Income tax Dates
Fees Free covers fees for the final year of tertiary study or final 2 years of work-based learning you complete on or after 1 January 2025. You can get up to $12,000 towards the cost of your fees.
Fees Free only covers your 1st qualification or programme.
You can only get Fees Free once. If you have already had Fees Free, you cannot get it again.
When you enrol you will need to pay your fees. To help you cover this cost, you may wish to apply for a student loan through StudyLink.
Types of tertiary learning
Studying is where all your learning is done on campus, online or both.
Work-based learning is where you train in a workplace or learn on the job. This includes apprenticeships.
When to apply
You can apply for Fees Free from 15 January 2026.
Apply within 1 year of completing your qualification or programme. For study completed in the 2025 calendar year, you have until 31 December 2026.
You must complete and pass your qualification or programme before you apply. This means you must do things in a certain order.
- Enrol for your study or work-based learning.
- Pay your fees.
- Complete and pass your qualification or programme.
Meeting eligibility requirements
You may be able to get Fees Free if you meet the qualification or programme and residency requirements. Even if you meet these, you may not be able to get Fees Free if you have:
- already studied or done work-based learning
- already had Fees Free
- used Training incentive allowance for final year study fees.
What final-year means
For study—your final year is your final 1 EFTS of study. 1 EFTS of study is usually 120 credits or points. If you are studying part-time, you can still get Fees Free for a full year’s worth of study.
For work-based learning—your final 24 calendar months will be counted as your final year because work-based learning is done part-time, while working. Only active learning months are counted.
For both study and work-based learning, you can take your final year over multiple calendar years, up to 5 years. If you take longer than 5 years, you may not receive the full Fees Free entitlement.
Fees covered by Fees Free
For study—Fees Free covers tuition fees, compulsory course costs and student services fees.
For work-based learning—Fees Free covers all fees for training and assessment, including fees paid to tertiary education organisations or directly to training and assessment providers.
Maximum entitlement
When you reach 1 of these limits, that is the most Fees Free you can get:
- 1 EFTS of study
- 24 months of work-based learning
- fees of $12,000.
Receiving your Fees Free entitlement
If you get Fees Free and you have a student loan, the payment will go to your loan balance. If you do not have a student loan, it will be paid to your bank account.
Any Fees Free entitlement you receive will not be income - you do not need to include it in your income tax return.
First-year Fees Free
Until 31 December 2024, Fees Free covered fees for the 1st year. If you received Fees Free in your 1st year, you cannot get it again for your final year.
If you have questions about eligibility for first-year Fees Free, contact the Tertiary Education Commission.
https://www.feesfree.govt.nz/contact-us/