NZQA rules work programme: changed compliance requirements
The following tables outline any changes from previous NZQA requirements that have arisen from
NZQA’s rules work programme. Since the passing of Education Amendment Act 2011, NZQA has
developed 12 sets of rules to replace its previous policies and criteria for the quality assurance of
the non-university tertiary education sector.
Should you have any questions or require any clarification about any of the rules, please contact
your Sector Relationship Manager in the first instance.
Directory of Assessment Standards (DAS) Listing and Operational Rules 2011
Impact on: Standard-setting bodies.
Take effect from: 31 August 2011
Compliance requirements: Those impacted by
the rules required to be fully compliant from 31
August 2011.
Key changes/impact from the rules:
 These rules did not introduce significant
changes from the previous Quality
assurance criteria for the listing of unit
standards on the Directory of Assessment
Standards.
Consent to Assess Against Standards on the DAS Rules 2011
Impact on: ITOs, schools, ITPs, wānanga, and
Key changes/impact from the rules:
PTEs
 The Consent to Assess Against Standards
on the DAS Rules 2011 clarify the
Take effect from: 31 August 2011
requirements where a provider (other than a
university) proposes to use a sub-contractor.
Where an applicant for a consent to assess
Compliance requirements: Those impacted by
against standards, or a holder of a consent,
the rules required to be fully compliant from 31
proposes to use a sub-contractor which itself
August 2011.
is the holder of a consent to assess against
those particular standards, the applicant or
Note: These were formerly the NQF
holder must notify NZQA of the arrangement
accreditation criteria for standards.
prior to using the sub-contractor. Where an
applicant for a consent to assess against
standards, or a holder of a consent,
proposes to use a sub-contractor which does
not itself hold a consent to assess against
those particular standards, the applicant or
holder must apply to NZQA for approval to
engage the sub-contractor.
 Where a holder of a consent to assess
against standards has sub-contracted the
delivery of study or training in respect of the
standards, the sub-contractor may not further
sub-contract the delivery of education and
training in respect of those standards to
which the consent relates.
1
Private Training Establishment (PTE) Annual Registration Fee Rules (No.2) 2011
Impact on: PTEs, GTEs and wānanga
Take effect from: 7 December 2011
Compliance requirements: Those impacted by
the rules required to be fully compliant from 7
December 2011.
Key changes/impact from the rules:
 These rules did not introduce any changes
from previous requirements when first
introduced in August 2011. However, they
were modified in December 2011 to correct
an omission from the learning hours
calculation. During this process the rules
were also re-written for clarity.
Note: These rules are a conversion of previous
non-statutory requirements for an annual
registration fee.
PTE Enrolment and Academic Records Rules 2012
Impact on: PTEs
Take effect from: 21 February 2012
Compliance requirements: Those impacted by
the rules required to be fully compliant from 21
February 2012.
Note: While PTEs were previously subject to
record keeping requirements, the PTE
Enrolment and Academic Records Rules 2012
make NZQA’s expectations for PTE record
keeping more clear and transparent.
Key changes/impact from the rules:
 PTEs must keep accurate enrolment records
for each student until at least two years after
the completion of the education or training in
which the student is enrolled.
 PTEs must keep accurate academic records
(for student assessment and examination
results, cross-credits, credit transfer,
recognition of prior learning arrangements,
and achievement of awards or qualifications)
on permanent record, and records of
attendance for at least the duration of the
student’s enrolment.
 Category 3 and 4 PTEs1 must keep all
student assessment materials for the
duration of a student’s enrolment in
education or training, whether or not the
education or training is delivered by the PTE
or an approved sub-contractor.
NZQF Industry Training Programme Approval Rules 2012
Impact on: ITOs, PTEs
Take effect from: 28 September 2012
Compliance requirements: Those impacted by
the rules required to be fully compliant from 28
September 2012.
Note: Prior to 1 January 2013 many courses
were run under consents to assess against
standards.
Key changes/impact from the rules:
 An industry training programme is a
programme that leads to a qualification on
the NZQF that provides training for the
purposes of the Industry Training Act 1992,
and for which assessment is carried out by
or on behalf of an industry training
organisation.
 Industry training programme developers
must seek approval for industry training
programmes that lead to a qualification on
the NZQF. The requirements differ in some
ways from approval of programmes that are
not industry training based.
 The fee for NZQA approval of industry
1
All non-university tertiary education providers are placed into one of four Provider Categories on the basis of their EER
results. More information about incentives and sanctions and the provider categories can be found on NZQA’s website.
2

