Source: Tertiary Education Commission
Last updated 9 October 2025
Vocational education and training (VET) in New Zealand is changing. You’ll find regular updates on these changes here.
VET remains an important part of our education and training environment with over 250,000 people participating, whether at a polytechnic or in work-based learning. You’ll find the links to our regular updates below.
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Updates
Source: Tertiary Education Commission
Last updated 9 October 2025
The Minister of Education, Minister for Vocational Education and Minister for Universities have issued the 2026 funding determinations.
These funding determinations will come into effect from 1 January 2026. Changes arising from the determinations will be reflected in the 2026 Funding Conditions Catalogue, which will be published in November.
General changes across funding determinations
Included an alternative clause for organisations eligible for funding (ie, polytechnics and Industry Skills Boards), noting that this alternative will come into effect if the Education and Training (Vocational Education and Training System) Amendment Bill is enacted before 1 January 2026.
Made minor and technical updates, including:
updates to terminology and standardisation of terms used
minor corrections to align with current policy and practice
clarifying existing clauses or adding detail to clarify policy intent, and
improving the consistency of similar clauses across different determinations.
Funding determinations and changes
Adult and Community Education (ACE)
Updated funding rates.
Clarified that there is a six-hour minimum requirement for ACE provision in state schools, state integrated schools and charter schools.
Added a new clause allowing synchronous online delivery where this is in the best interest of the learner/s.
Added “enabling access to education and the TEO’s capability to deliver effectively” as a consideration for online synchronous delivery.
Clarified that TEC approvals for asynchronous delivery are valid for multiple years unless revoked.
Added the ability for the TEC to revoke approval for asynchronous delivery.
Delivery at Levels 1 and 2 on the NZQCF
Updated funding rates.
Clarified that programmes may be delivered asynchronously, with prior written approval from the TEC.
Added a clause to allow overseas learners to be funded if “the learner is studying in a Realm country (namely, Tokelau, the Cook Islands, or Niue) in 2026 and is enrolled in a programme that was funded under this funding mechanism in 2025 or earlier”.
Delivery at Levels 3 to 7 (non-degree) on the NZQCF and all industry training
Updated funding rates.
Updated the definition of one EFTS unit for work-based learning.
Removed clauses relating to Standard Training Measure (STM).
Replaced reference to “Funded STMs” with “Funded EFTS” next to the funding formula.
Aligned fund purpose with other delivery funding determinations (no policy change is intended).
Clarified requirement to embed literacy and numeracy as part of work-based mode delivery at Level 3.
Simplified references to priorities and expectations for Learner Component funding.
Within the Learner Component, removed Māori and Pacific learners as an eligible learner category, in accordance with a Cabinet decision to “remove Māori and Pacific learners as a category for Learner Component funding and reinvest this funding into provider-based delivery funding rates” [CAB-25-MIN-0085.01].
Removed paragraphs relating to specific performance expectations for Learner Component funding.
Removed references to the “work-based: pathway to work” mode of delivery.
Removed paragraphs relating to the first-year Fees Free scheme and conditions no longer necessary for the administration of Fees Free.
Set the Annual Maximum Fee Movement (AMFM) rate at 6 percent.
Added Mathematics as a new delivery classification.
Added a clause to allow overseas learners to be funded if “the learner is studying in a Realm country (namely, Tokelau, the Cook Islands, or Niue) in 2026 and is enrolled in a programme that was funded under this funding mechanism in 2025 or earlier”.
Delivery at Levels 7 (degree) to 10 on the NZQCF
Updated funding rates.
Updated the cap for the medical undergraduate year 1 intake.
Removed paragraphs relating to the first-year Fees Free scheme and conditions no longer necessary for the administration of Fees Free.
Set the Annual Maximum Fee Movement (AMFM) rate at 6 percent.
Added Mathematics as a new delivery classification.
Added Mathematics as a funding category to implement the targeted cost adjustment to Mathematics provision.
Added a clause to allow overseas learners to be funded if “the learner is studying in a Realm country (namely, Tokelau, the Cook Islands, or Niue) in 2026 and is enrolled in a programme that was funded under this funding mechanism in 2025 or earlier”.
English Language Teaching (ELT)
Updated funding rates.
Added charter schools to the list of eligible TEOs.
