Fees Free at the University
Fees Free 2025
The Government has announced that Fees Free for the first year of study and training will finish at the end of 2024 and be replaced with a final-year Fees Free scheme starting from 01 January 2025.
- If you are a first-time tertiary learner in 2025, you may be eligible for Fees Free for your final year of study or training. If you are eligible, you will need to apply for your entitlement on completion of your qualification through IRD from 2026 onwards.
- If you are eligible for the final-year Fees Free scheme you will need to arrange payment of your fees to the University and apply for reimbursement from the IRD on completion of your qualification. You may wish to apply for a student loan to cover the fees. Full details about StudyLink and other accepted payment methods can be found at Fee payment methods.
- In order to be eligible for Fees Free in 2025, you must:
- complete a qualification in a programme that's eligible for Fees Free, and
- meet the residency criteria, and
- meet the prior study and training criteria, and
- not have already used Fees Free
For full eligibility criteria details, please refer to the Fees Free website.
As the policy for 'final year' Fees Free is still in development, you can find the most up-to-date details about Fees Free from 2025 at the Fees Free final year website.
Fees Free transition rules for 2024 starters
The Government has announced that Fees Free for the first year of study and training will finish at the end of 2024. It will be replaced by a final-year Fees Free policy.
If you used Fees Free in 2024, you may be able to continue to use your remaining first-year Fees Free entitlement in 2025 if you:
- are continuing study or training towards the same qualification in 2025 as you were in 2024, and
- have Fees Free entitlement remaining
If you have remaining entitlement, you will not be able to access first-year Fees Free in the future if you:
- did not use Fees Free in 2024, or
- used Fees Free in 2024 but are not continuing in the same programme of study in 2025
If you studied or trained in 2024 and met the eligibility criteria for Fees Free in 2024, you have 12 calendar months from the start date of your first course or programme to submit your statutory declaration to receive Fees Free for you 2024 study and continuation of the programme in 2025. If you do not declare your eligibility for your 2024 study and training within this time, Fees Free will not cover your study.
Check your eligibility for Fees Free in 2024 by entering your National Student Number (NSN) on the Fees Free website.
If you want to find out how much of your Fees Free entitlement you've used to date, please contact the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) via email at feesfree@tec.govt.nz. They will confirm how much entitlement you have remaining. Once you have found out if you have remaining Fees Free entitlements in 2025, the TEC will contact the University on your behalf to confirm payment via Fees Free.
If you completed less than 120 points/1 EFTS (Equivalent Full Time Student) worth of study in your previous year of study and your fees in your previous year(s) didn't exceed $12,000, you may have leftover entitlement that you can carry over to another year.
Your Fees Free entitlement funding will stop when you use up your remaining EFTS or remaining dollars, whichever you use up first.
Please refer to the Fees Free website for the full details of Fees Free transition rules. There is also a lot of helpful information on their FAQs (frequently asked questions) page.
For more information, visit TEC's End of first-year Fees Free policy page.
Frequently Asked Questions - First-Year Fees Free scheme for pre-2025 starters
Who is eligible for Fees Free?
If you are a New Zealand citizen or resident who has lived in New Zealand for three years and will be coming to the University directly from school, it is very likely that you will be eligible for Fees Free.
Other categories of resident, including refugees, may also be eligible.
What do the free fees cover?
The government will pay up to $12,000 in fees to cover tuition, associated mandatory fees and compulsory student-service fees, for the equivalent of one year of full-time study (typically 120 points). If you are studying part-time, you can spread this out of a longer period.
If your fees are more than $12,000, you will need to pay the difference.
I am eligible for Fees Free, what do I need to do?
If you are advised by the TEC that you are eligible for Fees Free suppoty for the upcoming year (even if you were not previously eligible or studying in the previous year), you do not need to contact the University to inform us.
The TEC will contact us directly, and we will apply the funds to your fees account for your study.
For more information on the Tertiary Education Commision (TEC), please visit the TEC website.
Fees Free says I may be eligible for Fees Free, what do I need to do?
If your eligibility status is showing as 'Maybe', and you know you meet the eligibility criteria for Fees Free, you need to complete and submit a statutory declaration to the TEC in order to be recognised as eligible for Fees Free.
This must be submitted within 12 months of the start date of your chosen University of Auckland programme to automatically receive payment for this.
For more information, please see Where should I email my signed and witnessed statutory declaration?
I am ineligible for Fees Free, what do I need to do?
If you are advised by the TEC that you are not eligible for Fees Free study and will need part, or all, of your fees paid by StudyLink for the current year, we stronly recommend that you apply with StudyLink well in advance of your enrolment as student loan applications generally take up to a month to be approved.
What happens if I see outstanding fees after changing my enrolments?
If you make any changes to your enrolment after the Fees Free study patment has been applied and you have remaining Fees Free entitlement, you do not need to do anything.
If you see that your fees account shows a balance outstanding after you have made changes to your enrolment, the next payment batch will adjust the balance if your remaining entitlement covers the outstanding balance.
This will be applied on the Friday following the change.
How does this affect my student loan?
If you are eligible for Fees Free study, and have already applied for a student loan, then you can cancel or reduce the amount of your loan.
- To cancel your loan, phone StudyLink on 0800 88 99 00
- To change the value of your loan, you can do so by logging on to My StudyLink.
If you haven't applied for a student loan, you will only need to apply for the living costs portion. You can apply on the StudyLink website.
What you decide to do about your loan will depend on your individual circumstances, such as what other costs you need to cover and the fees that would normally apply for your programme.
Please note:
- If you used part or all of your Fees Free entitlement in a previous year and will need part or all of your fees paid by StudyLink in the current year, we strongly advise that you apply well in advance of your enrolment as student loan applications generally take up to a month to be approved.
- What you decide to do will depend on your individual circumstances. This may include any other costs you need to cover, and the fees that would normally apply for your programme.
What happens if you don't complete your study?
If you enrol in courses and then withdraw, you may lose your entitlement to Fees Free in subsequent years.
If you have used your Fees Free entitlement
If the TEC advises you that you have now used up all of your Fees Free entitlement and you still have a balance outstanding, you can contact us via email to discuss how you can pay the remaining outstanding balance at collections@auckland.ac.nz.
We recommend that you apply for StudyLink if you have used up your Fees Free allocation. For more information, please visit How to apply for a student loan or allowance.
Need help?
For more information on remaining Fees Free entitlement, please visit the Fees Free FAQs.
If you need assistance, please visit Fees Free's Contact us page.