eQuate December 2023

Learner safety around water

Summer is here and your learners will be discovering and enjoying New Zealand’s beaches, lakes and rivers. To support learner safety in and around the water, we encourage you to discuss water safety with your learners.

There’s more than one way to raise awareness about staying safe in the water, but if you need any tips or resources, visit the Water Safety New Zealand website.

Water Safety New Zealand (external link) - watersafetynz.org

Learner safety on the road

We encourage you to discuss road safety with your learners so they are aware of the increased risks over the holiday period, and support them to be safe on the road.

Useful links include:

Driving in New Zealand (external link) - nzta.govt.nz

The New Zealand Road Code Online (external link) - nzta.govt.nz

While vehicle insurance is not compulsory, we highly recommend that you encourage your learners to have at least third-party insurance if they drive a vehicle.

Quality Assurance Framework redesign

NZQA is redesigning its quality assurance framework to enable us to deliver on our strategic outcomes, move towards being a modern regulator, and act on what we have heard from providers, learners, the sector and our own staff.

There are a range of improvements we are seeking from a redesigned framework, including:

• focusing quality assurance on providers’ approach to equity of access and opportunities for ākonga success
• moving to a dual focus of understanding between individual providers and the system
• reducing regulatory burden for providers
• better recognising differences between providers
• increasing consistency of our evaluative practice
• supporting innovation while assuring quality
• better reflecting our commitment to honouring Te Tiriti.

Over the next few months, we will be engaging with providers and stakeholder groups to get feedback on a draft concept framework and understand:

• what is important for NZQA to measure to assure quality
• how we might measure those things effectively and efficiently using the quality assurance activities within the concept framework.

We will keep you up to date as this work progresses.

Approval of delivery sites

We are seeking your feedback on updated application forms for permanent and temporary delivery sites. The forms update application requirements, which will be the same for all providers.

The questions on the permanent site form now include a pastoral code lens. Good practice examples have been added to help you complete the form. After gaining site approval, you can use this form as supporting evidence in your annual Code of Practice self-review.

We have also created a notification form for temporary delivery sites. These are sites for short-term use – a maximum of 26 weeks and on an infrequent/irregular basis. This is to ensure that temporary sites meet students’ needs as well as legal and health and safety requirements.

Updated forms

Permanent delivery site approval form - November 2023

Temporary delivery site notification form - November 2023

For comparison, the current process and forms can be found on the page below.

Approval of delivery sites

Please send feedback by 29 February 2024 to qaadmin@nzqa.govt.nz.

NCEA Change Programme 2024 implementation

As part of the NCEA Change Programme, the Ministry of Education has reviewed the National Certificate of Educational Achievements (NCEA) qualifications and associated level 1 standards.

This includes new and expiring level 1 achievement standards; and the NCEA co-requisite literacy and numeracy, te reo matatini and pāngarau unit standards.

If your organisation delivers NCEA, Vocational Pathways or Foundation programmes that include literacy and numeracy, this information may inform programme development required to mitigate any impact on current delivery.

Change reports associated with the reviewed qualifications and standards will be available from 12 December 2023 on the Qualifications and Assessment Standards page. 

Qualifications and Assessment Standards Approvals (external link)

More information can be found on the Ministry of Education website.

What is the NCEA Change Programme? (external link) - ncea.education.govt.nz

The Ministry will also publish regular NCEA updates to support the 2024 implementation.

Read the recent edition and subscribe to the NCEA updates (external link)

Reviewing Level 7 diplomas

If your organisation holds approval for a level 7 diploma, you need to engage with the relevant workforce development council (WDC) to begin talking about reviewing the diploma. For wānanga, this is optional.

Section 483 of the Education Act 1989 - (external link) legislation.govt.nz

If the WDC becomes the qualification developer of the level 7 diploma:

1. The relevant WDC will submit a qualification review application to NZQA. The application will include:

1. 1. evidence of an agreement between the organisation(s) and the WDC for making the WDC the qualification developer.
   2. engagement and feedback from the relevant stakeholders according to the guidelines that include reviewing a level 7 diploma.
      
      Guidelines for programme approval and accreditation [PDF, 841 KB]

2. NZQA will evaluate the application and update the listing details accordingly. On approval, the qualification will become a New Zealand diploma and either:

   1. a new qualification number will be issued if significant changes are made as part of the review, or two or more similar level 7 diplomas are reviewed and combined into one new qualification, or

   2.  the qualification number will remain the same, but the version will be updated where minor changes have been made. 

3. The education organisation will submit either:

   1. a programme change application if the qualification number of their level 7 diploma remains the same, including an endorsement from the WDC, where relevant, to align the programme with the reviewed qualification, or

   2. a new programme approval and accreditation application where NZQA has approved a new qualification to replace the existing level 7 diploma. An endorsement from the WDC, where relevant, will be required.
      
      Guidelines for programme approval and accreditation

4. Maintenance of the qualification will be the responsibility of the WDC as a qualification developer under Rule 15 of the Qualification and Micro-credential Listing and Operational Rules 2022.
   
   Qualification and Micro-credential Listing and Operational Rules 2022

If the education organisation remains the qualification developer of the Level 7 diploma:

1. The education organisation will submit a qualification review application to NZQA. The application will include engagement and feedback from the relevant stakeholders, including the WDC, where relevant.
   
   See the Guidelines that include reviewing a level 7 diploma [PDF, 841 KB]
2. NZQA will evaluate the application and update the listing details accordingly. On approval, the qualification will become a New Zealand diploma with an updated qualification version.
3. The education organisation holding programme approval will submit a programme change application, including an endorsement from the WDC, where relevant, to align the programme with the reviewed qualification.
   
   See Guidelines for programme approval and accreditation. [PDF, 841 KB]
   
   If you are unsure of the relevant WDC for the level 7 diploma, please contact Approvals_Accreditation@nzqa.govt.
4. Maintenance of the qualification will be the responsibility of the education organisation as a qualification developer under Rule 15 of Qualification and Micro-credential Listing and Operational Rules 2022.
   
   Qualification and Micro-credential Listing and Operational Rules 2022

NZQA processes

TEO issue of New Zealand qualification and micro-credentials achievement certificates

Specifications for the format of certificates for qualifications and micro-credentials can be found on the page below. 

TEO issue of New Zealand qualification and micro-credential achievement certificates

If you need copies of the NZQCF logos referred to, please contact our Client Services team at qaadmin@nzqa.govt.nz.

Lapse of programme or micro-credential accreditation

If a programme or micro-credential has not been delivered for 12 months or more, its accreditation will lapse.

You can apply for an extension to programme or micro-credential accreditation before the date of any lapse by emailing qaadmin@nzqa.govt.nz.

Keeping your PTE registration status current

Where your organisation has accreditation for only one programme or micro-credential, and it is not delivered in part or whole for 12 months or more, the organisation’s registration will lapse.

To avoid this, you can apply for an extension of time to stop your programme or micro-credential from lapsing. This also prevents your registration from lapsing. Apply for this extension before the 12 months of non-usage ends by emailing qaadmin@nzqa.govt.nz.

For more information about PTE registration, visit the pages below.

Guidelines for applying for registration as a private training establishment

Guidelines for maintaining registration as a private training establishment

Forwarding information and queries

Forward the above documents and any queries to qaadmin@nzqa.govt.nz.

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