Big election year. Big questions for anyone who hires contractors.
The Gateway Test for Specified Contractors has only just landed. It came into force on 20 February 2026 under the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026, and for the first time gives NZ businesses a clear five point checklist to confirm a contractor is genuinely a contractor.
Now the next general election is on the calendar for 7 November 2026. The race is tight. And Labour has been very clear it did not want this law in the first place.
So if you hire contractors, the obvious question is this: would Labour actually repeal the Gateway Test if they win? Here is the honest answer, plus what smart NZ business owners should be doing right now.
Why This Matters For Your Business
The Gateway Test is the single biggest piece of certainty NZ businesses have had on contractor classification in years.
Pass the five criteria and your contractor is locked in as a Specified Contractor. They cannot turn around later and claim they were really an employee all along. No back paid holiday pay. No backdated KiwiSaver. No surprise PAYE bill.
That certainty is huge. It is also tied to a piece of legislation that one of the two likely governing blocs voted against from start to finish.
Election years always carry policy risk for employment law. This one carries more than most.
Where Labour Actually Stands
Labour did not just disagree quietly. They opposed the Employment Relations Amendment Bill at every reading.
When the Bill passed its third reading on 17 February 2026, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the law would drive Kiwi workers across the Tasman to Australia, where workers being "forced to become contractors by their employers" had more protection. Labour MP Camilla Belich called the late stage amendments a move that "further erodes workers' rights by locking out potential claims by employees".
Labour's broader argument has been consistent. They say the Gateway Test:
- Leans too heavily on what the contract says rather than what actually happens at work
- Cuts across the 2025 Supreme Court ruling on Uber drivers, which found those drivers were employees in substance
- Removes a worker's ability to challenge their classification after the fact
- Tilts the playing field toward the business and away from the worker
That is the position they have built in opposition. The question is whether they take it into government.
Could Labour Actually Repeal It?
A repeal is on the table, but it is not a done deal. Three things matter here.
One. The numbers.
The latest Taxpayers' Union Curia poll has Labour on 31.9 percent and National on 30 percent. The combined Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori bloc sits at 58 seats. The National, ACT and NZ First bloc sits at 62. It is a knife edge. Even if Labour leads the next government, they will need coalition support, and the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are if anything stronger on this issue than Labour is.
Two. Stated policy.
As at May 2026, Labour has not published a formal manifesto commitment to repeal the Gateway Test in the first term. They have signalled they would reverse the direction of travel on workplace law, but the detail has not yet been set in stone. Watch for the official policy launch closer to November.
Three. How law actually changes.
Even if a new government wanted to scrap the Gateway Test on day one, it would take a new Bill, a select committee process, public submissions, and three readings. That is a year of work minimum. Existing Specified Contractor relationships would not vanish overnight.
What Could Change Under A Labour Government
If Labour does win and does move on this, the most likely changes are not a clean repeal. They are tweaks that re-open the back door for reclassification.
Expect to see one or more of these on the table:
- A return to the old "real nature of the relationship" test, where the courts can look past your contract
- Removing the protection that stops a contractor challenging their status after the fact
- Adding criteria, such as a minimum income threshold or a written declaration of independence
- Tighter rules for specific industries like gig work, delivery and rideshare
Each of these would chip away at the certainty the Gateway Test gives you today. None of them would help a business that has been sloppy with its contractor paperwork.
What Smart Business Owners Should Do Right Now
The Gateway Test is the law of the land today. Use it.
The single best protection you can give your business, regardless of who wins in November, is a clean set of contractor relationships that already pass all five criteria.
Run through the checklist for every contractor you engage:
- Is there a written independent contractor agreement that names them as a contractor, not an employee?
- Are they free to work for other clients?
- Do they control their schedule, or can they subcontract the work?
- Are you free of any rule that penalises them for declining extra work?
- Did they have a real chance to seek independent advice before signing?
If you can tick all five today, the relationship is locked in as a Specified Contractor under the current Act. A future government would not be able to retrospectively unwind that without a serious legal fight.
If any of those answers are shaky, fix them now. Not in October. Now.
Check Your Contracts in Minutes
Upload your contractor agreement and get an instant compliance report against all five Gateway Test criteria. $60 NZD (GST incl.) per check.
Check My Agreement Now → Free to upload · Pay only when you get your reportThe Bottom Line
The 2026 election is genuinely close, and Labour is openly hostile to the Gateway Test. A change of government in November could lead to changes in contractor law, although a full repeal in the first term is far from guaranteed.
The smart play is simple. Treat the next six months as the window to get every contractor relationship squared away under the current rules. The protection is real, it is in force right now, and the businesses that lock it in early will have the strongest position no matter which way the country votes.