Your Rights

Rules about school uniform, hair & body

Most schools in New Zealand require their students to wear a uniform while they are at school or representing their school at things like sports or cultural events. Many schools will also have restrictions on their students’ appearance, how their hair must look, and what piercings and tattoos they can show on their bodies.

This section provides information about what rules schools can make about how you look while you’re at school or representing your school.

Do I have to wear a uniform at school?

If your school has uniform rules, you must follow them, which will usually involve wearing the school uniform. If you don’t, you could be breaking school rules and might get in trouble.

Under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, students are entitled to freedom of expression. This means that you can choose how to express yourself through your words and appearance. However, the law is unclear about how this freedom interacts with a school’s power to make rules about uniform. The courts have said that it is reasonable for schools to make their students wear a school uniform, but the uniform rules must be specific, certain, and written down in a policy that has been agreed to by the board of trustees. The Human Rights Commission has created a school uniform guideline that might be helpful to you.

What happens if I can’t afford to buy the school uniform?

Most schools understand that uniforms can be a big expense for families. Some schools have second-hand clothing shops where their uniform items can be purchased at a cheaper price than buying them new. You can also look on TradeMe, Neighbourly, or at op shops for second-hand items.

If a student’s parents or caregivers are getting a benefit through Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ), or are on a low income, they might be able to ask WINZ to help pay for the student’s school uniform. You will need a letter from your school’s uniform shop saying how much the uniform costs before WINZ can help.

My school says that every student has to get their uniform from the same place, and they are really expensive. Is this allowed?

Schools are probably allowed to tell all their students to get their uniform from the same place. However, the law says that schools cannot do things which restrict market competition. This means that, if exclusive arrangements with suppliers are pushing prices up and having more than one supplier would benefit parents, schools should consider this.

Schools also have to make sure that any negotiation process with a uniform supplier is transparent, meaning that it should be open for people to ask questions and there should be no secrets, including secretive deals.

Can a teacher send me home if I’m not in the correct uniform?

A public school can only send a student home for being in the wrong uniform if the student is stood down or suspended for having the wrong uniform, while a private school can send a student home for incorrect school uniform if correct uniform is a school rule.

Depending on the circumstances, it might be extreme for a public school to send a student home for not wearing the correct uniform, because schools should only stand-down or suspend students as a final disciplinary action.

If you are getting into trouble for wearing the incorrect uniform but it’s not your fault (for example, if you don’t have enough pieces of uniform to wear it clean every day), your parents might be able to arrange something with the principal, or get help from the school counsellor or WINZ

Can my school make me wear a uniform to and from school? Do I have to wear my uniform on school trips and outings?

If a public school provides transport to and from school (for example, by running a school bus), students taking that transport would be under the school’s care and expected to wear their uniform. A public school can also make students wear their uniform during school trips, because they will be a representative of the school during them.

Meanwhile, a private school can make their students wear a uniform to and from school if this is required in their school rules.

I’m Māori, can I wear a taonga at school? Can I dress in a way that is important to my religion, culture, or nationality?

New Zealand schools must not discriminate against students’ culture or religion. Therefore. If a student wants to dress differently at school for religious or cultural reasons, they should not be discriminated against. However, the school might ask the student to give them evidence that there is a genuine cultural or religious reason for them to dress that way.

School boards must give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi by having policies and practices that reflect tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori, and te ao Māori. As part of this requirement, you could argue that you should be able to wear taonga at school, even if it interferes with your uniform.

I’m a transgender student – can I wear the uniform of the gender I identify with?

Yes. The law says that transgender students must be allowed to have the gender that they identify with recorded at school. The Human Rights Commission suggests that transgender students in New Zealand should be allowed to wear the uniform of the gender that they identify with. Schools are also now encouraged to adopt gender-neutral uniform and provide safe toilets and changing facilities.

