2026 New Zealand election: graduate jobs and part-time worker rights

The issues you're raising are important because they overlap: getting a job after graduating, earning enough while studying, and having fair treatment when you work part-time.

For someone renting a room, studying at tertiary level, working part-time and repaying a student loan, I'd look at three areas of party policy:

1. Graduate employment: Will there be jobs available when you finish your qualification?
2. Part-time employment rights: What protection will you have over pay, hours, leave, job security and workplace treatment?
3. Student financial pressure: Will you be able to study without having to work so many hours that your education suffers?

Below is a comparison of the main parties' announced positions as at 31 October 2026. These are campaign commitments, not necessarily enacted policies. The distinction between an announced policy and an existing legal right is important.

1. What the parties are proposing

Labour

Graduate employment and worker protections

Labour has announced several policies relevant to your situation.

• Graduate Nurse Job Guarantee: Eligible New Zealand-trained graduate nurses would be offered a job in the health system. The policy covers registered and enrolled nurses, with roles of at least 0.8 full-time equivalent. Job offers would be made on graduation from 2027.
• Fair Pay Agreements: Labour proposes introducing legislation in its first 100 days to allow industry-wide minimum pay and conditions to be negotiated.
• Fairer workplaces: Its October 2026 announcements include making collective agreements the default, restoring certain leave entitlements and banning most non-compete clauses.
• Student loans: Labour proposes a 10% student loan reduction for eligible graduates already making repayments. Current and future students would qualify after remaining in New Zealand for three years following their studies. Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesGraduate Nurse Job GuaranteeKnow Your Vote

Why it matters: The graduate nurse guarantee is quite specific, but it is not a guarantee of employment for graduates in every subject. Fair Pay Agreements could also matter if you work in an industry with relatively low pay.

National

Take-home pay and graduate retention

National's announced Back Pocket Boost for Graduates includes:

• Reducing compulsory student loan repayments for domestic borrowers from 12% to 10%, starting 1 April 2027.
• Tougher measures to recover student loan debt from borrowers who move overseas.
• Encouraging graduates to stay in New Zealand and develop their careers.

National says the repayment reduction would leave an early-career worker earning $75,000 with approximately $39 extra per fortnight. Back Pocket Boost for Graduates

National has also campaigned on reducing compliance costs for businesses, including costs associated with hiring employees.

Why it matters: The student loan change could increase your take-home pay once you earn above the repayment threshold. However, it does not directly create a graduate job or increase the hourly wage of a part-time worker.

Green Party

Student support and workplace rights

The Greens have announced policies that address both the financial pressures of training and employment conditions.

• Paid placements: A universal $380 weekly payment for students completing compulsory placements in areas such as nursing, teaching and social work.
• Relocation support: A $1,500 payment for eligible students who need to move to complete placements.
• Jobs for young people: A proposed programme creating employment opportunities for 16–24-year-olds who have been out of work for six months, through local councils.
• Workplace rights: Support for stronger employment protections, collective worker representation and improved pay.
• Minimum wage: A proposal to raise the minimum wage to $25 an hour.
• Zero-hours contracts: A proposal to ban them. Good Jobs For All of UsManifesto 2026Greens announce paid placements for nurses, teachers, and social workersElection policy tracker: what the parties are promising

Why it matters: The paid-placement policy is particularly relevant if your qualification requires unpaid practical experience. The proposed minimum wage and contract protections could also affect your part-time work.

ACT

ACT's employment approach emphasises business flexibility and reducing employment regulation.

Its stated positions include:

• Retaining 90-day trial periods for eligible employers.
• Opposing legally imposed wage-setting arrangements such as Fair Pay Agreements.
• Reducing administrative requirements for businesses hiring workers.
• Giving employers greater flexibility in employment arrangements. Compare NZ Political Parties Side by SidePolicy scorecards for working people NZCTU

Why it matters: This approach prioritises flexibility for employers. The question to consider is how much flexibility you want your employer to have compared with the security and collective bargaining protections available to you.

New Zealand First

New Zealand First has emphasised employment opportunities for New Zealanders and changes to immigration and student work arrangements.

Its announced immigration policies include removing automatic work rights for international students and requiring them to meet additional conditions before working.

It has also expressed support for lifting the minimum wage annually over the next three years, according to its published policy positions. NZ First Announces Immigration Reform PoliciesParty policies, simplified: Employment

Why it matters: Its immigration policies are particularly relevant to international students. If you are a domestic student, the more relevant questions are its minimum-wage position and broader employment policies.

Te Pāti Māori

Te Pāti Māori's employment approach includes:

• Supporting a higher minimum wage, with a commitment to move towards the Living Wage.
• Restoring pay equity protections.
• Supporting Māori-led employment, training and economic development.
• Addressing inequalities in access to secure and fairly paid work. Party policies, simplified: EmploymentElection 2026

Why it matters: Its approach is relevant to questions about low-paid work, wage inequality and access to training. Its proposals should be distinguished from specific guarantees of graduate employment.

