Ministry: RS7 Return Attestation Changes Fact Sheet

What is changing?

The Attestation of Certificated Teachers’ Salaries section of the RS7 return has been updated for the November 2023 funding round to allow education and care and hospital-based services access to higher funding rates. 

The attestation will remain a single question, where respondents will indicate the salary scale they have paid their certificated teachers. 

However, there will be an additional response to allow ECE services to attest to paying certificated teachers in teaching or management roles according to the Full Parity Salary Scale.

What do you need to do? 

Your Student Management System (SMS) has been updated to show a new attestation section when you complete your RS7 return. 

Respondents will need to complete the attestation question based on the salary scale they have met. 

For the November 2023 funding round services who intend to pay Full Parity Salary Scale (Full Step 1-11 + Full Management Steps) from November 2023 should select this option. By selecting this response your service will be paid the full parity funding rates as part of your November 2023 to February 2024 advance funding payment

Who does it affect? 

Only Education and Care and Hospital Based services are affected by this change. 

The RS7 return for kindergartens, playcentre, homebased and whanau-led kōhanga reo will not change. 

How does the attestation affect my funding? 

The following chart details how a service’s funding rate is impacted by their response to the question in the Attestation of Certificated Teacher’s Salaries section.

What if I do not know if the Full Parity Salary Scale works for my service? 

Services will have two funding rounds where they can attest to the Full Parity Salary Scale (Full Step 1-11 + Full Management Steps) and receive the Full Parity funding rates from the 1 November 2023 funding period. 

The RS7 return completed for the November 2023 funding round allows services to receive their advance funding paid using the Full Parity funding rates. Services will submit this RS7 return from 1 October 2023. 

The RS7 return completed for the March 2024 funding round is when services will confirm a service’s optin to the Full Parity funding rates. Services will submit this return from 1 February 2024. 

Is the November 2023 funding round the final time to opt-in to pay parity? 

No, services can still opt in to pay parity using their RS7 return during any funding round. 

The attestation on the RS7 return allows a service to update their pay parity opt-in status each funding round. This allows a service to opt-in or opt-out of pay parity when their circumstances changes. 

What is the attestation period? 

The attestation period is the time that a service needs to ensure that they have paid their certificated teachers at least the salary amount(s) related to their attestation response.

When marking the Full Parity Salary Scale (Full Step 1-11 + Full Management Steps) option services will need to ensure that they are offering Full Step 1-11 + Full Management Steps salaries for the entire attestation period covered by the RS7, or from the introduction of the Full Parity Salary Scale if they choose to opt into the Full Parity Salary Scale from 1 November 2023.