Glossary

A person who has had their 19th birthday and the following 31 December has passed who enrols or is enrolled in a school. This excludes students who are considered to require special education under the Education Act 1989.

For example, if someone was at school and turned 19 years old on 31 March 2017, they will only be considered an adult learner for the period that they are enrolled at school from 2018 onwards.

A calendar year is the 12 month period from 1 January to 31 December.

The amount of fees-free entitlement learners have left over after their first calendar year of study. This amount can be used in future years.

Compulsory course costs are the fees charged by a provider for a course, on top of tuition fees. These include examination fees, material charges, costs of field trips, costs associated with the compulsory purchase of equipment or books and other charges associated with a course. These fees are covered by Fees Free. You may still need to pay other optional and occasional fees.

Compulsory student services fees may be used by providers to support the delivery of student services such as health care and student support. These fees are covered by Fees Free.

How much fees-free entitlement learners have used.

We work out your study workload by using a measurement called EFTS. Usually, 0.125 EFTS is equivalent to 15 credits or points at a provider. One EFTS is usually equal to one year of full-time provider-based study.

The amount of fees-free entitlement (in dollars) a fees-free eligible learner is entitled to use.

For fees-free, half a year of study or training is usually equal to 60 credits or 0.5 EFTS (see the definition for EFTS for more information).

Industry-based training refers to work-based training and apprenticeships done through an industry training organisation.

Industry training organisations manage work-based training and apprenticeships.

A National Student Number (NSN) is a unique number given to every learner. The NSN makes it easier to manage and share information about learners.

If you are planning to do provider-based study and don’t have a NSN, you will get one when you enrol with your provider.

If you are planning to do industry training and don’t have a NSN, you will get one when you enrol with your industry training organisation.

The NZQF is a record of all qualifications in New Zealand that have been reviewed and approved by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. The NZQF provides information about what knowledge, skills and experience the holder of a qualification should have.

These include (but are not limited to) student association and club memberships, some course materials and late fees. These fees are not covered by Fees Free.

Ordinarily resident means you normally and lawfully live in New Zealand, intend to stay here and consider New Zealand to be home.

A provider is any one of the following: an institute of technology, polytechnic, private training establishment, university, or wānanga.

Provider-based study is done through any one of the following: an institute of technology, polytechnic, private training establishment, university, or wānanga.

According to Immigration New Zealand, broadly speaking a refugee is a person who:

• is outside of his or her home country or country of habitual residence
• faces a real chance of being harmed if returned to that country
• faces harm that is a sustained or systemic breach of a fundamental human right
• faces harm for reasons of who the person is, or what they believe. The reasons may be race (or ethnicity), religion, political opinion, nationality or membership of a particular social group (such as family status, gender, or sexual orientation or identity,. and
• needs and deserves protection in New Zealand.

A protected person is a person for whom there are substantial grounds for believing she or he would be in danger of torture, arbitrary deprivation of life or cruel treatment if deported from New Zealand.

Please see ‘Claiming Refugee and Protection Status in New Zealand’ (PDF, 0.4MB) for more information

Holders of a residence class visa are able to live and work permanently in New Zealand. Australian citizens, Australian residents or Australian permanent residents living in New Zealand are automatically given a residence class visa.

When we refer to school we mean either a secondary school, high school, home school, or college.

Any study at level 3 or above on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) that a learner participates in while enrolled in school where the school has approved that participation. The study may include tertiary education. It excludes study done for personal interest not arranged through a school.

A full-time programme for a participating student that:

• consists of a secondary component and a tertiary component; and
• is co-ordinated by a provider group or a lead provider.

For example:

• Trades Academies
• Gateway, and
• the Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource (STAR).

A sponsored person is someone who has had their visa or their application to be recognised as a refugee or protected person in New Zealand backed by an eligible person or organisation.

A statutory declaration is a written document that must be completed in front of an authorised witness. In New Zealand an authorised witness can be a:

• Justice of the Peace (JP) - Find a JP
• barrister or solicitor - Find a lawyer
• legal executive employed by a barrister or solicitor
• notary public - Find a notary public, or
• Registrar or Deputy Registrar of the District Court or the High Court - Find a District Court or High Court

Outside New Zealand, they include a:

• judge
• notary public

SAC is the dollar amount the Government pays towards the cost of teaching and learning services for learners enrolled at a tertiary education organisation (TEO). It is separate to the amount your TEO charges in fees and to your fees-free support.

Tertiary organisations include:

• Polytechnics
• Private Training Establishments
• Industry Training Organisations
• Institutes of Technology
• Wānanga
• Universities.

Tuition fees are the fees charged by a provider for a course. These fees are covered by fees-free support.

For provider-based study, this means a learner has used equivalent full-time student (EFTS)/credits in a course.

To have “undertaken” a course, a learner needs to have enrolled in a course. A learner does not have to have achieved EFTS/credits (i.e completed the course with a pass grade) or participated in the course.

If a learner withdraws from a course within the provider’s specified withdrawal timeframes for a refund, EFTS/credits will not be counted as undertaken.

However, if the learner did not withdraw from the course until after the withdrawal date EFTS/credits will be counted as undertaken.

To have “undertaken” industry training, a learner must have completed unit standards through an industry training programme. That is, the learner has achieved credits relating to those unit standards.

A “withdrawal” is when a learner stops participating in a course, programme or training scheme (regardless of whether they have been refunded any fees), either:

• by providing notice to their organisation that they wish to withdraw participation, or
• as a result of non-attendance or non-participation for any reason.

A 2019 Starter is an eligible learner who used some or all of their fees-free entitlement in the 2019 calendar year.

This includes eligible learners who did training through Māori and Pasifika trades Training or undertook level 3 Youth Guarantee study in 2019.