About this site

Commercial use of NZQA material

Any person or organisation proposing to use NZQA material for a commercial purpose must apply to NZQA for permission for that use.

Without limiting the kinds of commercial use for which permission is necessary, a commercial use includes the use of NZQA material, including any part thereof,

in any work or publication, or in any distribution or adaptation, that is not for the internal purposes of the person or organisation by its staff and learners, or
in any renting out, selling or lending of that material.

In making a decision NZQA may consult relevant stakeholders and identify an appropriate fee.

Specific requirements for commercial use of NCEA or Scholarship material (including examination papers)

Applicants wanting to commercially use NCEA or Scholarship material (including examination papers) in their publications must apply to NZQA for permission. NZQA owns the copyright in NCEA and Scholarship examination material and may consent to a commercial applicant using this material in their publication(s) on payment of a fee.

The fee for commercial use of each standard is based upon the current development cost to NZQA, and covers the use (in whole or in part) of all components of the examination including resource material and the assessment schedule (marking scheme). An additional charge will be made for any costs associated with processing the application. Before any application is submitted see the Schedule of fees for commercial use of NCEA and Scholarship examination material.

Application process

Applicants should complete the Commercial Use of NZQA Examination Material Application Form (PDF, 938KB).

Identify the subject, level, year, and achievement standards for which material is required, and attach a sample of the context in which the NZQA material is to be published to clearly show how the material, in whole or in part, will be used. The completed application form should be lodged with the Team Leader - Editors, Secondary Examinations.

Applications may be made at any time, but permission to use the most recent year's examination material will not be granted before it becomes publicly available (December of the current year for exam papers and resources; March of the following year for assessment schedules). Approval for use will not be granted until the appropriate fee has been paid.

Section 49 of the Copyright Act 1994 permits the New Zealand Qualifications Authority to incorporate third-party copyright content in examination material without infringing copyright. However, this does not apply to subsequent use of such content, and therefore a commercial applicant wishing to reproduce examination material incorporating third-party copyright content is responsible for obtaining the consent of the third party to reproduce it, and NZQA will not supply the examination material for publication until the applicant has obtained this consent. (The applicant will be advised if any of the requested examination material contains third-party copyright content.)

Conditions of use

Written acknowledgement must be given to NZQA in the publication in which the examination material is used (in a printed publication, this should appear on or near the publication's imprint page). The acknowledgement must state that:

the New Zealand Qualifications Authority owns the copyright in the examination material reproduced and has consented to the reproduction of that examination material
(if applicable) any component of the examination material in which the copyright belongs to a third party remains the property of that third party, and has been used in the publication with their permission.

Within the publication, examination material developed by NZQA must be clearly distinguished from material produced by or for the author(s) or publisher(s).

One copy of each publication including the NZQA examination material must be lodged with the NZQA library. The publication(s) should be sent to the Team Leader Editors, Secondary Examinations, NZQA. (This condition may be waived at the discretion of NZQA.)

University Bursaries examination material

The University Bursaries examination was discontinued in 2003. Enquiries regarding the commercial use of discontinued examination material should be directed to the Team Leader, Editors, Secondary Examinations, NZQA.

Further information

If you have any questions relating to commercial use of NZQA examination material contact Copyright:

The Team Leader - Editors
Secondary Examinations
New Zealand Qualifications Authority
Box 160
WELLINGTON

Tel 04 463 3069