Election 2026

New Zealand political parties - policies on mandatory pay gap reporting

At Still Minding the Gap, we know that research shows mandatory pay gap reporting is an important tool in helping to close pay gaps. So where do our political parties stand on this issue?

The New Zealand Council of Women asked parties: “What is your Party’s position on pay transparency mechanisms, including mandatory public reporting of gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps?”

  • Labour, the Greens and the Opportunity Party committed to introducing mandatory pay gap reporting.

  • New Zealand First did not rule it out but said further research and investigation were needed.

  • Te Pāti Māori supported expanding pay transparency mechanisms but did not commit to mandatory reporting.

  • National and ACT did not respond. National Party comments in recent months have indicated support for voluntary pay gap reporting only.

Full responses below.

QUESTION: “What is your Party’s position on pay transparency mechanisms, including mandatory public reporting of gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps?”

LABOUR

“Labour has introduced the Pay Transparency Bill to the members ballot in the name of Carmel Sepuloni which will require large employers to report pay differences and include pay ranges in job advertisements, shining a light on pay gaps and helping to close them.

This follows Labour introducing, and passing the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Members Bill in the name of Camilla Belich which makes pay secrecy clauses unenforceable and protects workers who discuss their pay from disciplinary action by an employer.”

NATIONAL

No response to question.

GREENS

“We would implement pay transparency requirements with mandatory public reporting of gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps.”

OPPORTUNITY

“Opportunity supports greater pay transparency and mandatory public reporting of gender and ethnic pay gaps for large employers, using a consistent methodology and phasing requirements according to employer size. We recommend a phased implementation, with the policy initially applying to employers with more than 250 employees.”

NEW ZEALAND FIRST

“New Zealand First supports transparency, accountability and fair employment practices. We would consider pay transparency measures that are proportionate, practical and protect individual privacy while enabling meaningful identification of unjustified pay gaps. Any mandatory reporting of gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps should be assessed for its costs, data quality, effectiveness and impact on employers, particularly smaller businesses.”

TE PĀTI MĀORI

“Te Pāti Māori supports expanding pay transparency mechanisms. We recognise that it is difficult to fix any problem if the problem itself is obscured.” 

ACT

No response to question.