Consent to assess for tertiary providers

About consent to assess for tertiary providers, applying for consent to assess, and the rules and guidelines that apply

Tertiary providers with consent to assess can assess skill or assessment standards. When learners achieve standards, they earn credits.

Providers can request consent to assess for individual standards, or all the standards up to a certain level in a domain listed on the Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards (DASS).

The standards may be used in:

  • micro-credentials
  • programmes leading to qualifications at Levels 1 to 7 on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF).

Go to the DASS (external link)

Requirements for consent to assess

To get consent to assess, providers must meet:

  • the relevant Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMRs)
  • the national external moderation system requirements of the standard-setting body (SSB) responsible for the standard.

Go to the CMR page 

Secondary school? Go to the secondary school consent to assess page

Who can apply for consent to assess?

Tertiary education organisations can apply for consent to assess. This includes:

  • private training establishments (PTEs)
  • Te Pūkenga
  • wānanga
  • government training establishments.

You can apply for consent to assess when you apply to register a PTE, but we'll process your PTE application first.

You can also apply for consent to assess when you apply for micro-credential listing, approval and accreditation, or programme approval and accreditation.

Most of the time, you won't need a separate application.

Secondary schools and kura can also apply for consent to assess, but secondary schools automatically have a base scope of assessment (BSAS). They don't need consent to assess for the unit and achievement standards on the BSAS list.

To assess standards that aren't on the BSAS, schools need to apply for an extension of consent to assess.

Go to the BSAS page

Go to the secondary school consent to assess page

Applying for consent to assess

Before you apply

Submit your application

After you apply for consent to assess

After you submit your application, we start looking at your documentation. We evaluate it against the requirements for consent to assess.

We approve or decline applications based on:

  • all available information
  • the requirements of the relevant CMR
  • the support of the SSB
  • whether the application meets all requirements of the Consent to Assess Rules.

Consent to Assess Against Standards on the Directory of Assessment Standards Rules 2022

If information is missing

If your application is missing key information, we will ask you to provide this.

If a large amount of information is missing, we will decline your application without requesting any more information.

Site visits

There may be a site visit from NZQA, the SSB, industry representatives or teaching specialists.

If a site visit is requested, you should ask the evaluator or SSB what they're looking for during the visit.

Approving applications

We can approve the application and grant consent for some or all of the scope you asked for.

Once you’ve met all the requirements, we grant consent to assess and update your organisation's details.

Declining applications

We may decline your application if it doesn’t meet the requirements.

If a lot of information is missing or you have not engaged with the relevant SSB about the application, we may also decline the application.

Timeframe and cost

We process applications within 45 working days.

If we need to ask you for further information, your application is put on hold and a final decision may take longer.

Cost

We charge $190 per hour (excluding GST) for evaluating your application.

The hourly charge does not include actual travel and accommodation expenses for NZQA staff where a visit is required.

The full cost of an application for consent to assess depends on several factors, including:

  • the extent of SSB involvement
  • the scope of consent to assess you applied for
  • whether the application is establishing a new scope or extending an existing consent to assess.

Rules and guidelines

Consent to Assess Rules

Applications for consent to assess must comply with Consent to Assess against Standards on the Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards Rules 2022

Go to the Rules page

Guidelines for applying for consent to assess

Guidelines for applying for consent to assess standards listed on the Directory of Assessment and Skill Standards

Go to the guidelines

Get more information or give us feedback