Budget 2026 was not a typical election year budget. Instead of breaking out the pork barrel, Finance Minister Nicola Willis brought forward New Zealand’s projected return to surplus by a year, even if the projection rests on some bold assumptions.

Cast in that light, Vote Education did well. While the ‘fees-free’ year for tertiary students was cancelled and, like most government departments, education agencies will have to trim about 12% of their spending over four years, education as a whole came out ahead. In addition to reallocated savings, about $1 billion in new money will be spent on educational essentials over four years.

The fees-free policy was a failure on its own terms – it has done nothing to boost university enrolments for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. And few educators will mourn cuts to their government agencies, especially when the savings, along with those from the fees-free scheme, will be reinvested in classrooms, teaching resources and professional development.

Many schools have not seen significant investment in their buildings for decades. Most recent classroom builds are large, open-plan rooms designed to be used by multiple teachers and dozens of students working in groups. Their architecture makes whole-class teaching challenging. The budget allocated about $500 million for building new classrooms and modifying those not fit for purpose.

Two other large allocations will support the government’s curriculum reforms. These are about $80 million for new curriculum resources and about $85 million for vocational education.

A massive amount of work has gone into developing a new, knowledge-rich curriculum for New Zealand’s schools. But there is little point in writing a great curriculum if teachers can’t use it. The new resources will help them bring the new curriculum to life in their classrooms.

An exciting feature of the new curriculum will be ‘industry-led’ subjects for Years 12 and 13. For the first time, secondary vocational education will have formal curricula. Spending on vocational education includes funding for Industry Skills Boards to develop those curricula.

Trades Academies are partnerships between secondary schools and tertiary providers to provide secondary students with opportunities for vocational education that schools alone can’t offer. They will be instrumental in delivering industry-led subjects. Funding for Trades Academies was doubled in the budget. While the scheme remains capped, this is a big step in the right direction.

In fiscally difficult times, it is great that the government is still investing in the future.