Clarified that the purpose of the ELT Intensive Literacy and Numeracy Fund (ELT ILN) is to increase opportunities for adults, particularly migrants and refugees, to engage in English literacy and numeracy learning.
Clarified the purpose of the ELT Refugee English Fund to better reflect the intent of raising learners’ English literacy and numeracy skills to help them enter employment or undertake their choice of vocational or degree-level education.
Clarified that there aren’t two different groups of learners progressing through the fund by replacing the term “learners” with “them” in the purpose section.
Clarified that programmes funded by ELT ILN must have numeracy outcomes.
Clarified that learners funded by ELT ILN must have low numeracy skills (as well as low English language and/or literacy skills).
Clarified that the hour intensity of ELT ILN is per learner.
Gateway
Replaced the term “TEOs” with “schools” to better reflect the fund’s intent and use.
Clarified that the eligible students in Gateway will achieve, on average, 20 credits towards qualifications in either NCEA or another qualification on the NZQCF.
Expanded the eligibility for programmes funded under Gateway to include standalone micro-credentials. This change will allow learners to access a wider range of programmes and align Gateway with changes to the wider tertiary education system by recognising the value of standalone micro-credentials.
Literacy and Numeracy Provision
Updated funding rates.
Added charter schools to the list of TEOs eligible for Intensive Literacy and Numeracy and Workplace Literacy and Numeracy (WLN) funding.
Added a new clause to allow learners, whose disability represents exceptional circumstances that prevent them from being assessed using the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool, to still be eligible for funding under this fund.
Added a new clause allowing synchronous online delivery where this is in the best interest of the learner/s.
Added “enabling access to education and the TEO’s capability to deliver effectively” as a consideration for online synchronous delivery.
Clarified that TEC approvals for asynchronous delivery are valid for multiple years unless revoked.
Added the ability for the TEC to revoke approval for asynchronous delivery.
Removed the following from disqualifying circumstances for learner eligibility for the WLN Fund:
Enrolled in a programme or micro-credential at Level 4 or above on the NZQCF
Enrolled in a New Zealand Apprenticeship.
Added that the prior written approval of NZQA is necessary to subcontract where the TEO is quality assured by NZQA.
Māori and Pasifika Trades Training (MPTT)
Added micro-credentials to the list of provider-based delivery eligible for fee top-ups under this fund.
Youth Guarantee
Updated funding rates.
Added charter schools to the list of eligible TEOs.
Added that providers may be funded to deliver the NCEA literacy and numeracy co-requisite standards under the Youth Guarantee fund.
Added that the delivery of the NCEA literacy and numeracy co-requisites standards is exempt from the 2.5 EFTS limit set on eligible learners; and that the TEC may specify exemptions to this limit.
Added the NCEA literacy and numeracy co-requisite standards to eligible programmes.
Added a new clause allowing synchronous online delivery where this is in the best interest of the learner/s.
Added “enabling access to education and the TEO’s capability to deliver effectively” as a consideration for online synchronous delivery.
Clarified that TEC approvals for asynchronous delivery are valid for multiple years unless revoked.
Added the ability for the TEC to revoke approval for asynchronous delivery.
Replaced references to “organisations” with “tertiary education organisations (TEOs)”.
Source: New Zealand Police
Attributable to Inspector Phil Gillbanks, Rotorua Area Prevention Manager,
Rotorua Police would like to thank members of the public who came to an older woman’s aid following an assault this afternoon.
At around 3.50pm, Police were alerted to a 69-year-old woman having been assaulted on Hinemoa Street.
After seeing the assault, multiple members of the public quickly intervened and provided immediate care for the older woman.
The alleged offender left the area after the assault, however was located a short time later by Police where they were taken into custody.
This was a callous and violent attack on a vulnerable member of our community and Police are appalled by these actions.
Police would like to recognise and thank the fast actions of the public, who showed the true empathetic and kind nature of our Rotorua community.
A 39-year-old woman is due to appear in Rotorua District Court on Friday 10 October, charged with injures with intent to injure and assaults Police.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
Source: New Zealand Government
Thank you for the invitation to join you today.
As Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister for Infrastructure, it is a real privilege to be here with so many of New Zealand’s facilities management professionals.
