Fees Free

If you are a first-time tertiary learner in 2025, you may be able to get Fees Free for your final year of study, up to $12,000.

Final-year Fees Free scheme

If you are a first-time tertiary learner in 2025, you may be able to get Fees Free for your final year of study or training. If you are eligible, you will need to apply for your entitlement through IRD from 2026 onwards.

Who can get final-year Fees Free?

To be eligible for final-year Fees Free a learner must:

  • Complete a qualification in an eligible programme; and
  • Meet the residency criteria; and
  • Meet the prior study and training criteria.

Learners who accessed first-year Fees Free are not eligible for final-year Fees Free.

For full eligibility criteria, visit feesfree.govt.nz.

What does Fees Free cover?

If you’re eligible, Fees Free covers the fees for the final year of tertiary study or training in the first qualification you complete after 1 January 2025, up to $12,000 including GST.

Fees Free will only cover the final year of your first qualification. If you didn’t use $12,000 entitlement for the final year of your first qualification, you won’t be able to access Fees Free again for a second qualification.

What do you need to do?

When you enrol in tertiary study or training, you’ll need to organise payment of your fees. You may wish to apply for a student loan to help you cover the fees.

You don’t need to do anything else until you complete your first qualification. The myIR portal will be available in early 2026 for you to confirm your Fees Free eligibility and claim your entitlement.

The latest eligibility criteria and entitlement settings can be found at feesfree.govt.nz. The policy is still in development, and this page will be updated as more details are confirmed.

How do I get my Fees Free entitlement?

You will be able to confirm your eligibility and claim your Fees Free entitlement after you complete your qualification using the myIR portal which will be available to use from early 2026. Until then, you don’t need to do anything.

Make sure you organise payment of your fees when you enrol. You may wish to apply to StudyLink for a student loan to help cover your fees.

Started study in 2024 or earlier?

Fees Free for the first year of study or training is ending. However, if you started tertiary study or training in 2018 to 2024 and have not already checked your eligibility for Fees Free, you can still check now.

Learners starting study or training for the first time in in 2024 or earlier may be able to get Fees Free for their first year of study or two years of work-based training, up to $12,000.

For more information on first-year free eligibility criteria and transition rules, visit feesfree.govt.nz.

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*Fees Free: Free study for the first or final year of your Level 3 or above qualification may be available under the Government’s Fees Free study scheme. Visit feesfree.govt.nz for eligibility criteria and more information. Students must meet New Zealand residency criteria. Note: The Government has announced that Fees Free for the first year of study will finish at the end of 2024. A final-year Fees Free scheme will replace it, starting from January 2025. Learners who have already used Fees Free in their first year of study won’t be able to access Fees Free under the new final-year policy. However, from now until the end of 2025, first-year Fees Free will operate under ‘first-year transition rules’. For more information, visit feesfree.govt.nz.