Starting tertiary study or training for the first time in 2025?
Or couldn’t get Fees Free for your first year? Find out if you can get Fees Free for the final year of your first qualification.
I'm starting in 2025!Started study or training in 2024 or earlier?
If you started study or training in 2024 or earlier, check your eligibility below to find out if your fees may be covered for your first year.
Enter your National Student Number (NSN) to find out if you can get Fees Free for 2024 or earlier
Your NSN will be 9 digits or less. If the number you have is more than 9 digits and starts with 0, please remove the 0.
If you have an NSN, but can’t remember what it is, contact your school or provider. You can also contact the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) on 0800 697 296 (between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday) or by email through the NZQA website.
If you don't have a National Student Number, you'll get one when you enrol. You should check whether you meet the Fees Free eligibility criteria. If you do, you'll need to enter your NSN here to confirm your eligibility status once you have enrolled.
What is Fees Free?
Fees Free is a fund for first-time tertiary learners. It may cover fees for one year's study or two years’ work-based training – up to $12,000. To get Fees Free, you must meet certain eligibility criteria, and your course or programme must also be eligible.
The Government has announced that Fees Free for the first year of study or training will finish at the end of 2024. A final-year Fees Free scheme will replace it, starting from 1 January 2025.
On this website you can:
- find out about the new final-year Fees Free policy
- find out about the end of the first-year Fees Free policy
- read the Fees Free eligibility criteria
- use the NSN checker above to see what eligibility status we have for you if you’re starting in 2024 or earlier
- find out what to do if you’ve read the eligibility criteria and you think we have the wrong eligibility status for you. (You’ll be guided through this when you use the NSN checker.)
The Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund (TTAF)
The TTAF ended on 31 December 2022. Study or training you did that was covered by the TTAF does not affect your eligibility or entitlement to Fees Free if you’re using Fees Free in 2024 or earlier.
If you’ve had fees covered by TTAF, and now wish to get Fees Free for study or training in 2024 or earlier, check your eligibility status with our NSN checker above.