Fees Free is for first-time tertiary learners – so they don’t have to pay fees for their first year.

This is why, to get Fees Free, you need to meet our ‘prior study and training criteria’. Any tertiary learning you’ve done may affect your Fees Free eligibility.

The criteria below applies to learners starting study or training for the first time in 2024.

Who meets the prior study and training criteria?

You’ll meet the criteria if:

  1. you were enrolled in a secondary school (or home educated) in or after 2022 (and you were not enrolled as an adult learner), or
  2. you were enrolled in secondary school (or home educated) before 2022, and you have not already undertaken any of these:
  • more than half a year of full-time tertiary study or training at Level 3 or above on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF)
  • part-time study or training at Level 3 or above that would add up to more than half a full-time year
  • equivalent tertiary education in any other country.

Note: Half a full-time year of study is usually 60 credits in New Zealand.

Read the full eligibility criteria for Fees Free 2024.

What tertiary learning affects eligibility?

You may not meet the prior study and training criteria even if:

  • you undertook tertiary study or training overseas
  • you didn’t complete it, or withdrew from the study or training outside the refund period
  • you received a fail grade
  • the study or training had no fees
  • you paid for it yourself or used a student loan for it (whether the loan is now repaid or not)
  • the study or training was part of workplace training or an apprenticeship
  • you undertook the tertiary study while enrolled in secondary education as an adult learner.

What tertiary learning does not affect eligibility?

None of these affect your eligibility:

  • tertiary education you undertook before 1 January 2019 when you were also enrolled in secondary school (unless you were an adult learner)
  • tertiary courses you undertook as part of a school learning programme or secondary tertiary programme on or after 1 January 2019
  • credits you achieved after 1 January 2018 as part of a work-based programme, if that programme was less than 120 credits total
  • provider-based zero fee courses or credentials funded by the TEC, undertaken after 1 January 2023, that had zero tuition fees and zero compulsory course costs
  • Tertiary education and training where the fees were covered by the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund (TTAF) between 1 July 2020 and 31 December 2022
  • Tertiary education undertaken through the Youth Guarantee programme after 1 July 2020
  • Tertiary education undertaken through the Māori and Pasifika Trades Training initiative after 1 July 2020
  • Tertiary education undertaken through the Refugee English Fund.

More about TTAF and Fees Free eligibility

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 started using Fees Free before using the TTAF, you can still get Fees Free if you have some entitlement left.
  • If you’ve had fees covered by TTAF, and now wish to get Fees Free, check your eligibility status with our NSN checker above.

More on what affects eligibility, and why

Overseas study or training

Any tertiary study or training undertaken in any other country can affect your eligibility, as Fees Free is for first-time tertiary learners.

This can include post-compulsory education and training, as well as vocational, technical or academic pathways. Degrees, diplomas, and some certificates usually count, as do any overseas courses that are equivalent to a Level 3 (or above) qualification on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF).

If you have questions about whether the overseas study or training you’ve done affects your Fees Free eligibility, please get in touch on 0800 601 301 or at [email protected].

Part-time study or training

All study and training at (or equivalent to) Level 3 or above on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) affects eligibility – whether it’s part time or full time. This is because Fees Free is for first-time learners.

If you’ve studied part time, the best way to work out whether it affects your eligibility for Fees Free is to look at how many credits it was, rather than how much time it was spread over.

If you have questions about whether your study or training affects your Fees Free eligibility, please get in touch on 0800 601 301 or at [email protected].

Workplace training and apprenticeships

Credits that you’ve been awarded in the workplace, including on-the-job or industry training, can affect your eligibility because you’ve had the benefit of the training, and Fees Free is for first-time learners.

The credits that affect your eligibility are those at or equivalent to New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) Level 3 or above.

But there are some exceptions. These do not count as prior study or training:

  • any credits you achieved after 1 January 2018 towards any work-based programme that is made up of less than 120 total credits
  • tertiary education covered by the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund (TTAF) between 1 July 2020 and 31 December 2022.

If you have questions about whether the workplace training you’ve done affects your Fees Free eligibility, please get in touch on 0800 601 301 or at [email protected].

New Zealand study or training that was before NZQA or the NZQCF existed

Tertiary study or training in New Zealand can affect your eligibility even if it was before these came into effect:

  • The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA)
  • The New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF)

This is because Fees Free is for first-time tertiary learners.

The earlier study will affect your eligibility if it was equivalent to NZQCF Level 3 or above. Any degree or diploma, and some certificates, are likely to count.

If you’re unsure whether earlier study or training you did affects your Fees Free eligibility, please get in touch on 0800 601 301 or at [email protected].

Incomplete study or training

Study or training that you didn’t complete may still affect your eligibility, as Fees Free is for first-time tertiary learners.

Incomplete study or training includes:

  • courses you enrolled in but did not attend
  • courses where you received a fail grade
  • courses you enrolled in and withdrew from, but after the refund period for that course had closed.

Note: If you withdrew from a course before it started – or within the course’s refund period – this does not affect your Fees Free eligibility.

If you’re unsure whether you withdrew from your study or training within the refund period, contact the tertiary education organisation you were enrolled in to find out.

Study or training in New Zealand as an international student

Fees Free is for first-time learners, so even if you were an international student, all study you’ve undertaken, at or equivalent to New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) Level 3 or above, does affect your eligibility.

If you have questions about whether your study or training affects your Fees Free eligibility, please get in touch on 0800 601 301 or at [email protected].

Free or zero-fee courses

Whether these courses affect your Fees Free eligibility depends partly on why you didn’t pay fees, and partly on when you took the course.

All study and training you did before 2023 may affect your Fees Free eligibility. This is even if:

  • there were no fees
  • someone else paid the fees for you
  • you used a Student Loan for the fees.

But any zero fee courses you’ve undertaken on or after 1 January 2023 – with zero tuition fees and zero compulsory course costs – do not affect your Fees Free eligibility.

If you have questions about whether your study or training affects your Fees Free eligibility, please get in touch on 0800 601 301 or at [email protected].

Important info about your NZQA Record of Achievement

To work out your Fees Free eligibility, please don’t rely on your NZQA New Zealand Record of Achievement (NZRoA).

This is because the NZRoA:

  • only shows tertiary standards-based credits achieved at an institute of technology, polytechnic, private training establishment, wānanga or Te Pūkenga
  • only records unit standards and national qualifications achieved from 1993 onwards, and provider-developed qualifications from 2011 onwards
  • does not show credits that were attempted but not achieved, or study you withdrew from
  • does not show credits undertaken at a university
  • may not reflect up-to-date credit achievement.

Credits at Levels 1 or 2 as part of a qualification at Level 3 or above

When we work out your Fees Free eligibility, prior study and training counts based on the level of the qualification it contributed to.

Some qualifications include credits that are at either a lower or higher level than the overall qualification is. When this is the case, all the credits count at the level of the overall qualification.

For example, if you’ve done a Level 3 qualification, all credits you did towards that qualification will count as Level 3 for your Fees Free eligibility – even if you enrolled in a mixture of Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 courses for that qualification.

English language tuition through the Refugee English Fund

If you’re eligible for Fees Free and, right now, you’re enrolled in study funded through the Refugee English Fund, you won’t use your Fees Free entitlement on that study.

If you find that you don’t meet the Fees Free eligibility criteria because of study you’ve already undertaken through the Refugee English Fund, you can ask us for an eligibility review.

To do this, please enter your National Student Number (NSN) on the Fees Free home page. Then fill in the eligibility review form to request a review.

For more information, see our FAQs.