Source: Tertiary Education Commission
At the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), we gather a range of information about common issues through our monitoring work. We’re committed to partnering with tertiary education organisations (TEOs) and sharing learnings from our monitoring work to help the sector build capability. That way, we can all achieve better outcomes for learners.
On this page:
Gateway funding compliance
Recently we have conducted a review of secondary schools that receive Gateway funding. The review identified that a number of schools had not sent/were not sending their students on work placements, and instead were enrolling them in standalone courses/programmes with tertiary education organisations (TEOs).
Purpose of Gateway funding
Gateway funding is designed to support senior secondary learners by providing access to quality, structured workplace learning that complements their school-based education.
This means:
Learners must be placed in real workplaces
Learning must be integrated with their wider course of study
Workplace learning must be assessed and credited towards NCEA or other New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) qualifications.
Gateway programmes cannot be completed in simulated or replica environments, or through standalone TEO courses that lack a workplace component.
What schools must do to stay compliant
For schools to be compliant with Gateway funding condition 4.1(b), schools must not use Gateway funding to fund learner enrolment in standalone courses/programmes offered by TEOs, unless the course:
is to equip learners with specific skills required for the work placement; and
is required by the work placement employer; and
is included in the learner’s individualised learning plan; and
does not exceed three days in duration.
These conditions are not optional, and the school must take every step to ensure compliance.
An important reminder to TEOs
Some TEOs appear to be marketing standalone “Gateway” courses directly to schools. If these courses do not support a genuine work placement, they breach funding conditions. Examples like basic food hygiene, first aid, or ATV training are only valid if they are required for a subsequent work placement.
If your organisation offers courses to schools under the Gateway banner, please ensure they meet all funding conditions. TEOs are expected to understand these requirements and should not promote offerings that risk schools’ non-compliance with their Gateway funding conditions.
If you have any questions, please contact your relationship manager or customerservice@tec.govt.nz.
Final-year Fees Free Update
Inland Revenue supports learners with final-year Fees Free
Inland Revenue (IRD) is now responsible for supporting tertiary learners with final-year Fees Free information following a successful transition on 6 October.
Final-year Fees Free information is now available on the Inland Revenue website and information has been removed from the Fees Free website, with redirects in place.
Fees Free – Inland Revenue
Please update any links on your website and any marketing or communication material as soon as possible. We also ask that you remove the Fees Free logo from your material and check that you have made changes to align with the final-year policy. For more information on the actions you need to take, see the guidance on our website:
Learner support moves to Inland Revenue on 6 October – final-year Fees Free.
TEC will continue to manage the relationship with TEOs regarding final-year Fees Free, so your point of contact will not change.
First-year Fees Free
First-year Fees Free is not transitioning to IRD and the TEC will continue to administer this, including providing learner support.
Submission deadline for first-year Fees Free statutory declarations is 31 December 2025
Learners have until 31 December 2025 to submit statutory declarations, or any appeals, for first-year Fees Free. We will not process any statutory declarations or appeals received after this date.
We’ve updated our website information to include this deadline, and we’re encouraging those who have generated a statutory declaration but not yet submitted it to return it to us as soon as possible. If you have learners enrolled with your organisation who want to check their first-year Fees Free eligibility for 2024 or previous years, please encourage them to visit the Fees Free website.
Final submission deadline for first-year Fees Free reporting changes is 30 April 2026
We’d like to remind you to address any issues or missing data in your first-year Fees Free reporting for 2025 or previous years. It’s important your data is as error-free as possible so that TEC can accurately cover the fees of your eligible learners.
You’ll be able to update your first-year Fees Free data until 30 April 2026, after which we’ll do a last wash-up to finalise the first-year Fees Free funding for all years. Any changes after this date will not be covered, and TEO’s will not be able to charge learners for fees that would have been eligible for Fees Free.
We’ll be reaching out to those with a high volume of errors or missing data to offer support should you need it. Reporting guides are available on the TEC website if you’d like assistance working through any errors, see Guidance – first-year Fees Free.
If you have any questions, please contact your relationship manager or customerservice@tec.govt.nz.
Accurate reporting of delivery sites
The TEC uses information reported through the Single Data Return (SDR) to make informed investment decisions, including where delivery has taken place. For this reason, it is important that the correct delivery site is recorded against the respective learners.
The delivery site refers to the location in which most of the teaching, instruction or learning occurs for a particular course. The campus or site must be a recognised center of learning by the TEO that is geographically separate from other sites or campuses.
If you require assistance with updating your delivery site in DXP Nga Kete, please contact the TEC on 0800 601 301 or customerservice@tec.govt.nz.
