Withdrawal and refunds from private training enterprises (PTEs)

Information for students

The following is a summary for students of the requirements relating to refunds and withdrawals.

Part 1 relates to when a student withdraws from a course or from the PTE.

Part 2 relates to the requirements of a PTE if the PTE itself withdraws a course.

Part 1 Student withdrawal

Withdrawals and refunds for courses of less than three months delivered to international students

Under New Zealand law PTEs must allow every international student enrolled in a course of less than three months to withdraw from the course within a certain period, and refund a minimum proportion of fees specified by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).

The Board of NZQA has approved:

For courses of up to and including four weeks and six days:

where an international student withdraws within the first two days of the course the PTE may keep up to 50 per cent of the full amount of any payments made by the student to the PTE; and must refund the balance to the student.

if two days constitutes the full amount of tuition paid for by the student, the PTE may keep 100 per cent of the payment made for the course.

For courses of five weeks or more but less than three months:

where an international student withdraws within the first five days of the course the PTE may keep up to 25 per cent of the full amount of any payments made by the student to the PTE for the course; and must refund the balance to the student.

Students who withdraw before the course commences will also be subject to the above criteria. That is, they will be entitled to a refund less any amounts allowed to be retained by the PTE as noted above.

Withdrawals and refunds for courses of more than three months delivered to any student

For any student who has paid to attend a course of three months or more, the PTE must ensure the student's fees are paid into a trust, to be available for refund if they withdraw within the first eight days. If they withdraw within the first eight days the full amount must be paid to the student less an amount equal to the lower of the following amounts:

10 per cent of any amount paid; or
$500.

Students who withdraw before the course commences will be entitled to a refund less any amounts allowed to be retained by the PTE as noted above.

Withdrawals by students outside of the timeframe established by legislation

All PTEs are required by NZQA to have policies and procedures for student withdrawals and refunds. When a student voluntarily withdraws from the course outside of the periods established above, the extent of refund available to the student will be in accordance with the PTE's own policy.

If a student is expelled from the course it is unlikely that any fees will be refunded. However, this depends on the policies of the individual PTE.

The following table and flow chart outline the refunds students are entitled to.

Student Withdrawls
	Less than three months					Three months and greater
Type of student	International Students				Domestic Students	International and Domestic Students
Course length	(Less than five weeks)		(Between five and 12 weeks)		(one day to three months)	(13 weeks and greater)
Withdrawal period	Up until the end of the second day of the course	From day three onwards	Up until the end of the fifth day of the course	From day six onwards	No set withdrawal period	Up until the end of the eighth day of the course	From day nine onwards
Amount of refund	50 per cent of total fees paid	Refund to be in accordance with the provider's own refund policy	75 per cent of total fees paid	Refund to be in accordance with the provider's own refund policy	Refund to be in accordance with the provider's own refund policy	Full refund, less administration costs of up to 10 per cent of any amount paid or $500 whichever is the lesser	Refund to be in accordance with the provider's own refund policy
Type of protection	Any option acceptable to NZQA under the student fee protection policy					Standard or "Static" trust only (for definitions see the student fee protection policy)	Any option acceptable to NZQA under the student fee protection policy

What students are entitled to when they withdraw from a PTE

Part 2 PTE withdrawal

NZQA requires that a PTE has arrangements in place to protect student fees in a 'course closure event'. A course closure event is defined as when NZQA determines the PTE is no longer delivering or capable of delivering the course for which students are enrolled and the PTE's own refund policies have failed. This includes students who have enrolled but have not yet started the course.

Other circumstances that trigger student fee protection mechanism are:

any other regulatory closure of a PTE
insolvency of a PTE
withdrawal of accreditation or course approval by NZQA for other reasons.

NZQA expects PTEs to have withdrawal and refund policies that cover both student and course or PTE withdrawal. Therefore, in cases where a PTE voluntarily closes, or ceases to offer a course in which students are enrolled, the PTE is expected to make a refund. If a refund is not made or able to be made, NZQA will withdraw accreditation and/or registration, which would then trigger the student fee protection mechanism.

The following table and flow chart outline the requirements PTEs have and students are entitled to in a course closure event.

Provider or Course Closure

Courses of one to five days, less than 50 hours or tuition fees less than $500

Courses greater than five days or $500

PTEs apply to NZQA for exemption.

Providers must have a student fee protection arrangement in place covering all fees and students.
Students have choice of provider, should the course or provider close, or a pro-rata refund.
The PTE must meet all other principles and criteria outlined in NZQA's student fee protection policy.
Options for student fee protection protection include standard and "static" trust accounts (Public Trust, Perpetual Trust and lawyer and solicitor run), payment by students in arrears, bank bonds, insurance and guarantees.

What students are entitled to in a course closure event

Page updated: 30 April 2008