Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills has confirmed tertiary fee regulation settings for 2025

This includes setting the Annual Maximum Fee Movement (AMFM) at 6.0% and maintaining the fee cap for micro-credentials at $64 per credit.

The Annual Maximum Fee Movement

The Government regulates how much tertiary providers can increase their fees for domestic students each year through the AMFM. This caps the percentage increase on fees for existing courses at level 3 and above on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF).

Following consultation, the Minister has confirmed that the AMFM rate will be set at 6.0% for the 2025 calendar year. This permits up to a 6.0% increase on the fees (GST exclusive) charged in 2024 to domestic students. The proposed increase aims to strike a balance between supporting providers to manage cost pressures and supporting the affordability of tertiary education for students and their whānau.

The micro-credential fee cap

The micro-credential fee cap sets a per-credit cap on the fees that providers can charge domestic students enrolled in micro-credentials. Following consultation, the Minister has confirmed a $64 (GST inclusive) per credit fee cap will be maintained for the 2025 calendar year.

Other fee regulation settings

Some minor and technical changes to improve the clarity of the fee regulation settings have also been confirmed by the Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills for 2025. This includes a change to the timeframe for registered Private Training Establishments (PTEs) to provide the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) with a copy of the written report on student services fees that is provided to students. PTEs are now required to provide the report on student services fees to the TEC no later than 14-days after it is provided to students.

Regulations from 2024 allowing providers to temporarily reduce the fees for a course across calendar years, while retaining the flexibility to subsequently return the previous fee, will continue for 2025. This will continue to provide flexibility with the AMFM and enables new and varied pricing strategies for providers.