[Sam-lecturing] FW: KiwiSaver and ACC changes from 1 April 2026

[Vanessa Venter]

Kia ora koutou,

Please see the information below regarding upcoming changes to KiwiSaver and ACC, effective from 1 April 2026.

These changes will have a small impact on employment costs, so we kindly ask that they are taken into consideration when planning to appoint a Research Assistants (RAs) and Casual Staff, and when preparing budgets for contract requests.

As a guide, we currently allow an additional 12% on top of the hourly rate. From 1 April, this will increase to approximately 13.25%, made up of:


  *   8% holiday pay
  *   3.5% KiwiSaver
  *   1.75% ACC

Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.

Regards,
Vanessa

From: Colin Price <colin.price at vuw.ac.nz>
Sent: Friday, 20 March 2026 2:50 pm

Subject: KiwiSaver and ACC changes from 1 April 2026

Kia ora koutou
There are changes taking effect from 1 April 2026 for both KiwiSaver and ACC levies. It is likely that your staff may have questions, and we hope this information will help you to answer these. Please forward the information on to your teams.
KiwiSaver
In February, Te Pūmanawa Tāngata—Human Resources shared information about the upcoming increase in the KiwiSaver contribution rates<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fintranet.wgtn.ac.nz%2Fstaff%2Fnews%2F2026%2F02%2Fincrease-in-kiwisaver-contribution-rate-from-1-april-2026&data=05%7C02%7Csam-lecturing%40lists.vuw.ac.nz%7C879cff77196c494a9ff908de87d8416d%7Ccfe63e236951427e8683bb84dcf1d20c%7C0%7C0%7C639097560047467666%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=SCW3POBOHauyLK9xK%2BGh%2Bk7YWobRgL2lTOBBGHTDmZQ%3D&reserved=0>—particularly that the contribution rate is increasing on 1 April 2026 from 3.0 percent to 3.5 percent.
There is an Oko article that provides more information about applying for a temporary rate reduction and the University’s position on the employer contribution where a temporary rate reduction has been approved by Inland Revenue.
You can read the KiwiSaver Oko article here<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fintranet.wgtn.ac.nz%2Fstaff%2Fnews%2F2026%2F03%2Fkiwisaver-contribution-rate-is-changing-from-1-april-2026&data=05%7C02%7Csam-lecturing%40lists.vuw.ac.nz%7C879cff77196c494a9ff908de87d8416d%7Ccfe63e236951427e8683bb84dcf1d20c%7C0%7C0%7C639097560047722930%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=kp%2BxgcSAb0brwaboDLpfOiYPNoSzwc%2Fb6KSfP%2BG0rNA%3D&reserved=0>.
ACC levy increases
Accident compensation (ACC) levies are increasing from 1 April 2026.
Employees pay an earners’ levy which, while applied separately from their tax deduction, shows up on their payslip together with tax, as “PAYE”. The earners’ levy is increasing from 1.67% to 1.75% per $100 of liable earnings. The additional deduction will start on payday 1 April 2026.
You can read the ACC levy Oko article here.<https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fintranet.wgtn.ac.nz%2Fstaff%2Fnews%2F2026%2F03%2Fincrease-in-acc-levies-from-1-april-2026&data=05%7C02%7Csam-lecturing%40lists.vuw.ac.nz%7C879cff77196c494a9ff908de87d8416d%7Ccfe63e236951427e8683bb84dcf1d20c%7C0%7C0%7C639097560047742397%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=YYW5SBJQGW%2FsoOpaUHy806tUTr9gHrBKqHJ9KzEjgTo%3D&reserved=0>


Ngā mihi

Kate



Kate Tibbitts

Chief People Officer

Te Pūmanawa Tāngata - Human Resources

Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington



Phone +64 022 014 2630

+64 04 887 3840

kate.tibbitts at VUW.ac.nz<mailto:kate.tibbitts at VUW.ac.nz>

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