The Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills is consulting on tertiary fee regulation settings for 2025

The Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills invites submissions on proposed fee regulation settings for tertiary education providers in 2025. This includes a proposed Annual Maximum Fee Movement of 6.0%, as well as other minor and technical changes to the fee regulation settings intended to improve the clarity of the regulations.

The Annual Maximum Fee Movement

The Government regulates the fees tertiary providers can charge domestic students each year through the Annual Maximum Fee Movement (AMFM) and the micro-credential fee cap. The AMFM sets the maximum percentage increase allowed on fees for existing provider-based courses at Level 3 or above on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF).

The Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills has proposed an AMFM rate of 6.0% for 2025. This would permit up to a 6.0% increase on the fees (GST exclusive) charged in 2024 to domestic students. The proposed increase aims to strike a balance between supporting providers to manage cost pressures and supporting the affordability of tertiary education for students and their whānau.  

The micro-credential fee cap

The micro-credential fee cap sets a per-credit cap on the fees that providers can charge domestic students enrolled in micro-credentials. The Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills has proposed to keep the micro-credential fee cap at $64 per-credit for the 2025 calendar year.

Fee regulation policy changes

A range of other technical changes to fee regulations have also been proposed by the Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills to improve clarity of the settings for 2025, including minor amendments to student services fees settings.

Allow providers to temporarily reduce fees under the AMFM

Regulations from 2024 allowing providers to temporarily reduce the fees for a course across calendar years, while retaining the flexibility to subsequently return the previous fee, are proposed to continue for 2025. A proposed additional clause clarifies requirements where they interact with the fee regulation settings for low or zero fee courses. This proposal continues to provide the flexibility of the AMFM and enables new and varied pricing strategies for providers. 

Student services fees

A change is proposed to the timeframe for registered Private Training Establishments (PTEs) to provide the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) with a copy of the written report on student services fees that is provided to students. The proposed 14-day timeframe is intended to provide clear deadlines to support timely reporting.

Consultation process

The Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills invites submissions on proposed fee regulation settings for tertiary education providers in 2025. The proposed settings have been published in the New Zealand Gazette.

New Zealand Gazette(external link)

Submissions close 29 July 2024. Following consultation, the Minister will then make a final decision on the fee regulation settings for 2025.

Email

You can email your submission to tertiary.strategy@education.govt.nz.

Post

Submissions can be sent by post to:

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