Labour pledges to limit compulsory branded school uniform items

The Labour Party has announced a new election policy to reduce back-to-school costs by limiting the number of compulsory branded uniform items families must purchase. If elected, the policy would allow affordable, generic alternatives from retailers such as Kmart or The Warehouse to meet school requirements. The proposed changes would take effect from Term 1, 2028.

Under the plan, schools would be required to consider affordability when setting uniform rules and would track and publish uniform costs to measure progress. Labour leader Chris Hipkins stated, “Schools shouldn’t be hiding additional costs to parents and basically making profits off school uniforms”. He also noted that uniforms should not cost more than $200 in total.

The policy aligns with a similar proposal from the ACT Party, which announced in June that state schools should be limited to a maximum of three compulsory branded items. ACT education spokesperson Laura McClure said it was "encouraging" to see Labour back cheaper school uniforms.

Labour's education spokesperson Ginny Andersen said, “If a plain navy polo does the job, parents shouldn’t have to pay more for the branded version”. This uniform policy is part of a broader cost-of-living platform that includes restoring rural bus routes and bringing back a school lunch programme.

How it developed

• Mon 12 Oct, 11:51amLabour leader Chris Hipkins stated that the Ministry of Education would be mandated to assess if school uniform requirements are fair.

Where reports differ

• Labour has not specified a fixed limit on the number of branded items, whereas ACT proposed a maximum of three compulsory branded items

Compiled from reports by 1News, Stuff, The Post, NZ Herald and Otago Daily Times.