There can sometimes be other barriers to transgender students wearing the uniform of the gender they identify with (for example, being able to pay for the uniform, or the school having different views the student and/or their family). You should speak with Rainbow Youth, YouthLaw or the Human Rights Commission if this is the case.

I’m a girl – do I have to wear a skirt or dress?

Schools can have different uniform rules for boys and girls, as long as the rules aren’t discriminatory. For example, if boys must wear pants and girls must wear long skirts, girls might argue that this is discriminatory because they are not given the same amount of physical freedom as the boys. However, if girls were also allowed to wear culottes, the girls’ physical freedom would be the same as the boys’, despite their uniform being gendered. The rules at public and private schools can also be very different. If you are unhappy with your school’s uniform rules, talk to your student representative on the board, or the principal.

Can my school tell me what to do with my hair while I’m at school?

Everyone has the right to express themselves through their appearance under the Bill of Rights Act. However, school boards also have the power to make rules about uniforms.

Usually, school uniform rules are enforceable if they are specific, clear, and written. While your school can tell you that your hair does not meet uniform rules and ask you to cut your hair, they are not allowed to physically cut your hair without the permission of you or your parents. They are also not allowed to tell you to go home and not return to school until you have cut your hair (this is called a kiwi suspension and is illegal, because you have to be stood down or suspended before a school can tell you to go home). However. if you choose not to follow your school’s rules about hair, the school might discipline you.

Can my school stop me from getting a piercing or tattoo?

Schools cannot stop students from getting a piercing or tattoo in their own time (although there might be other laws against this), but they might have rules about what students can and cannot show as part of their uniform during school.

If you want a culturally or religiously relevant tattoo or piercing visible while at school, you should check your school’s uniform policy and speak with the school about it. You cannot be discriminated against for your culture or religion, but you might be made to give evidence about why your tattoo or piercing is necessary according to your culture or religion. If you cannot give evidence like this, you might be asked to cover tattoo(s) and remove piercing(s) during school hours.

Can I wear makeup at school?

Only some schools have rules about wearing makeup. You should check your school’s rules before wearing makeup at school.

Like piercings, tattoos, and hair, makeup can be a form of personal expression. However, the law has not made it clear whether it is reasonable for schools to limit students’ right to express themselves through makeup. Therefore, if a school rule is certain and specific, the school will usually be able to discipline you if you break it.

Can the school have different hair rules for boys and girls?

School rules are not allowed to discriminate based on gender. However, they are allowed to have different rules for boys and girls as long as they have good reasons and they don’t give one gender more rights than the other. For example, if girls are allowed to dye their hair but boys aren’t, it would be discrimination because it gives girls more rights than boys. Meanwhile, schools’ rules about hair length will usually be different for boys and girls because it is the cultural norm that girls will have longer hair than boys.

If you are a transgender student, your school must record you as being the gender that you identify with. This might mean that you need to follow the hair (and other) rules that apply to the gender you identify with.

How do I know if I’m following the school rules?

School rules have to be clear and certain so that it is obvious whether you are following them. If you are not sure what the rules are, ask for a copy of them from your school’s reception or your dean.

If you do not know whether you are following a rule because the rule is unclear, it is probably not clear and certain enough for the school to have it as a rule. For example, a judge decided that a rule saying boys’ hair had to be ‘short’ was not clear enough because ‘short’ could mean different things to different people. The school was not allowed to punish a student for breaking that rule because it was unclear

I disagree with my school’s rules, what can I do?

If you are unhappy about a school rule, you can talk to your student representative and ask them to raise it with the school’s board, who make school rules. Every board must have a student representative if the school has students above Year 9. If your school doesn’t have a student representative, you can speak to the principal about any school rules you disagree with.

Before you decide to complain about a rule you don’t like, you should think about how important the issue is to you and other students. If it is important, you could write to the school’s board about why it is appropriate for them to speak to their students before they make rules about uniform.

If you choose to break a school rule and it’s a minor breach, you might get a detention or be given daily report cards. For repeated or serious breaches of school rules, you could be stood down or suspended.