The Opportunities Party (TOP)

TOP has a range of economic, education and tax proposals, but the available 2026 workforce policy tracker records no specific workforce policy released in its comparison. It would therefore be misleading to attribute a particular graduate-job or part-time-worker commitment to TOP without a published policy. Election 2026Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising

2. Comparing the policies that could affect your part-time job

Here are the main differences in approach.

Issue	Parties' approaches
Minimum wage	Greens propose $25 an hour; Te Pāti Māori supports moving towards the Living Wage; NZ First supports annual increases.
Industry-wide pay agreements	Labour proposes restoring Fair Pay Agreements; ACT opposes them.
Zero-hours contracts	Greens propose banning them; Labour's proposed workplace reforms include broader protections.
Trial periods	ACT supports 90-day trials; worker-protection proposals from other parties include abolishing them.
Collective bargaining	Labour and Greens support stronger collective worker representation.
Student financial support	Greens propose $380 weekly payments during eligible compulsory placements; Labour and National propose student loan repayment reductions.

The NZ Council of Trade Unions has published a 2026 election scorecard examining these issues. It notes that National and ACT declined to answer its industrial-policy questionnaire, so some of their positions are drawn from public statements and legislative history instead. Policy scorecards for working people NZCTUCompare NZ Political Parties Side by SideGood Jobs For All of UsBack Pocket Boost for Graduates

3. What rights do you already have as a part-time worker?

This is important because you don't need to wait for the election to have basic workplace protections.

Under New Zealand employment law, part-time employees generally have the same minimum employment rights as full-time employees.

According to Employment New Zealand:

• Written employment agreement: Your employer must provide one.
• Minimum wage: You must be paid at least the applicable minimum wage for your work.
• Breaks: You are entitled to legally required paid rest breaks and unpaid meal breaks.
• Annual holidays: Four weeks of annual holidays after 12 months of continuous employment.
• Sick leave: Eligible employees receive 10 days per year after meeting the six-month qualifying conditions.
• Public holidays: You are entitled to the relevant public holiday protections, including time-and-a-half if you work on a public holiday and an alternative holiday when applicable.
• Protection from discrimination: Your employer cannot discriminate against you because of protected characteristics or unlawfully disadvantage you for exercising employment rights.

Importantly, being a student or working fewer hours does not remove these protections. Employee rights and responsibilitiesUnderstanding types of workersTaking sick leave

One issue particularly relevant to students is guaranteed working hours.

Zero-hours contracts are illegal. If your employer requires you to be available for additional work beyond your guaranteed hours, an availability clause must meet legal requirements, including a genuine reason based on reasonable grounds and reasonable compensation.

This is worth checking if your employer regularly changes your shifts or expects you to remain available when you have classes or assignments.

You can find the official information at Employment New Zealand – Employee rights and responsibilities.

4. Which policy areas should you pay closest attention to?

Rather than choosing a party based on one promise, it may help to separate the problems you are experiencing.

Your concern	Policies to investigate
Working too many hours to afford rent	Student allowances, placement payments and income support
Not enough time for study	Predictable rosters, guaranteed hours and availability rules
Low hourly pay	Minimum wage and Living Wage proposals
Uncertainty after graduation	Graduate job guarantees, apprenticeships and public-sector recruitment
Student loan deductions	Repayment rates and student debt reduction
Unfair treatment at work	Trial periods, personal grievances and union rights

One distinction is particularly important: reducing your student loan repayment rate can increase your take-home pay, but it doesn't necessarily reduce the amount of work you need to do to afford rent and living expenses.

Likewise, a graduate employment programme in nursing won't necessarily help someone graduating in business, IT, engineering or the arts.

5. Where to investigate before voting

These are useful independent and official resources:

• Policy.nz – Compare 2026 party employment policies: Compare parties by topic.
• The Conversation – 2026 election policy tracker: Independent journalism tracking election promises.
• NZ Council of Trade Unions – Working people's election scorecards: Examine employment protections and wages.
• Vote.nz: Official voting and enrolment information.

My suggested questions to take into your voting research

Given the pressures of combining study, rent, student debt and paid employment, I'd investigate these five questions:

1. Which parties would make it easier to balance paid work with tertiary study?
2. Which parties would give part-time workers more predictable hours and protection from unfair rostering?
3. Which parties have practical plans to help graduates find jobs in their chosen professions?
4. Which parties would improve the financial position of students who rent and use student loans?
5. Which parties would strengthen minimum pay, leave entitlements and workplace protections?

These questions allow you to assess the policies rather than simply relying on campaign slogans.

I can also prepare a more detailed side-by-side comparison of Labour, National, Greens, ACT, NZ First, Te Pāti Māori and TOP, focused specifically on the interests of a tertiary student who rents, works part-time and has a student loan.