Find out how NZ and Irish qualifications compare
Find out how New Zealand qualifications compare to qualifications gained in Ireland.
New Zealand and Ireland have agreed on a comparison of our respective qualifications frameworks.
The joint project was carried out by NZQA and Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), and compared qualifications on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) and the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).
The comparison is intended to make it easier for education providers and employers to understand the qualification and how it compares to similar qualifications in their country. Our arrangement with Ireland does not guarantee that a qualification completed in the other country will be automatically recognised as equivalent.
The table below compares the NZQF with the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).
| Qualifications on the NFQ | NFQ | EQF | NZQF | Qualifications on the NZQF |
| Level 1 Certificate | 1 | 1 | Unlevelled | |
| Level 2 Certificate | 2 | 1 | Unlevelled | |
| Level 3 Certificate Junior Certificate |
3 | 2 | 1 | Level 1 Certificate NCEA Level 1 |
| Level 4 Certificate Leaving Certificate |
4 | 3 | 2 | Level 2 Certificate NCEA Level 2 |
| Level 5 Certificate Leaving Certificate |
5 | 4 | 3 | Level 2 Certificate NCEA Level 3 |
| 5 | 4 | 4 | Level 4 Certificate | |
| Advanced Certificate Higher Certificate |
6 | 5 | 5 | Level 5 Certificate/Diploma |
| 6 | Level 6 Certificate/Diploma | |||
| Ordinary Bachelor Degree | 7 | 6 | 7 | Bachelor’s Degree Graduate Certificate Graduate Diploma Level 7 Diploma |
| Honours Bachelor Degree Higher Diploma |
8 | 6 | ||
| Unlevelled | Unlevelled | 8 | Bachelor Honours Degree Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma |
|
| Master’s Degree Postgraduate Diploma |
9 | 7 | 9 | Master’s Degree |
| Doctoral Degree Higher Doctorate |
10 | 8 | 10 | Doctoral Degree Higher Doctorate |