You’re not often in the headlines. But you are the people who keep our schools, hospitals, justice facilities, defence sites, and transport networks actually working and providing the services that New Zealanders rely on.
The infrastructure challenge: why value matters
New Zealand faces a wave of infrastructure challenges which mean that our needs are growing. Demographic change, energy security and efficiency, climate resilience, housing growth, and rising public expectations all combine with that fact that the infrastructure we built between the 1950s and 1990s is reaching the end of its design life. And alongside this, the cost of delivering infrastructure continues to rise faster than inflation.
That is why getting more value out of what we already own is essential. It is not a “nice to have”. Every dollar we can save by managing infrastructure well is a dollar to invest in preparing infrastructure for the future.
New Zealand’s poor value from infrastructure
But we don’t get good bang for buck when it comes to our infrastructure spend.
New Zealand spends a similar proportion of its GDP on infrastructure as other high-income countries, yet in terms of the value we get, we’re in the bottom 10% of the OECD.
International comparisons (OECD) and the Infrastructure Commission’s own assessments point out significant gaps in central government’s infrastructure investment and management systems.
The results are visible: leaking school roofs, justice facilities in poor condition, military housing with mould, hospitals with asbestos and sewage leaks.
We know that:
Without good asset registers, without robust asset management and investment plans, without good business cases and consistent reporting, we cannot accurately compare investments or make trade-offs between cost, risk, and service.
Ministers, Parliament, and the public deserve confidence that we are spending wisely. Right now, that confidence is not guaranteed.
This is why lifting our entire system’s performance is critical to the Crown’s financial sustainability and service delivery.
Central government must do better
Central government owns around 45% of New Zealand’s total infrastructure stock and is responsible for nearly half of all this country’s infrastructure spend.
But the truth is that central government often performs worse at asset management than the private sector or local government. This is not acceptable.
So how do we get better value? The answer starts with asset management.
Asset management also underpins resilience. Every time a cyclone, flood, or earthquake disrupts services, we are reminded of what is at stake. Christchurch, Kaikōura, Auckland Anniversary floods, Cyclone Gabrielle – all have shown us the enormous costs of underinvestment in resilience.
Good asset management allows us to understand such risks, quantify liabilities, and make informed trade-offs between strengthening, relocating, insuring, or accepting risk. It is the discipline that ensures long-lived assets will still be fit for purpose decades from now.
Government reforms: lifting sophistication and capability
This Government has launched a programme to lift asset management performance across central government. It has two phases.
Phase One: getting the basics right
Phase One of the Government’s programme is about some quick wins and is already underway. At its core, this phase is about providing clarity on what ‘good’ looks like and ensuring that agencies have the tools they need to get there.
One of the most important innovations in Phase One is the use of performance indicators to monitor and report on agencies’ asset management performance against plans. One of these indicators relates to natural hazard and climate change risk. We will be asking agencies to quantify this financial exposure so we at least know the natural hazard and climate change liabilities of our infrastructure, and with that knowledge can start to plan the appropriate mitigation.
Having this transparency will allow Ministers, Parliament, and the public to see the real trade-offs, and it will create the discipline we need for smarter, more resilient investment.
Other Phase One quick wins include:
Phase Two: system change for the long term
Phase Two, beginning next year, will take on the bigger structural reforms. This will be informed by the Infrastructure Commission’s National Infrastructure Plan, which will likely include recommendations to change government’s Investment Management System.
The draft National Infrastructure Plan includes recommendations for legislative requirements for agencies:
Other considerations could also include looking at incentives – for example, linking multiyear budget allocations to an agency’s asset management performance and considering how to enhance reporting and accountability requirements.
Ultimately, what gets implemented will be down to the Government’s response to the Plan.
Together, these changes will lift capability across the public sector and ensure central government becomes a more sophisticated client of infrastructure.
Government as a more sophisticated client: working together
This brings me to you – the facilities management professionals, contractors, and service providers and your work with government clients.
I believe that government must improve its performance to become a more able, capable client. That means it must outsource the work, not the thinking. It cannot abdicate responsibility for decisions to contractors. Agencies need the in-house expertise to challenge, guide, and set the right direction.
Working together, we can ensure we get the most value out of New Zealand’s infrastructure.
