SecQual Circular [ NZQA ]

S2009/017 - 8 May 2009

Fees and Financial Assistance - 2009

Eligibility for Financial Assistance

The purpose of financial assistance is to ensure that fees are not a barrier to participation in qualifications for students in low to middle income families. Each year the Government provides limited funding for eligible students enrolled in New Zealand secondary schools who are entering standards on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), and for Scholarship.

To be eligible for financial assistance the applicant (normally the parent or guardian of the candidate) must be the fee-payer and meet at least one of the following criteria:

be receiving a Work and Income or Study Link benefit (benefit-based applications)
have a joint family income that would entitle the applicant to receive a Community Services Card (income-based applications)
be a fee-payer with two or more children who are candidates (multiple candidate applications), where the total fees to pay would otherwise be more than the $200 multiple candidate maximum,

International fee-paying students are not eligible for financial assistance.

Fee Structure for 2009

Fee structure for domestic candidates	Fee
Entry for all NQF standards and up to 3 Scholarship subjects	$75
Additional Scholarship entries	$75 per subject
Fee structure for international fee paying candidates	Fee
Entry for all NQF standards	$375
Entry for each Scholarship subject	$100 per subject

Financial Assistance fees schedule

Number of candidates fee-payer is paying for	Fee-payer is eligible for beneficiary or income-based assistance	Fee-payer is not eligible for beneficiary or income-based assistance
One child who is a candidate	$20.00	Full fees ($75.00 for NQF and 3 Scholarship subjects)
Two or more children who are candidates	A maximum of $30.00 per family	Where fees are payable for more than one candidate, a maximum of $100.00 per child and $200.00 per fee payer

Due date for schools to forward fees collected from fee-payers

The due date for payment to NZQA of all fees collected from fee-payers is 18 September 2009. Schools are requested to set a collection date and process their financial assistance applications with this date in mind.

Schools submitting entries by electronic file

School management software allows you to enter financial assistance applications into your system. When you upload your file to NZQA it will include the applications. NZQA will automatically approve these applications if all the information is complete.

Schools submitting web entries

The website has the ability to capture applications for financial assistance.

Application form

The application form and information sheet (opposite) are provided with this circular and are also available in the Rules and Procedures. Please direct fee-payers to the link and give candidates a copy of the information sheet as well.

Paper trail

While NZQA reserves the right to ask applicants to provide evidence in support of their application, there is no requirement for schools to sight this evidence when processing the application. NZQA may ask schools to provide copies of processed application forms

"Family" is defined as parents (or legal guardians) and children living together.

This applies only if the total fees for a fee-payer would be more than the $200 multiple candidate maximum. Fees for a single candidate are $75 except if they are entered for more than three Scholarship subjects or are an international student. This means that most fee-payers paying for two candidates assessed against NQF standards this year will not be eligible for multiple candidate financial assistance.

Enquiries

Circulars are available from the Qualifications authority website (www.nzqa.govt.nz/publications/circulars).

A PDF copy of this Circular is available for download.

Please refer any enquiries relating to this circular to:

School Relationship Manager
Secondary Assessment & Liaison
Telephone:04 463 3000
Fax: 04 463 3113
Email: firstname.lastname@nzqa.govt.nz

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Previous circulars

016 - 8 May 2009 - Alignment of Standards with the NZ Curriculum - Update
015 - 1 May 2009 - Top Art folio exhibition - full venue listing
014 - 1 May 2009 - Assessment Reports for the 2008 NCEA and Scholarship Examinations
013 - 29 April 2009 - 2009 National School Qualifications: Candidate Information Sheets
012 - 24 April 2009 - Memorandum of Agreement and Rebates for National Qualifications
011 - 3 April 2009 - New Statistics Online for Schools
010 - 30 March 2009 - Top Art folio exhibition on tour
009 - 27 March 2009 - Update: Assessment Specifications for the External Assessment of Levels 1, 2 and 3 Achievement Standards and Scholarship for 2009
008 - 13 March 2009 - Draft Guidelines for Further Assessment Opportunities
007 - 13 February 2009 - Survey of Teachers - NCEA External Assessments 2008
006 - 30 January 2009 - Feedback on the 2009 Top Art Touring Schedule
005 - 30 January 2009 - Key Dates for National Secondary School Qualifications 2009
004 - 30 January 2009 - School Information Collection 2009
003 - 30 January 2009 - Circular Distribution: Proposal to discontinue hard copy distribution
002 - 16 January 2009 - 2008 National Qualifications Framework Results Release
001 - 9 January 2009 - 2009 Examination Timetable

archive of previous circulars

Page updated: 28 April 2009