An Analysis on the Regulation Updation from the Ministry of Education
The Annual Maximum Fee Movement (AMFM) is an important attribute of the New Zealand government to sets the maximum percentage that tertiary education organisations (TEO)s can increase in their domestic tuition fees by each year. The AMFM applies to any existing courses or training schemes established by a TEO for any NZQF L3 and above courses.
On July 19 2021, the Department of Education has released a gazette covering details about the AMFM and other fee regulations to gather perspectives from students, student organisations, TEOs or any other persons on the matter. Following this consultation, the Hon. Minister of Education Chris Hipkins has confirmed that the AMFM rate will be set at 1.7% for the 2022 calendar year. The permitted cap will be in line with the 2022 inflation forecast as published in the 2021 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update in May 2021. This figure is exclusive of GST. The previous year AMFM cap was 1.1%. These changes apply to the fees charged by all TEOs for provision funded through SAC L3+.
On top of Tuition fees and mandatory course costs, the ministry noticed that few institutions are charging additional administrative charges on various other occasions such as enrollment fees, fees for NZQA credits award and exam fees etc. From 1 January 2022 onwards, Education providers cannot charge these additional fees and which must be included within the regulated compulsory course cost component of their fees. This doesn’t mean that every additional fee will be removed. TEOs can charge incidental administrative fees for additional services that are payable because of the specific circumstances of a student, such as application fees for selected entry programmes, exam resits, or exam relocations etc.
These changes will not apply to the fees of courses that are at levels 1 and 2 on the NZQF. which remain subject to the conditions as set out in the Tertiary Education Fees-Free Conditions Notice released in the years 2015 and 2016. The regulation changes settings also emphasized that the fees for a micro-credential must not exceed the $60 limit (GST inclusive) per credit.
TEC | Gazette Govt | Freepik
SH MCC
