You can only get Fees Free for the 1st qualification or programme you complete. If you have studied or done work-based learning previously, you may not be able to get Fees Free for your current qualification or programme.
Qualifications and programmes completed after 1 January 2025
Fees Free is for the 1st eligible qualification or programme you complete after 1 January 2025.
If you have completed any tertiary qualifications or programmes, in most cases you cannot get Fees Free.
Qualification and programme eligibility
If you have completed study or work-based learning overseas, for any length of time and at any level, you cannot get Fees Free.
Exceptions – previous study and work-based learning allowed
There are exceptions where you may get Fees Free even if you have already completed a qualification or programme after 1 January 2025.
Previous study and work-based learning allowed:
- certificates of proficiency
- pathway qualifications
- zero-fee programmes
- school learning programmes
- secondary tertiary programmes (like trades academies)
- qualifications funded through the Youth Guarantee Fund, Māori and Pasifika Trades Training Fund, or the Refugee English Funds
- qualifications or programmes at Levels 1 or 2 on the NZQCF
- qualifications and credentials under 0.5 EFTS
- programmes under 120 credits.
From 1 January 2025 any study or work-based learning you do not complete will not impact your eligibility for Fees Free.
Gus starts study for the first time in 2025 and completes a Bachelor of Arts. Gus does not meet the residency criteria and cannot get Fees Free for this qualification.
Gus now meets the residency criteria for Fees Free and starts a Master of Arts. Gus has already completed an eligible qualification after 1 January 2025, so cannot get Fees Free for the Master of Arts.
Bex starts studying a Bachelor of Arts in 2026. Bex had already completed a Certificate of University Preparation in 2025 worth 60 credits (0.5 EFTS). The certificate is a pathway qualification, so Bex can still get Fees Free for the Bachelor of Arts.
Study or work-based learning before 1 January 2025
If you did more than half a year full time study or 60 credits of work-based learning in 2024 or earlier, you generally cannot get Fees Free. This includes:
- equivalent study or work-based learning done overseas
- part-time study or work-based learning at NZQCF level 3 or above if it would add up to more than half a year full-time. Half a year of full-time study is usually 0.5 EFTS or 60 credits.
This also includes study or work-based learning where you:
- didn’t pay fees
- did it as part of workplace training or an apprenticeship
- did not finish
- failed
- withdrew after the refund timeframe
- paid the fees yourself, including by student loan or a scholarship.
If you started in 2024 or earlier but have done less than half a year, you may be able to get Fees Free.
Exceptions - previous study and work-based learning allowed
There are exceptions where you may get Fees Free even if you have already done study or work-based learning before 1 January 2025. You may be able to get Fees Free if your previous study or work-based learning was:
- any tertiary education while enrolled in secondary school
- made of credits that you achieved after 1 January 2018 as part of a work-based programme - if it was less than 120 credits in total
- a course you studied after 1 January 2023 - if it had zero tuition fees and zero compulsory course costs
- any tertiary study or training that was funded through the Youth Guarantee, Māori and Pasifika Trades Training or Refugee English Funds.
Ben already has a Bachelor of Arts degree in history that he completed before 2025. He is now studying for a Master of Arts degree. He has done more than half a year of equivalent full-time study before 2025, so he cannot get Fees Free.
Noa starts studying for a Diploma in Architecture in 2025. He has already completed some learning through the Māori and Pasifika Trades Training. This is allowed previous learning. Noa cannot get Fees Free for the Māori and Pasifika Trades Training, but can still get it for his Diploma.
Louis enrols in a Bachelor of Arts in 2025. In 2023, Louis completed the equivalent of a 30 credit Level 2 tertiary certificate in England. As it was completed before 1 January 2025, and is less than 60 credits, Louis can still get Fees Free when he completes the Bachelor of Arts.
In 2024, Keri was enrolled in high school and did a tertiary music course at the same time. She completed 80 credits of the music course in 2024, which is more than the allowed 60 credits (or 0.5 EFTS).
However, Keri was enrolled at high school while doing the music course, so she can get Fees Free for her next qualification.