In 2013, Stanford started working in the office of
Murray McCully, the MP for . She took the place of her sister who previously worked for McCully. She joined the National Party at the same time. When she started in the office, she worked there two days a week as one of three jobs while also having two children. Stanford had not previously stood for parliament or other office. The East Coast Bays electorate has been a safe seat for National since 1987; since then McCully held either East Coast Bays or , which covered a similar area. In the
2017 general election, Stanford won the electorate easily, with 66% of the vote. In the
2020 election, Stanford stood again for East Coast Bays. During the campaign she also attended a debate of
Auckland Central candidates, as National had not selected a new candidate for the electorate by the debate. Stanford retained East Coast Bays by a margin of 8,764 votes. Stanford was promoted as the spokesperson for education and associate spokesperson for Ethnic Communities while retaining her portfolio for immigration on 6 December 2021, in the
Shadow Cabinet of Christopher Luxon. This led to her ranking being promoted from 25 under the
Shadow Cabinet of Judith Collins to 7 under the
Shadow Cabinet of Christopher Luxon.
In Government, 2023–present During the
2023 election, Stanford retained East Coast Bays by a margin of 20,353 votes, defeating Labour's candidate
Naisi Chen. Following the formation of the
National-led coalition government, she assumed the portfolios of
Minister of Education and
Minister of Immigration. On 26 January 2024, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon added responsibility for the government's response to the
Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care to Stanford's portfolios. Stanford succeeds previous
Ministers of Internal Affairs Jan Tinetti and
Tracey Martin in having responsibility for the Royal Commission.
Education On 27 January 2024 Stanford, in her capacity as Education Minister, announced an inquiry into school property projects. She said that the Government had inherited an education system "bordering on crisis". Stanford confirmed that the Ministry of Education had identified 350 projects that had exceeded their budget and had paused 20 building projects. On 29 April 2024, Stanford announced the Government's top six educational priorities to mark the start of the second term. These included a clearer curriculum, focusing on literacy and numeracy, more consistent assessment and achievement reporting, better teacher training, targeted support for students with special needs and an evidence-based approach to educational improvement. That same day, the Government's school cellphone ban came into force. On 2 May, Stanford confirmed that the Government would be mandating a
structured literacy approach in all state schools from 2025. In addition, Stanford confirmed that the Government would end funding for the existing reading recovery programme, which utilises a "
whole language" approach based on using pictures to help children guess words. On 26 May 2024, Stanford announced that the Government would invest NZ$53 million in education including in-school training for new teachers and recruiting, retaining and training 1,500 new teachers (including 300 overseas teachers) over the next four years. In early August 2024, Stanford and Luxon announced the Government's "Maths Action Plan" to roll out a new mathematics curriculum from 2025. The new curriculum would including twice-annual maths assessments, new teaching resources for primary and secondary schools, boosting funding for teaching professional development and remedial support, and raising maths entry requirements for new teachers. In response, the
New Zealand Educational Institute expressed concerns that rapid changes to the maths and literacy curriculum and the short teaching training timeframe would strain the teaching workforce without delivering on its goals. On 26 September 2024, Stanford announced the Government would allocate NZ$30 million from the "Te Ahu o
te Reo Māori" teacher training programme to revamping the school maths curriculum. On 21 November 2024, Stanford apologised after allegedly swearing at Labour's education spokesperson
Jan Tinetti during a Parliamentary Question Time session. Labour MP
Duncan Webb had complained about Stanford's unparliamentary remark to the
House Speaker and suggested that she apologise for her comment. Stanford subsequently withdrew her remark and apologised. On 10 December 2024, Stanford confirmed that the Government would revise the sex education curriculum after a critical
Education Review Office report found inconsistencies in schools' sex education teaching. The Government had last revised the sex education curriculum 20 years ago. In mid-February 2025, Stanford reversed Associate Education Minister
David Seymour's decision to scrap "teacher only days" during the 2025 school terms. She approved four "teacher only days" in 2025 for state schools to implement the new curriculum. On 28 April 2025, Stanford announced that the Government would invest $53 million in covering teachers' registration and practising certificate fees as part of an effort to help the teaching sector. From 1 July, Stanford said that 115,000 eligible early childhood and school teachers would save up to $550 over the next three years. This announcement was welcomed by the
Post Primary Teachers' Association. On 30 April, Stanford and
Finance Minister Nicola Willis confirmed that the Government would be introducing financial literacy into the primary school curriculum from 2027 as part of the social sciences curriculum. On 4 May 2025, Stanford launched the Government's new "Parent Portal," which is designed to provide parents with information about what children were being taught in the school curriculum particularly
English and
mathematics, phonic tips, structured literacy and tips for parent-teacher interviews. On 5 May,
1News reported that Stanford had used her personal
Gmail account to send pre-Budget announcements prior to the release of the