training programmes is the same as for other
applications ($150 per hour plus GST).
Industry training programme developers
must consult with the relevant qualification
developer where they are not also the
developer of the qualification to which the
programme will lead.
NZQF Offshore Programme Delivery Rules 2012
Impact on: Universities, ITPs, wānanga, and
PTEs
Take effect from: 28 September 2012
Compliance requirements: Organisations that
were carrying out offshore delivery prior to
September 2012, as well as those that have
previously obtained approval for offshore
delivery, must apply for approval under the new
rules by 31 December 2013.
All organisations intending to carry out offshore
delivery must obtain approval under the new
rules by 30 June 2014.
Key changes/impact from the rules:
 Universities and Category 1 or 2 providers
can be accredited for offshore delivery of
programmes, or parts of programmes, that
lead to qualifications on the NZQF.
 Where a provider is using an offshore
partner organisation, the provider remains
responsible under these rules for the actions
and performance of the offshore partner
organisation in relation to the offshore
programme delivery.
 Applications for programme approval for
offshore delivery must meet special criteria,
outlined in the NZQF Offshore Programme
Delivery Rules 2012, as well as the regular
programme approval and accreditation
criteria.
Training Scheme Rules 2012
Impact on: Universities, ITPs, wānanga, PTEs
and ITOs
Take effect from: 30 October 2012
Compliance requirements: Those impacted by
the rules required to be fully compliant from 30
October 2012.
Note: These rules include replacement for
former ‘short course approvals’.
Key changes/impact from the rules:
 TEOs now have clear requirements for
approval of training schemes, i.e. study or
training that leads to an award but does not,
of itself, lead to an award of a qualification
listed on the NZQF.
 Training schemes offered to international
students must be approved, although training
schemes of a recreational nature, corporate
training, and training schemes with a credit
value of less than 10 credits are exempt from
the Training Scheme Rules 2012 under the
Education (Exempt Training Schemes)
Notice 2012 published in the New Zealand
Gazette on 8 November 2012. However,
providers may still wish to apply for training
scheme approval (for example, to maintain
registration or for funding purposes).
 Training scheme approval is not required
where it is only offered to domestic students,
unless it is intended to attract funding or
maintain registration as a PTE.
 ITOs wishing to develop a training scheme
must apply jointly with a provider, as ITOs,
under the Industry Training Act 1992, are not
3

