Please refer to the ACE in Communities funding conditions for details of eligibility criteria.

TEO eligibility

TEOs must be one of the following:

• a private training establishment (PTE) that specialises in foundation learning;
• a Rural Education Activities Programme (REAP) provider; or
• a community organisation

Programme eligibility

From January 2021, the priorities of ACE in Communities funding are for programmes that:

• Improve employability
  • Courses focused on employability
  • Life skills such as financial literacy
  • Introductory ‘taster’ courses
• Promote social inclusion and cultural inclusion and participation
  • Languages, including Te Reo Māori, New Zealand Sign Language (including ESOL), Pacific languages (especially Realm languages) and Asian languages
  • Courses supporting digital inclusion
• Raises foundation skills
  • Courses in literacy, numeracy and/or digital literacy
• Improve health and wellbeing
  • Courses such as parenting, mental health and resilience, or conflict resolution/anger management.

ACE funding does not prioritise provision broadly classed as hobby courses (e.g., arts, crafts and music, personal fitness and recreation, and home maintenance). Any funding requests for ACE provision must demonstrate how it meets one of the programme priorities listed above, as well as how the provision addresses community learning needs.

Learner eligibility

TEOs must ensure that learners are domestic students. They must also be aged 16 years or over and not full-time secondary school students unless they met specific criteria set out in the funding conditions. 

TEOs and schools are required to verify a learner’s identity before enrolling them in an ACE programme. The funding condition outlines the following methods on how TEOs and schools can verify a learner’s identity:

a) You must verify the identity of each learner enrolled in a programme or programmes of study or training and confirm the learner is who they say they are by doing one or more of the following:

(i) confirming that all data fields match the student’s NSN; or

(ii) receiving an assertion through the Department of Internal Affairs’ RealMe® online identity verification service; or

(iii) sighting the original or certified copy of a current passport; or

(iv) sighting the original or certified copy of one or more of the following documents:

A. a birth certificate; or

B. a certificate of identity; or

C. a New Zealand certificate of citizenship; or

D. an expired passport that has not been cancelled; or

E. a current New Zealand driver licence; or

F. a current New Zealand firearms licence; or

(v) if a learner is unable to obtain a birth certificate for the purposes of Condition 4(a)(iv)(A), you may contact us to confirm whether a whakapapa statement signed by both the student and a kaumātua is acceptable evidence of identity.

b) You must follow the process set out in Condition 4(a) unless we are satisfied that there are special circumstances that justify using an alternative process, and we authorise you in writing to follow a different process specified by us.

There will be situations where a learner may not have a one of the forms of identity listed above.

Alternative method to verify identity

TEOs and schools may use an alternative method to verify a learner’s identity for ACE enrolment in exceptional circumstances where the learner does not have access to one of the documents outlined in the funding condition. We do not require TEOs or schools to request our approval of their approach if it meets the guidelines provided below. These guidelines and website text can be taken as our approval for TEOs to use this alternative method of identity verification.

This does not mean TEOs and schools apply an alternative method for all ACE learners. It should only apply to learners who cannot provide a form of identification outlined in the funding condition.

Our guidelines for using an alternative method to verify an ACE learner’s identity

TEOs and schools must provide the learner with a self-declaration form to sign, if no formal documentation outlined in the funding condition can be provided. An example of a self-declaration form TEOs and schools will need to give to the learner is provided below.

As well as providing a self-declaration form to the learner, TEOs and schools should also use other forms of documentation to assist with verifying a learner’s identify where appropriate. This is to minimise the possibility of a learner falsely declaring their identity. Examples of documentation they may use as part of their due diligence when using the self-declaration form are:

• a  Work and Income benefit letter;
• a Community Services card;
• a letter from their doctor; or
• other documents that confirm the learner’s name and address.

TEOs must have a written policy and process in place for applying the alternative method of identity verification. The written policy and process must be made available upon request from TEC to conduct audit checks, including any copies of the form of documentation used to verify the learner’s identity.