2024 New Zealand budget. The emails included personal correspondence with her staff, school principals and various organisations. Using a personal email account is considered a potential breach of the Cabinet Manual since it opens the risk of confidential government information being hacked or stolen. On 16 July, Stanford announced that the Government would be ending open-plan class rooms, which had been introduced in 2011 by the
Fifth National Government. On 18 July, Stanford announced that the Government would create a new
Crown agency called the
New Zealand School Property Agency, which would be responsible for managing the building, maintenance and administration of school buildings. On 4 August, Stanford and Luxon confirmed the Government would be phasing out the
National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) secondary school qualification by 2030. In late August 2025, 89 secondary school principals issued an open letter to Education Minister Stanford and Acting Secretary for Education Ellen MacGregor-Reid, calling for the Government to halt plans to replace the NCEA school qualification. They said that Government's changes were motivated by ideology and claimed that the new secondary curriculum would harm disadvantaged teenagers particularly
Māori and
Pasifika New Zealanders. The principals also expressed concern that the replacement system was designed for university-bound students over non-academic students. In response, Stanford said that she had consulted with the education sector including her advisory group of principals in developing the new secondary school qualification. She reiterated that the Government remained committed to replacing NCEA but sought to reassure principals and schools that there would be a phased, planned and supported implementation of the new qualification framework. In early September 2025, Stanford disputed claims by several teachers and principals that the Government was reducing references to the Treaty of Waitangi and Māori words in education documents and curriculum statements. She reiterated the Government's commitment to the Treaty and raising educational achievements for Māori children. In mid September 2025, Stanford announced that the Government would introduce several new
STEM–oriented subjects for Years 11 to 13 students from 2028. These new subjects include
earth science,
space science,
statistics,
data science,
electronics,
mechatronics,
civics education,
philosophy,
media studies,
Māori and
Pasifika studies, and various industry-led subjects. She also confirmed that the indigenous Māori curriculum
Te Marautanga o Aotearoa would be resourced with a new detailed curriculum and new subjects focusing on traditional Māori cosmology, wood carving and Māori culture. In late October 2025, Stanford released the Government's full draft of the curriculum for Years 0-10 students for consultation. The draft curriculum covered several subjects including the social sciences, science, health & physical education, the arts, technology and languages. The new curriculum is expected to be rolled out in three stages between 2026 and 2028. In response, principals, maths and history teachers criticised the proposed new curriculum for what they regarded as its "unworkable" timeframe, "burdensome" requirements on teachers and students, and for allegedly devaluing the
Treaty of Waitangi and minority perspectives. On 4 November 2025, Stanford confirmed that the Government would amend the Education and Training Act's provision for schools to implement the Treaty of Waitangi, stating that it was the responsibility of the New Zealand Crown rather than schools. She said that schools would focus on promoting equitable outcomes for Māori students, offering Māori language instruction and "cultural competence." The policy change was criticised by the
New Zealand School Boards Association, the Principals Federation, the
New Zealand Educational Institute and the
National Iwi Chairs Forum, who expressed concern it would lead to the purge of Māori language and cultural training from the school curriculum. By 13 November, over 200 school boards had penned letters to Stanford objecting to the proposed law change. By 23 November, 1,007 schools had reaffirmed their commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi. In November 2025, Stanford announced major reforms to the
Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, including plans to shrink its size, shift most professional standard-setting responsibilities for initial teacher education to the
Ministry of Education, and change the council’s composition so that a majority of members would be ministerial appointees. She said the changes were necessary to improve teacher preparation and governance, citing
OECD TALIS 2024 data and an
Education Review Office report showing many principals believed new teachers were underprepared. Teachers’ unions criticised the plan as a “power grab”, arguing it undermined the independence and professionalism of teachers. The
Post Primary Teachers' Association said Stanford was selectively using evidence and warned that political control over the council could deter teachers from speaking out. Representatives of the
New Zealand Educational Institute also objected, saying the reforms imposed political control rather than address underlying issues such as resourcing and learning-support pressures. In late January 2026, Stanford announced that two new specialist schools for children with high and complex needs would be established in
Auckland and
Palmerston North. The Auckland school is expected to open by Term 2 in 2027 and the Palmerston North school is expected to open by Term 1 in 2028. These would be the first specialist schools established in New Zealand since 1977. On 17 March 2026, Stanford announced that the
Education Review Office would be introducing a new colour-coded, four-point school rating system. The rating system would cover 14 areas including student achievement, student progress, teaching, reading, writing, mathematics and attendance.