I know from our research that agencies don’t have complete asset data to drive their asset management planning, and this needs to change in a hurry. It’s up to our facilities management providers to collect asset information on a regular basis and ensure it’s available in a way that it can be used to improve how we manage our infrastructure into the future.
I also know that facilities management has a key role in ensuring maintenance and renewal strategies are fit for purposes. That they don’t result in either premature asset failure or in gold plating by over maintaining non-critical assets when it’s not necessary.
Facilities management contractors need to play a strong role in supporting their clients to make the best decisions, and they also need to be proactive in looking for cost efficiencies. For example, if you are a head contractor who’s managing multiple sub-contractors (such as electricians, builders, plumbers), your client expects you to get the best deal, to schedule their work efficiently and to be on the lookout for improvements. In my view, your role is to be doing this continuously.
I have heard of one example of a large utility where the maintenance contractor owned the maintenance management system and all the data in it. This makes no sense when we are up against it in terms of fiscal constraints. If we are paying for data with the public’s money, why should that not belong to the public, rather than a privately owned contractor? We need to work together to get better outcomes for New Zealand.
We also expect our contractors to be innovative. I am sure many of you are looking at the use of technology for inspections such as roof inspections carried out with drones, which avoids the need for expensive scaffolding.
For clients, you need to be across this critical aspect of your business. Every time a contractor touches one of your assets, it’s an opportunity to collect information about its condition. We don’t want to be replacing any equipment prematurely because we are making erroneous assumptions about age correlating to condition. Instead, it’s important to pay attention to get the best value from your contracts.
Additionally, if you’re a client who’s planning to deliver an infrastructure project, you should consider facilities management as an essential partner in the design process. Because operational costs can be a significant part of a whole-of-life return on investment, and knowing where you can ‘spend a little capex to save a lot of opex’ is important. This link between upfront investment and the ongoing management of our infrastructure is a weakness in government, often for a range of complex reasons. It is one of the reasons that this government has reinstated the public private partnership programme, which has a focus on whole of life management, cost and efficiencies.
In short: good facilities management and good client capability go hand in hand. One without the other will not deliver value.
Opening the door to private capital
Lastly, I want to talk about opening the door to private capital.
To co-ordinate and build capability in this space, we’ve established National Infrastructure Funding and Financing Ltd — or NIFFCo. Its role is to connect projects with the right financing partners, provide commercial expertise to government agencies, and administer central government infrastructure funds.
As mentioned, we’re also embracing public private partnerships. We’ve refreshed our PPP policy and have already committed to using it for major projects like the Northland Road of National Significance, and the next Christchurch Prison project, because PPPs are recognised internationally as an excellent way to procure whole of life outcomes for complex assets.
Closing reflections
Let me close with three messages.
First, New Zealand cannot simply build its way out of our infrastructure challenge. We must get more value out of what we already own.
Second, central government must lead by example. Our current asset management performance is not good enough, but we are determined to change it.
Third, success will depend on partnership. Agencies must lift their sophistication as clients, but contractors and facilities management providers must also step up – by being proactive, innovative, and transparent.
Together, we can shift from being ‘solution takers’ to being ‘solution makers’. We can create a system where every dollar invested in infrastructure delivers not just outputs, but enduring outcomes for New Zealanders.
If good asset management planning is the engine that ensures the right infrastructure is available in the right place and the right time, facilities management can be thought of as the wheels that will get us there. Both have to work together to maximise value.
Source: New Zealand Police
To be attributed to Detective Sergeant Ben Smith, Blenheim Tactical Crime Unit:
Blenheim Police have made two further arrests today as part of Operation Memento, an ongoing operation targeting the sale and supply of methamphetamine in the Marlborough region.
Following a search warrant at a Marlborough property today, a 43-year-old woman was arrested and has been charged with supplying methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine for supply.
These charges relate to the woman’s role in facilitating the movement of methamphetamine across the Cook Strait and into the Marlborough region.
A 34-year-old man was also arrested and has been charged with offences relating to possession of methamphetamine, cannabis and utensils.
Both people arrested today will appear in Blenheim District Court on 10 October.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre.
Source: New Zealand Police
Emergency services are at the scene of a serious crash on Swanson Road, Henderson.
Police were called to the scene at 4.15pm after a car collided with a motorcyclist.
One person has been taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The Serious Crash Unit will attend the scene to carry out enquiries.
