Property Management
Boards are responsible for overseeing the management and maintenance of Ministry-owned property and any poari matua-owned property. For the purposes of this policy, kura property includes land, buildings, facilities, furniture, and equipment.
At Paparoa Street School, the poari matua manages kura property in a way that is financially responsible and complies with legal, regulatory, and Ministry requirements, including New Zealand Standards, design standards, the New Zealand building code, and local council consents. Our property management aims to facilitate and support good educational outcomes, protect kura assets, and maintain the kura as a safe place.
As the primary 
PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking) on kura property, the poari matua is responsible for ensuring that kura property is as safe as possible. The poari matua identifies, eliminates, isolates, and/or minimises property-related health and safety risks. Any hazards and their controls are listed in our hazard register. See Risk Management.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 defines and outlines the health and safety responsibilities of different types of duty holders within a workplace.
A PCBU is a "person conducting a business or undertaking". At Paparoa Street School, the whole poari matua is the PCBU, including the tumuaki. If events, activities, or services involve more than one PCBU, then PCBUs work together to establish responsibilities and actions for health and safety.
The poari matua of Paparoa Street School is responsible for kura property management and delegates aspects of this responsibility as needed. The poari matua remains ultimately responsible and monitors property management through regular reporting.
The roles and responsibilities of the poari matua for managing kura property are outlined in our Property Occupancy Document and include the responsibility to:
The Property Occupancy Document (POD) is the legal agreement between the Ministry of Education and our school about managing school property. The POD is legally binding and non-negotiable because the Ministry expects a certain standard from every school regarding property management. Because it is not an individual negotiable contract, it does not need to be signed by the board, and applies even when new board members are elected.
See The Property Occupancy Document for state schools 
(Ministry of Education)
- comply with all current operational requirements for managing property as advised by the Ministry (including maintenance requirements)
- manage all operating costs associated with kura property (with the support of Ministry funding where applicable)
- meet all property-related health and safety requirements (including those for fire and emergency management)
As the primary PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking) on school property, the board is responsible for ensuring that school property meets the standards and requirements set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
In relation to property management, this means that school property should meet all required legislation, regulations, and standards and be well maintained. The school should eliminate and/or minimise all hazards relating to school property.
If other parties are involved (i.e. as property owners) they share PCBU responsibilities with the board and need to consult, cooperate, and coordinate on health and safety matters involving the property.
Also see Health, Safety, and Welfare Policy, Risk Management, and Hazardous Substances.
- identify and prioritise capital works required on Ministry-owned property to maintain and modernise the property and extend its life.
See The Property Occupancy Document for state schools (Ministry of Education).
The kura keeps property records as required according to the Kura Records – Retention and Disposal Schedule. See Kura Records Retention and Disposal.
Property planning
10 Year Property Plan
As required by the Ministry of Education, every five years our poari matua works with a consultant to develop a new 10 Year Property Plan (10YPP) to ensure the physical environment of the kura is well maintained and supports effective teaching and learning.
The Ten-Year Property Plan (10YPP) identifies property needs for Ministry-owned buildings. It prioritises and schedules the property work to be completed over a ten year time frame.
- Property needs may include capital works and/or maintenance for health and safety, property integrity, or to modernise learning spaces.
- Key considerations include the vision for the school, any issues highlighted by the School Evaluation of Physical Environment (SEPE) and assessment of the condition of property, roll numbers, budgets for proposed works, and available funding.
- Any historic heritage features are also identified in the plan.
See Overview of the 10 Year Property Plan (Ministry of Education).
- The poari matua follows the Ministry's required process for preparing and submitting the 10YPP and is guided by the Ministry's priorities for capital works funding and the needs of the kura.
- After the plan is approved by the Ministry, the poari matua signs the 5 Year Agreement (5YA) and follows all 5YA spending rules when using this funding to implement the plan.
- If we need to make changes to our 10YPP outside the 5 year period, we consult our Ministry property advisor.
See 10 Year Property Plan steps for schools and 5 Year Agreement Funding (Ministry of Education).