Immigration On 7 April 2024 Stanford, as Immigration Minister, announced that the Government would be revising the Accredited Employer Worker Visa programme to address migrant exploitation and "unsustainable" net migration. In late June 2024, Stanford announced that low-skilled Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) holders at Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) levels 4 and 5 (the equivalent of
NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3) would no longer be able to sponsor work, visitor or student visa applications for partners and dependent children. Stanford had earlier said that changes to the AEWV scheme were prompted by the Government's desire to strike a balance between recruiting highly-skilled migrants and reducing pressure on infrastructure, health and education services. The Union Network of Migrants, a division of FIRST Union, criticised Stanford for failing to engage with migrants, community groups and migrant advocates. In August 2024,
Stuff reported that Stanford had declined a motion by the
Dunedin City Council to create a special visa pathway for the Gazan relatives of Palestinian New Zealanders displaced by the
Gaza war, stating that any future decision about visa pathway changes would be made at the Cabinet-level. Stanford also turned down a request from
Mayor of Dunedin Jules Radich, Dunedin Councillor Christine Garey and local Palestinian leader Mai Tamimi to discuss the matter, citing pressures in her Minister's diary. In April 2025, Stanford introduced government legislation into Parliament that would allow refugees' residency visas to be cancelled if they posed a risk to the community. On 8 June 2025, Stanford announced the multi-entry "Parent Boost" visa, which would allow the parents of migrants to live in New Zealand for between five to ten years. Visa holders would have to meet certain health, character and financial criteria including having at least one year of health insurance cover. On 15 June, Stanford and Luxon announced that the Government would be launching a three-month visa waiver trial for
Chinese citizens with valid Australian visitor, work, family or student visas from November 2025. On 18 June, Stanford followed up with an announcement that Chinese nationals would no longer need to apply for
transit visas from November 2025 and would be eligible to apply for the
New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZETA). On 10 August 2025, Stanford announced two new seasonal work visas: the Global Workforce Seasonal Visa for agricultural and horticultural workers, and the Peak Seasonal Visa for short-term agricultural and aquaculture workers. The Global Workforce Visa is valid for three years while the Peak Seasonal Visa is valid for seven months. On 4 September 2025, Stanford confirmed that the Government would amend the Immigration Act to make it easier to deport non-citizens. Key proposed changes have included raising the threshold for deporting
permanent residents from 10 to 20 years; widening the criteria for deportation to include historical crimes committed overseas, providing misleading information and being accidentally granted a visa; increasing the enforcement powers of immigration officers and raising the prison term for migrant exploitation from 7 to 10 years. In response to criticism, Stanford said that proposed deportation changes were a response to the Australian-born Danny and Roberto Jaz, who were convicted in 2023 for drugging and sexually assaulting over 20 women at the Mama Hooch bar and Venuti restaurant in
Christchurch between 2015 and 2018.
Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care As Minister in charge of the
Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, Stanford announced on 30 October 2024 that the Government would address a parity issue in a NZ$6.5 million compensation settlement with 95
Lake Alice Hospital survivors in 2001. Survivors received an average of NZ$41,000 in individual payments, with NZ$27,000 being deducted in legal fees for each claimant. Further claimants received an average of NZ$70,000 since the
New Zealand Crown covered their legal costs. While Stanford confirmed that survivors would be reimbursed between NZ$15,000 and NZ$55,000 each, these reimbursements would not be adjusted for inflation. On 18 December 2024, Stanford announced that the Government would offer survivors of torture at Lake Alice Hospital a lump payment of at least NZ$150,000, having set aside NZ$22.68 million for the redress scheme. In addition, survivors could request for an individual assessment from an independent arbitrator. On 19 February 2025, Stanford confirmed that the Government had established a NZ$2 million dual purpose fund to honour children who had died in care in unmarked graves and to support community initiatives for abuse survivors. == Views and positions ==