Swanson Road is closed between Rathgar and Larnoch Roads.
We ask that people avoid the area if possible and expect delays as closures are expected for a few hours this evening.
ENDS.
Amanda Wieneke/NZ Police
Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
Travelling on State Highway 1 in Otago is set to get smoother and safer as a result of a significant amount of roading work over the next few months.
The maintenance season over spring and summer for the Coastal Otago highway network features multiple projects focused on SH1 in the Dunedin urban area, and areas north and south of the city.
The Coastal Otago state highway network (or Network Outcome Contract (NOC) area for NZTA) is one of the largest in the country, with 773 kilometres of highway. It stretches from its northern extent at the Waitaki River to the Lindis Pass summit, inland to Raes Junction, and south to the boundary between Otago and Southland south of Waipahi.
“The programme for this spring and summer includes some major resurfacing work in the heart of Dunedin, which does mean some night-time road closures, but we are doing everything to get through that work with minimal disruption for road users, businesses and residents,” says Ben Parker, Maintenance Contract Manager for the Coastal Otago network for New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
“The upshot of all of this work is that we get an improved highway network for all of us to travel on.”
Work underway below on Crawford Street/State Highway 1 in central Dunedin.
“As always, we thank people for their patience, and driving with care around roadworks, as we undertake this important and necessary work over the spring and summer months,” Mr Parker says.
The Coastal Otago highway network/Network Outcome Contract (NOC) area in which Downer is contracted by NZTA.
Weekly updates on the maintenance work underway on Otago state highways can be found here, with an option to subscribe:(external link)
Source: NZCTU
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is today congratulating the Living Wage Movement and trade unions for their victory in keeping the living wage in government procurement contracts.
“The living wage is set at a level that allows New Zealanders to live a decent life. Decent work and decent wages should be the hallmark of employment in New Zealand,” said Wagstaff.
“The previous government recognised this by adding it to the guidelines in 2021. We are delighted that the Government has changed its mind on this, despite its previously stated plans to strip away wage protections.
“It’s time that they increased the minimum wage to the living wage so that all workers can have decent incomes.
“Removing the living wage protection in government contracts would have impacted around 5,000 workers. It would have likely cost the government additional money in higher welfare payments and other costs. The only beneficiaries of the proposal were the companies that would have been able to slash wages by $11,336 a year.
“It’s great that cabinet changed their mind and decided that cutting the wages of some of the lowest paid workers in the country was not a way to build a more prosperous economy.
“The decision is a demonstration of the organising power of trade unions and the Living Wage Movement. We celebrate their victory and the lasting good it will deliver,” said Wagstaff.
Source: New Zealand Police
District:
SH1/Hinds Highway, between Windermere and Swamp Roads, is closed following a five-vehicle crash.
Multiple people appear to be seriously injured and motorists should expect delays.
Emergency services were alerted to the crash about 3.20pm.
ENDS
Source: New Zealand Government
Cabinet has taken decisions to amend the Policing Act, to reaffirm Polices ability to gather intelligence in public places, and expand Police’s powers to temporarily close areas in response to antisocial behaviour or public safety risks.
“Recent court decisions have created uncertainty around Police’s ability to record images in public places for lawful purposes,” says Police Minister Mark Mitchell.
“The proposed amendments will reaffirm the prior common law position, making it clear that Police can collect and use images in public spaces, and in places where Police are lawfully present, for all lawful policing purposes. This includes intelligence gathering and crime prevention and other Policing functions and associated activities.”
These changes restore Police’s ability to detect and prevent crime, support prosecutions, and ensure that vital information can be lawfully collected and retained for lawful purposes. The amendments will also help Police respond to evolving threats, such as organised crime and gang activity, and support a wide range of interventions, from public safety to youth offending and family harm.
The amendments will also expand Police’s powers to temporarily close areas in response to antisocial behaviour or public safety risks. Police will be able to:
These new powers will provide clarity and consistency for frontline Police, ensuring they have the necessary tools to manage non-compliance and keep communities safe.
As with all Police powers, these changes will be subject to strict oversight and accountability. Police will exercise discretion and act proportionately in all circumstances, with continued monitoring by independent authorities.
Legislation will now be drafted, and the changes will go through a legislative process in due course.