The Property Occupancy Document for state schools
The Property Occupancy Document is a legal agreement, between a school and us, for managing school property.
What the Property Occupancy Document (POD) is
School property management is a shared responsibility between schools and us. The POD sets out the roles and responsibilities for each party. It’s legally binding and non-negotiable – this is because we expect a certain standard for every school’s property management.
You don’t need to sign the POD because it’s not an individual negotiable contract. It continues to apply to your school even when new board members are elected.
Legislation governing the POD
Section 161 of the Education and Training Act 2020 enables the Secretary for Education to specify terms and conditions applying generally to land and buildings occupied by boards.
These terms and conditions are officially notified through the POD for non-integrated state schools. Whenever any changes are made to the standard POD, we re-notify the POD in the New Zealand Gazette.
Section 161 Education and Training Act 2020 – New Zealand Legislationopen_in_new
What boards need to do
You need to read and understand the POD to understand your responsibilities in relation to managing your school’s property.
Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoa (formerly the New Zealand School Trustees Association) has an introduction to school property management with an overview of the main roles and responsibilities as covered in the POD.
An introduction to property in schools – Te Whakarōputanga Kaitiaki Kura o Aotearoaopen_in_new
Signing a memorandum of acknowledgement
We ask the board of each new or merging school to sign an acknowledgement of the POD – by signing you're showing you're aware that the POD is the basis of your school occupancy. Even if you don’t sign the memorandum, the POD still applies.