Find out more about the National Education Information Centre
NZQA is New Zealand’s National Education Information Centre as part of our international treaties.
National Education Information Centre (NEIC)
What New Zealand gets out of treaties for qualification recognition
New Zealand is a member of several treaties that support qualifications recognition. We have joined agreements with other countries that provide legal frameworks to make it easier for all of the countries involved to recognise each other's qualifications.
This makes it easier for students, academic staff and workers to move between countries, and helps other countries understand and recognise New Zealand qualifications.
Recognition agreements don't guarantee that another country will consider a specific New Zealand qualification as equal to theirs. However, it helps to make recognising qualifications clearer and more consistent.
On this page
International treaties that New Zealand is part of
Lisbon Recognition Convention
New Zealand joined the UNESCO/Council of Europe joint Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (known as the Lisbon Convention) in February 2008.
This Convention is the main legal agreement on the recognition of qualifications in the European region. More than 50 countries have joined the Convention.
Lisbon Recognition Convention (external link)
Tokyo Recognition Convention
New Zealand was one of the first countries to sign the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education (known as the Tokyo Convention). This Convention came into force on 1 February 2018.
The Tokyo Convention has signatories from across the Asia-Pacific region, including China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Fiji and Australia.
Asia-Pacific Regional Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications (external link)
European Convention on Equivalence of Diplomas
New Zealand has signed the European Convention on the Equivalence of Diplomas Leading to Admission to Universities 1953. This covers recognising qualifications that allow students to enter university.
The Lisbon Convention was partially built on this Convention, but the European Convention on the Equivalence of Diplomas is still in effect.
Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education
New Zealand has ratified the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in 2024.
The Global Convention sets out universal principles for the recognition of studies and qualifications in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner. This helps improve access to higher education and supports the movement of skilled labour between countries.
The Convention also reinforces regional frameworks, such as the Lisbon and Tokyo Conventions, while promoting stronger international cooperation in qualifications recognition.
Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education (external link)
How we support the treaties for qualifications recognition
As New Zealand’s designated agency for recognising qualifications, NZQA meets New Zealand’s obligations under the recognition treaties by:
- acting as a National Education Information Centre
- making fair and transparent decisions about recognising qualifications, making sure the decisions are consistent with the requirements of the treaties
- providing a diploma supplement (known as the Tertiary Education Qualification Statement)
National Education Information Centre
NZQA is the designated national information centre for New Zealand, and a member of two networks of national information centres.
National information centres are organisations in each country that help implement the treaty. As a member of the network, NZQA works with other member countries to share and receive information about qualifications and education systems.
- We provide access to detailed information about New Zealand’s education and quality assurance systems.
- We advise anyone who needs to understand how to have their qualifications recognised in New Zealand or overseas.
- We advise and support New Zealand organisations so they can recognise overseas qualifications.
- We work with regional networks of National Information Centres to improve practices for recognising international qualifications.
ENIC-NARIC network
Through the Lisbon Convention, NZQA is a member of the ENIC-NARIC network of national information centres.
- ENIC: European Network of Information Centres in the European Region
- NARIC: National Academic Recognition Information Centres in the European Union.
ENIC-NARIC networks (external link)
APNNIC network
Through the Tokyo Convention, NZQA is a member of another network of national information centres : APNNIC, Asia-Pacific Network of National Information Centres.
We work with the APNNIC network to strengthen how countries recognise qualifications across the region.
Tokyo Convention – APNNIC (external link)
The New Zealand diploma supplement
NZQA produces a document that helps international audiences to understand and recognise New Zealand qualifications.
This is called the Tertiary Education Qualification Statement.