Providers and partners

Subcontracting (Third Party Consent)

Subcontracting arrangements between a school (consent holder) and a non-consent holder for particular standards (subcontractor)- Third Party Consent

1. What is a subcontracting arrangement?

The Consent to Assess against Standards on the Directory of Assessment Standards Rules 2011 (CAAS Rules) makes provision for a holder of a consent to assess (school) to use a subcontractor to deliver study, training or assessment for standards on the Directory of Assessment Standards, where:

The proposed subcontractor does not hold consent to assess for the particular standards the consent holder (school) wants them to offer to learners enrolled in the school
The school intends to report the result with its own provider coder.

2. How does subcontracting work?

There are two parties to the subcontract:

the school (consent holder) with whom the learners are enrolled
the subcontractor that, in most cases, has the specialist resources or facilities that are needed in order to assess learners against the standard(s) in question.

With approval, the subcontractor is able to assess learners against particular standards, but the consent holder remains responsible for all of the subcontractor’s actions for the learners in question.

The school applicant (consent holder) must:

have consent to assess the standards to be assessed by the proposed subcontractor;
hold an enrolment for the student and maintain all student enrolment and academic information;
report credits for the learners;
remain responsible for the subcontractor meeting all of the consent holder’s obligations; and
set out, in its application to NZQA, how it intends to ensure the subcontractor meets the holder’s consent to assess obligations such as:

personnel having sufficient teaching and subject knowledge;

premises, facilities and other physical resources being adequate;

appropriate procedures for managing assessment processes, including re-submission, further assessment and appeal of assessment results;

internal moderation; and/or

external moderation.

The subcontractor must:

provide the teaching, learning and assessment environment for the delivery of the particular standards;
meet the assessment and moderation requirements of the school that holds consent to assess;
assess only those students who are enrolled with the consent holder; and
not further subcontract the delivery of study or training or assessment. (CAAS Rules 13.2.)

3. Why is a subcontracting arrangement necessary?

This application ensures that:

the school, as consent holder, and the subcontractor, as the provider of teaching, learning and assessment, understand their obligations when engaging in a subcontracting arrangement;
the consent holding school’s assessment quality assurance processes are used by the subcontractor before results are reported;
these results are reported using the consent holding school’s provider code; and
the teaching, learning and assessment environment provided by the subcontractor meets the requirements of the consent holding school’s Quality Management System.

4. NZQA approval

NZQA will approve the subcontracting application where it is satisfied that:

the consent holder remains responsible for the subcontractor meeting all of the consent holder’s obligations in relation to the consent; and
the subcontractor will meet all relevant obligations in the Education and Training Act 2020 (The Act) and in rules made under section 452 of the Act in relation to the consent; and
there is an agreement between the consent holder and the subcontractor that includes provisions to ensure that NZQA is able to exercise its quality assurance and enforcement powers and functions in respect of the acts or omissions of the subcontractor relating to the consent; and
the information and advertising for the study or training clearly states that it is provided through a subcontracting arrangement; and
all student enrolments are through the consent holder, and the consent holder maintains all student enrolment and academic information; and
the consent holder will report credits for the learners (See CAAS Rules 8.3.)

5. How does a school apply for NZQA approval to engage a subcontractor?

The school’s Principal’s Nominee should discuss the proposed arrangement with their School Relationship Manager. If it is deemed that a subcontract would be a suitable arrangement to increase the range of courses or standards that the school can offer its learners, the consent holder should compete the application form (DOCX, 879KB) and send it to:

School Relationship Manager
School Quality Assurance and Liaison
NZQA
125 The Terrace
PO Box 160
Wellington 6140

Enquiries

Please refer any enquiries relating to this circular to your School Relationship Manager.
School Relationship Manager
School Quality Assurance and Liaison
Telephone: 04 463 3000
Email: firstname.lastname@nzqa.govt.nz