New Crown agency to transform school property management

The Government has confirmed it will establish a new Crown agency – the New Zealand School Property Agency (NZSPA) – to take over planning, building, maintaining and administrating the school property portfolio 

The NZSPA is expected to be established in 2026 and will operate under strong governance, commercial discipline, and clear accountability for value for money across what is the second largest social property portfolio in New Zealand. The Ministry of Education will remain responsible for education policy and network decisions, including where growth is required. 

“A Crown agent balances flexibility, transparency and Ministerial direction while bringing commercial discipline to the leadership and board oversight. It will have a dedicated board with the commercial acumen appropriate to support informed investment decisions for the second largest social property portfolio in New Zealand,” Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said. 

Struggling schools 

A Government Inquiry into School Property found that the Ministry of Education’s process for managing the school property portfolio needed updating, with schools struggling with inefficient project planning and delivery. 

Minister of Education Erica Stanford said: “The Inquiry recommended the Government create a new entity separate from the Ministry of Education to manage school property. The Government accepted this recommendation, and Cabinet has now also agreed on the form that this new entity will take. 

“With the establishment of the NZSPA, schools can expect improved project delivery and communication, better value for money, and an increased level of transparency around decision making. 

“The agency will be established in this Parliamentary term. A Ministerial Advisory Group will provide specialist independent advice on the transition to the new agency. This group is chaired by Murray McCully, with Mark Binns, Rick Herd, Sarah Petersen and Craig Stobo as the other members. 

“School communities can be assured that works and improvements currently underway will continue as planned while we work through the next steps. Our focus remains on driving efficiencies across the school property portfolio through a combination of cost-effective repeatable designs and offsite manufactured buildings.” 

Since the Inquiry, Stanford says the Government has focused on cost-effectiveness using standard designs and offsite manufacturing – which has resulted in a 28% reduction in the average cost of each classroom and a 35% increase in the number of standard or repeatable designs builders delivered.  

“One example was Wellington Girls’ College, where 14 classrooms over four, two-storey modulars were delivered in just 12 weeks at a cost of around $550,000 per classroom. This represented a 35% saving on the current value for money cost per classroom,” she said. 

Boost to infrastructure investment 

Concurrent with the agency announcement, the Government also accelerated new funding to upgrade existing school infrastructure. Through a new $413 million package, $58 million is new money, while the remainder is reallocated or brought forward from existing budgets.   

Stanford said the cost of a new classroom has already been halved – from $1.2 million to $620,000 – thanks to standardised designs, offsite manufacturing, and greater efficiency.  

The infrastructure package includes $58 million for operating maintenance across all schools, $255 million for internal and external improvements in small, rural and isolated schools, and $100 million over five years for urgent infrastructure work.  

Separately, a further $300 million has been allocated to repair and upgrade 33 schools with the most severe condition burdens. The first tranche is $87 million across seven schools, with work scheduled to start from December 2025 and aim for completion by early 2027.  

Wider industry boost 

Stanford said she expects the changes to have a positive impact on the tradie ecosystem – and create “a steady flow of jobs”. 

“This is great news for schools and communities that will benefit for better learning spaces, but it will also power up the trade and construction sectors, creating a steady flow of jobs for builders, plumbers, roofers and more,” she said.