Dunedin City Council has become the second council in New Zealand to pay its staff a living wage.
It follows Wellington City Council who received accreditation in 2018.
Living Wage Movement Aotearoa NZ (LWMNZ) says the council is modelling what "best business practice looks like."
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"More than 1000 workers will have their lives improved through the living wage, as well as all indirectly employed workers delivering a service to the council," said accreditation coordinator for LWMNZ Felicia Scherrer.
The living wage currently sits at $21.15 per hour - $3.45 more than the minimum wage set by the Government.
"The impact of [the decision] is significant."
Dunedin Council joins 150 employers throughout New Zealand who pay a living wage. The full list will be unveiled on Monday afternoon.
Auckland's Western Springs College will also be accredited, making it New Zealand's first living wage secondary school.
"The commitment to paying the living wage has, for some time, been led by small to medium-sized businesses, who felt strongly that this was the right thing to do," said Scherrer.
"We now have larger organisations and corporations, also committing to paying the Living Wage. They too have realised investing in their workers is an investment in their business."
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