Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) has offered unionised firefighters a pay rise lower than what non-union staff have already received, extending a labour dispute with direct implications for New Zealand's insurance-funded fire and emergency system.
The New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) met FENZ on October 1, 2026, for the first bargaining session in seven months. FENZ tabled a 2.2% pay increase, effective from the date of ratification. Non-NZPFU staff, including managers earning more than $200,000, had already received a 2.4% rise backdated to July 1, 2026.
According to the NZPFU, FENZ workplace relations manager Paul Stowers confirmed the offer was substantially the same position FENZ had held since December 2025, with only minor changes. That was despite chief executive Kerry Gregory writing to the union in March 2026 to say the organisation was "working up a new offer."
The union said Stowers told it that the Minister, the Public Service Commission, the board, the board chair, Gregory, and deputy chief executive, people, Janine Hearn had all approved the offer knowing it sat below what non-union staff received.
The NZPFU contacted new board chair Raveen Jaduram after the session. The union said Jaduram appeared unaware of the details and surprised at the level of the offer. It also said he appeared surprised that Hearn, identified as FENZ's lead for bargaining, had not attended. According to the union, Stowers said he had been told he would be attending in her place only three days before the session, even though bargaining dates had been confirmed for more than a month.
FENZ has not issued a public statement on the October 1 session. In May 2026, a FENZ spokesperson told Insurance Business the organisation's offer "provides an increase of 6.2% over three years and compares favourably with the majority of public sector settlements that have been offered and ratified." The spokesperson added that the NZPFU's last formal proposal would cost approximately three times as much as FENZ's own.
The facilitator reported that FENZ was comfortable with the NZPFU presenting the 2.2% offer to members and had nothing further to add. Facilitation has been adjourned. The NZPFU will hold nationwide membership meetings and is considering a ballot on options including strike action.
NZPFU members reached their 50th round of one-hour stoppages on July 31, 2026, with rolling industrial action under way since August 2025. FENZ has confirmed that response times may be delayed in affected areas during strike hours, with volunteer crews covering from the next closest location.
The NZPFU said the current offer also proposes a sunset clause on its health monitoring programme. The scheme, from the 2021-24 collective agreement, reimburses members up to $250 a year for screening aimed at the early detection of occupational cancers.
The union also said the offer does not address staffing issues, the impact of the restructure, or safe systems of work.
The dispute comes as FENZ is already falling short of its own response targets. Its 2024/25 annual report shows career crews arrived at urban structure fires within the eight-minute target in only 76.9% of cases, below the 80% benchmark. Volunteer crews met the 11-minute standard in 78% of urban structure fire incidents, against an 85% target. Only 61.6% of structure fires were contained to the room of origin where suppression was required, against a target of 80%.
Further strike action would add to that pressure in the areas affected.
For insurance professionals, the pay dispute connects to a broader question about how FENZ is funded, and who carries the cost.
Approximately 95% of FENZ's income comes from levies collected through insurance policies. FENZ reported $838 million in total revenue in 2024-25, including $796.7 million from levies, according to the parliamentary annual review. Its revenue is budgeted at $904 million for 2026-27.
The levy is collected through insurance premiums, with insurers, and in some cases brokers, handling collection on FENZ's behalf without compensation. The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) filed a formal submission in August 2026 calling for the insurance-based levy to be replaced entirely. The Insurance Brokers Association of New Zealand (IBANZ) and the New Zealand Underwriting Agencies Council (NZUAC) have also called for the levy to be removed from the insurance sector.
IBANZ chief executive Katherine Wilson said: "Access to FENZ services is quite rightly available to all New Zealanders, but those who pay insurance premiums are unfairly burdened with funding them."
Consumer NZ data shows 17% of New Zealand households cancelled insurance cover in 2025 because of cost, up from 7% in 2022, narrowing the pool of policyholders funding the levy.
Parliament's Governance and Administration Select Committee launched a formal inquiry into FENZ fleet management in April 2026. By May 2026, more than 52% of the fleet was beyond its target age, up from 23% when FENZ was established in 2017, according to the committee's findings.
A joint submission from the United Fire Brigades' Association, the NZ Fire Brigades Institute and the Institution of Fire Engineers identified problems with Type 3 heavy pumps and the relief fleet, and flagged operational readiness as a concern. Evidence presented to the committee showed that only 1.8% of FENZ revenue over nine years had been spent on its fleet.
From July 2025 to March 2026, only 59% of FENZ's recorded call-outs, including false alarms, were fire-related, according to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). That figure prompted Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden to direct the DIA to assess whether the funding model remains fit for purpose. Van Velden subsequently said she no longer had confidence in Gregory, citing what she described as a serious breach of the no-surprises principle.
The parliamentary committee stated in March 2026 that it had reached a "loss of confidence" in FENZ following contradictory answers across multiple hearings on the fleet.
For brokers advising commercial property and business interruption clients, response times and resource availability at the point of a fire are material to claim outcomes. The organisation responsible for both is managing a prolonged pay dispute, documented fleet concerns, parliamentary scrutiny and a funding model under structural review, all at the same time.
The NZPFU said it will distribute the formal letter of offer when it is received.
