Minimum wage
New Zealand has a statutory minimum wage set each year: an adult rate that most employees are entitled to, plus a lower starting-out and training rate for eligible workers. The figures shown are those in force for the current tax year.
The statutory rates
New Zealand sets a statutory minimum wage that most employees are entitled to. From 1 April 2026 the adult minimum wage is $23.95 an hour. There is also a lower starting-out and training rate of $19.16 an hour, which applies only to specific groups — certain younger workers in their first months of employment, some 16- and 17-year-olds, and employees doing recognised industry training. Everyone else on the minimum is entitled to the adult rate.
What that is over a week and a year
The minimum wage is quoted per hour, so the weekly and yearly figures depend on your hours. At 40 hours a week, the adult rate of $23.95 an hour works out to roughly $958 a week, or about $49,816 a year — before any deductions. Fewer hours, or the starting-out rate, come to proportionally less.
Gross, not take-home
The minimum wage is a gross hourly rate — it is what you’re paid before PAYE income tax, the ACC Earners’ Levy, any KiwiSaver contribution and any student-loan repayment come out. To see what a minimum-wage salary actually lands as in the hand, put the gross into the calculator on the home page and set your KiwiSaver and student-loan options.
Where the rate comes from
The minimum wage is set under the Minimum Wage Act 1983 and reviewed each year, with the new rates set by a Minimum Wage Order that usually takes effect on 1 April. Because it is reviewed annually, the rate on this page is tied to the current tax year and will be re-checked at each review.
The rates on this page are the rates in force for the current tax year; the content is in preparation and pending review.