Poari matua funding
We seek consent from the Ministry of Education before using board funding to upgrade, build, or buy property for our kura (Education and Training Act, s 160). This applies to all kura property, whether it is owned by the poari matua, Ministry, community, or ownership is shared.
Board funding is money the school board has received from sources like fundraising, grants from trusts and community groups, and bequests. It can also include surplus operational funding.
See Board ownership and funding for property projects (Ministry of Education).
- We pay for ongoing costs (i.e. maintenance, capital upgrades, insurance, and operational costs) for property built or owned by the poari matua.
- If property build and upgrade costs or property ownership is shared by the poari matua with the Ministry and/or the community we share ongoing costs based on how much each party owns.
- If poari matua funding is used to upgrade, build, or buy property that is owned or partly owned by the community, the poari matua has an agreement in place with the community to share ongoing costs.
- If the poari matua partly or fully owns a building and considers transferring ownership to the Ministry, we consult with our Ministry property advisor.
See Board ownership and funding for property projects (Ministry of Education).
Surplus property
If the kura is no longer using property (land or buildings) and the poari matua wants to release it, we follow Ministry requirements (e.g. by putting it into the Crown disposal process). We are required to release surplus property if we have more than four surplus teaching spaces. In these circumstances, we follow Ministry guidelines to develop a plan for what should be done with them. See Surplus school property (Ministry of Education).
Managing property projects
The poari matua has overall responsibility for kura-led property projects but delegates roles and tasks as needed (e.g. to the project control group and property manager). The poari matua follows all property project requirements set out by the Ministry of Education, including for procurement, and ensures that others involved with the project are also aware of all Ministry requirements.
The poari matua ensures they receive updates about the status of the project budget, and any risks and issues at all stages of the building project. The kura meets all project health and safety requirements, including coordinating shared responsibilities for health and safety. See Contractors Working at Kura.
See Planning a school property project and Roles and responsibilities when planning a property project (Ministry of Education).
Building safety and compliance
If a property project required building consent, we do not use the building until we have received a Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) and compliance schedule (unless we have a Certificate for Public Use (CPU)).
A compliance schedule lists a building's specified systems and the performance standards, inspection, maintenance, and reporting procedures needed to maintain the specified systems.
Specified systems
Specified systems are systems put in place to ensure a building is safe and healthy and functions properly (e.g. sprinkler systems, fire alarms, automatic doors, lifts, and exit signage for evacuation).
Building warrant of fitness (BWoF)
A building warrant of fitness (BWoF) is an annual verification of compliance with the inspection, maintenance, and reporting procedures for the specified systems listed on the compliance schedule.
See Buildings with compliance schedules for specified systems (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment)
To keep kura buildings safe and meet health and safety responsibilities, the poari matua ensures that the kura:
- follows the required compliance schedule for any buildings that have a specified system
- displays a copy of the current building warrant of fitness (BWOF) in a visible place for any buildings with specified systems.
We work as needed with Argest, the Ministry's contracted representative for managing building warrants of fitness and compliance checks.
The poari matua ensures the checks, maintenance, and repairs needed to maintain a building warrant of fitness are completed.
- The poari matua has delegated a person (the "owners' representative") to complete a list of daily and monthly property checks and report the checks to Argest at the end of every month, as required by the Ministry.
- Our delegated person works with Argest or their sub-contractors when they visit the kura for inspections.
See Property inspections by schools (Ministry of Education).
If we need to carry out any work to be compliant, we consult with our Ministry property advisor if needed and complete the work as soon as possible. We pay for this according to Ministry requirements (i.e. property maintenance grant, 5 Year Agreement funding, or Ministry emergency funding). We keep a copy of any repair details in our compliance manual for two years, and notify Argest if we change a specified system.
Related policies
Legislation
- Education and Training Act 2020
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
- Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fire Safety, Evacuation Procedures, Evacuation Schemes) Regulations 2018
- Building Act 2004
- Building (Specified Systems, Change the Use, and Earthquake-prone Buildings) Regulations 2005
- Building (Forms) Regulations 2004
Resources
- Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga: Property
: Term 3 2025, Term 4 2023, Term 2 2021
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