Photo: E Tū UnionHow pay equity became lawTo understand the impact of that March meeting, it helps to step back. Pay equity specialist Amy Ross, the former head of the pay equity taskforce, said those briefings exposed what she said was a long-held, ideological view among the agencies: that pay equity was nothing but a risk to the government. Officials responded with a screenshot from MBIE's website explaining that pay parity and pay equity were two different things, and both were legislated requirements in the Equal Pay Act. Van Velden's advisory followed up with questions wanting to know the broader "consequences" of the interaction between pay parity and pay equity. Taken together, the changes fundamentally reshaped how pay equity claims could be brought in New Zealand.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 20, 2026 09:46 UTC