Suspension rate for students in New Zealand schools
By region, 2024, age-standardised number of suspensions per 1,000 students
| Region | Age-standardised number of suspensions per 1,000 students |
|---|---|
| Northland | 6.5 |
| Auckland | 3 |
| Waikato | 6.6 |
| Bay of Plenty | 3.8 |
| Gisborne | 3.3 |
| Hawke's Bay | 6.2 |
| Taranaki | 4.1 |
| Manawatū-Whanganui | 6.2 |
| Wellington | 2.6 |
| West Coast | 4.5 |
| Canterbury | 3.7 |
| Otago | 4.6 |
| Southland | 6.3 |
| Tasman | 3.2 |
| Nelson | 4.9 |
| Marlborough | 4 |
Definitions
Suspensions: A suspension is a formal removal of a student from a school until a school Board of Trustees decides the outcome at a suspension meeting. Following a suspension, the Board of Trustees decides how to address the student's misbehaviour. The Board can either lift the suspension (with or without conditions), extend the suspension (with conditions), or terminate the student's enrolment at the school.
Expected suspensions: How many cases would have occurred if the national rates for each group were applied to the school or region. Expected numbers are not a desired number of cases nor are they a projection.
Age standardised rate: ‘observed’/’expected’*’national rate per 1,000’. Care should be taken when examining age-standardised rates, especially in the cases when small numbers are involved.
Data calculation/treatment
Ethnicity is prioritised.
Data provided by
Dataset name
Know Your Region: Student Engagement - Age standardised suspension rate per 1,000 students, by Region 2024
Webpage:
http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/know-your-region
How to find the data
To find specific regional data, select the region of your choice, then select Student Engagement > Suspensions.
The Ministry provided Figure.NZ with a raw extract of all regions in June 2026.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: Know Your Region: Student Engagement - Age standardised suspension rate per 1,000 students, by Region 2024
From the dataset Know Your Region: Student Engagement - Age standardised suspension rate per 1,000 students, by Region 2024, this data was extracted:
- Rows: 2-157
- Columns: 3-5
- Provided: 414 data points
This data forms the table Student Engagement - Age standardised suspension rate per 1,000 students, by region, 2024.
Purpose of collection
Schools must effectively involve students in learning to ensure educational success. Stand-downs, suspensions, and exclusions help provide indications of where engagement in productive learning may be absent and behavioural issues may be present. Stand-downs, suspensions and exclusions are not measures of student behaviour but measures of a school’s reaction to behaviour. What one school may choose to suspend for another may not.