permitted to ‘provide’ education and training.
The Training Scheme Rules 2012 include
requirements where a provider (other than a
university) proposes to use a sub-contractor
to provide an approved training scheme.
Where the provider and the sub-contractor
are both approved to deliver the training
scheme, the provider must notify NZQA of
the arrangement. Where the provider is
approved to deliver the training scheme but
the sub-contractor is not, the provider must
apply to NZQA for approval to engage the
sub-contractor prior to the delivery of the
training scheme.
NZQF Qualification Listing and Operational Rules 2012
Impact on: Universities, ITPs, wānanga, PTEs,
GTEs and ITOs
Take effect from: 16 December 2012
Compliance requirements: Those impacted by
the rules required to be fully compliant from 16
December 2012.
Note: The content of these Rules was applied in
practice prior to 16 December 2012.
Key changes/impact from the rules:
 Certificates at Level 7 have been removed
from the NZQF.
 Applicants applying for approval to list a
qualification on the NZQF may now request
that the qualification be listed in te reo Māori
(with an English equivalent description), and
may choose whether to include a reo Māori
translation for “New Zealand”.
 Applicants applying for approval to list a
qualification on the NZQF may now opt in to
mātauranga Māori evaluative quality
assurance for any qualification at levels 1 to
6 by requesting that the qualification is
assessed using the mātauranga Māori
evaluative quality assurance criteria.
 The rules include the processes for reviews
of qualifications.
NZQF Programme Approval and Accreditation Rules 2013
Impact on: Universities, ITPs, wānanga, PTEs
and GTEs
Take effect from: 1 January 2013
Compliance requirements: Those impacted by
the rules required to be fully compliant from 1
January 2013.
Note: These rules replace the previous gazetted
criteria for programme approval and
accreditation.
Note: Since their introduction under the Consent
to Assess Against Standards on the DAS Rules
2011 in 2011, NZQA has noticed a considerable
number of non-compliant sub-contracting
Key changes/impact from the rules:
 Category 2-4 providers enrolling international
students (for whom English is not their first
language) in a programme that is not an
English language programme must ensure
they have, prior to enrolment, achieved,
within the preceding two years, at least one
of the relevant English proficiency outcomes
listed in Appendix 2 of the NZQF Programme
Approval and Accreditation Rules 2013.
 Category 1 providers with an internal English
proficiency test that produces an equivalent
or better result compared to the relevant
proficiency outcome, as required by the
NZQF Programme Approval and
Accreditation Rules 2013, may use their own
internal English language testing.
4
arrangements, and will work to provide the
sector with support in becoming compliant in the
first instance. Continued non-compliance,
however, will result in appropriate action being
taken.

Note: With regard to the new English language
entry requirements, any admission decisions
(except those relating to the New Zealand
Diploma in Business) made before 1 March
2013 will be allowed to stand in order to
acknowledge the lead in times for marketing to
international students. Any new admission
decisions made on or after 1 March 2013 must
comply with the new requirements.




TEOs can now request for their programme
approval and accreditation applications to be
assessed under mātauranga Māori
evaluative quality assurance criteria and be
eligible for the Mātauranga Māori Quality
Assurance Mark.
The NZQF Programme Approval and
Accreditation Rules 2013 include
requirements where a provider (other than a
university) proposes to use a sub-contractor
to provide an approved programme or part of
an approved programme. Where the provider
and the sub-contractor are both accredited to
provide the programme (or part), the provider
must notify NZQA of the arrangement.
Where the provider is accredited to provide
the programme (or part) but the subcontractor is not, the provider must apply to
NZQA for approval to engage the subcontractor prior to the provision of the
programme (or part).
The requirements differ slightly between
programmes at Levels 1-6 and Levels 7-10.
The rules implement a more formal process
for changes to programmes.
When applying for programme approval, all
providers (other than universities) must now
include information that demonstrates the
programme meets the programme approval
criteria included in the rules. Category 1
providers were formerly exempt from
including information that demonstrated their
programmes met the gazetted criteria for
programme approval and accreditation.
External Evaluation and Review (EER) Rules 2013
Impact on: ITPs, wānanga, PTEs, GTEs and
ITOs
Take effect from: 1 January 2013
Compliance requirements: Those impacted by
the rules required to be fully compliant from 1
January 2013.
Note: A similar set of requirements operated
previously under programme accreditation,
consent to assess against standards on the DAS
and training scheme requirements, as well as
PTE registration.
Key changes/impact from the rules:
 The time period between a TEO’s EER will
be calculated from the date that the TEO’s
previous EER report is published.
 Where a TEO has been granted the
mātauranga Māori quality assurance mark in
respect of a programme it is accredited to
provide, any EER of the TEO will include the
provision of that programme as a mandatory
focus area unless NZQA advises otherwise.
 Category 1 or 2 providers, or a provider
scheduled for its first EER, may opt into EER
using MM EQA criteria (a) to assess any
focus area within the scope of an EER, and
(b) for the full scope of the EER.
 The incentives and sanctions relating to (i)
EER frequency, (ii) assessment and
5



