regulations 2015 to include an additional reference to the ‘Kiwi Access Card’, which reflects the name change from the previous 18+ card.