moderation by Category 3 and 4 providers,
and (iii) the ability of Category 3 and 4
providers to apply for new programme
approvals and accreditations, are now
included in the External Evaluation and
Review (EER) Rules 2013.
The rules have changed the ‘trigger-point’ for
when the sanction relating to programme
approvals, accreditation to provide approved
programmes, training scheme approval, and
consent to assess will be lifted from
Category 3 and 4 providers. Under the rules,
any such sanctions will not be lifted until an
institution improves its statements of
confidence to at least Confident in in
educational performance and capability in
self-assessment at its next EER.
The assessment and moderation sanction
included in the rules gives a new option
where Category 3 and 4 providers can
appoint a Category 1 or 2 provider to verify
their assessment and moderation decisions
for all student work. Previously, Category 3
and 4 providers only had the option of
appointing a Category 1 or 2 provider to
actually carry out the assessment and
moderation of all student work.
NZQA also now has the option of appointing
“one or more suitably qualified persons” to
undertake assessment and moderation work
on behalf of a Category 3 or 4 provider,
where that provider has not appointed the
necessary Category 1 or 2 provider in the
required timeframe. This is particularly useful
where there are no, or few, Category 1 or 2
providers in a subject area.
Student Fee Protection Rules 2013
Impact on: PTEs
Take effect from: 1 January 2013
Compliance requirements: Those impacted by
the rules required to be fully compliant from 1
January 2013.
Note: These rules replace the previous Student
Fee Protection Policy.
Key changes/impact from the rules:
 All PTEs must use a standard trust to cover
the statutory withdrawal and refund period,
as required by the Education Act.
 No draw-downs of any portion of student
fees can be made until the end of the
relevant refund period for student
withdrawals.
 The initial draw-down after the end of the
refund period changes from 15 per cent to
the lesser of 20 per cent or $3,000.
 NZQA cannot grant exemptions to PTEs
from protecting student fees. However, all
current exemptions are grand-parented and
so still apply.
6




PTEs using a standard trust to protect
students will no longer be required to submit
a quarterly attestation.
PTEs will have five months from their
financial year-end to submit their
independent audit of student fee protection
arrangements, instead of three months.
If the course is weather dependent or
involves self-paced learning, after the end of
the refund period drawn-downs will be in
arrears as the course is completed, rather
than being drawn down in equal instalments.
These rules supplement the Education Act’s
requirement that agents who receive fees
from students are now also responsible for
protecting those fees.
Private Training Establishment Registration Rules 2013
Impact on: PTEs
Take effect from: 1 January 2013
Compliance requirements: Those impacted by
the rules required to be fully compliant from 1
January 2013.
Note: These rules replace the Policies and
Criteria for Ongoing Registration of Private
Training Establishments.
Key changes/impact from the rules:
 PTEs will have five months from their
financial year-end to submit their annual
return documentation, rather than the
previous 90 day timeframe.
 PTEs are required to inform their students
where the PTE is subject to statutory
measures, and of its EER outcomes, and
make it clear in its publicity material whether
any of its programmes or training schemes
are not approved by NZQA.
 The previous requirement for PTEs to
‘incorporate the Treaty of Waitangi into [its]
culture and activities’ has been replaced with
the requirement that PTEs ‘meet the needs
of its intended students, of its relevant
communities (including whānau, hapū, iwi, or
hapori Māori) and other key stakeholders
(including any relevant academic, employer,
industry, rūnanga, marae, professional and
other bodies’). This change is due to PTEs
not being Treaty partners.
 PTEs are required to ensure their teaching
staff are either qualified to at least one Level
above the students being taught, or have
demonstrated equivalent experience to one
Level above the students being taught.
 The rules now state the actions a PTE must
take where its EER judgements fall below
‘Confident’. In such cases, PTEs are
required to immediately undertake
improvement actions and to have, and
implement, a clear plan for compliance with
any applicable sanctions. Previously, PTEs
were simply required to maintain judgements
7

of Confident or above.
Where PTEs propose to provide education or
training through a sub-contractor, the rules
require them to comply with the requirements
for sub-contracted provision in the Consent
to Assess Against Standards on the DAS
Rules 2011, the Training Scheme Rules
2012 and the NZQF Programme Approval
and Accreditation Rules 2013.
8