Example of a self-declaration form TEOs and schools can use to verify an ACE learner’s identity and eligibility

Declaration for verification of learner eligibility and identity (DOCX 29 KB) (Word, 29 Kb)

TEOs are required to work with Regional Skills Leadership Groups, local iwi, local organisations, peak bodies, local industry, local employers, and communities, including other TEOs involved in ACE, to identify and meet community learning needs, when appropriate for their overall portfolio of ACE provision.

Each TEO must ensure that its funded ACE programme will:

• address the needs of target learner groups (including the priority learner groups set out in the Tertiary Education Strategy,
• target ACE provision in foundation skills to learners who have low or no formal qualifications, and
• target ACE provision in English language/ESOL to learners who identify as having English language needs.

Please refer to the ACE in Communities funding conditions for details of your responsibilities. 

The Adult and Community Education funding mechanism is issued by the Minister responsible for tertiary education. The funding mechanism outlines the general form and essential components of the fund. It provides the mandate for us to allocate the funding and what the funding can be used for, and details how we administer the fund.

Funding is agreed through a tertiary education organisation's (TEO’s) Investment Plan (Plan) unless exempt.

A TEO that receives ACE Fund funding is required to:

• comply with the requirements of the Education and Training Act 2020, and
• comply with the conditions specified in its funding approval documents.

Please refer to the ACE in Communities funding conditions. 

Funding rate

There is no fixed rate for ACE in Communities funding as the funding allocation, course funding rate, mix of provision (MoP) and contracted volume of delivery is agreed with each TEO through the Plan process. 

ACE in Communities allocations for 2021 have increased to accommodate a 1.6% increase in course funding rates.

We determine the amount of ACE in Communities funding for a TEO.

Payment

We pay funding for ACE provision in monthly instalments on the first banking day of each month.

Payment amounts are equal from January to June, and equal from July to December.   

Indicative allocation

The indicative allocation is our early estimate of the “On-Plan” funding that each tertiary education organisation (TEO) could receive in the following delivery year if its Investment Plan is approved for funding.

We calculate the indicative allocation using a set of allocation methodologies. These methodologies are specific to each fund. We review and revise them every year to ensure they’re aligned to funding determinations and the current tertiary environment.

Indicative allocations are made available through the My Allocations and Payments app on Ngā Kete from 1 June.

For more information, see Indicative allocations by year.

For more details regarding your specific allocation, please contact customerservice@tec.govt.nz or your Relationship Manager.

The methodology and technical specifications for the calculation of 2022 funding wash-ups can be found in the 2022 Global Wash-up Methodology document.

2022 Global Wash-up Methodology (PDF 1.1 MB)

TEOs are required to submit a final report to us for each calendar year (the full year Actuals Report).

The TEO must report on each ACE course in its MoP, including recording demographic data about learners. The TEO must submit the completed full year Actuals Report (using the template provided) through Workspace 2 by 31 January of the following year.

Please refer to the ACE in Communities funding conditions. 

In the report we require collated data for all courses that were approved for delivery through the Plan approval process (i.e. before the delivery took place), and any additional and substitute courses, as follows:

• number of learners and hours of delivery (contracted and delivered)
• hours of learner attendance
• region of delivery
• gender of learners
• ethnicity of learners
• English language status of learners
• number of learners with low or no qualifications
• number of migrants
• number of refugees, and
• age of learners.

Individual learner data

TEOs must collect and retain accurate data on each learner enrolment, including demographic information at the time of enrolment, and up-to-date records of learner attendance. This data is required for audit purposes, but does not need to be submitted to us with the full year Actuals Report.

TEOs should also collect and retain learner outcomes data for each course, including in relation to the outcomes that the TEO intended to achieve (which includes outcomes identified in the TEO’s funding application).

We monitor tertiary education organisation (TEO) performance and practices to understand TEO performance in the sector, and to inform our decisions about future funding a TEO may receive.

We monitor TEOs funded through ACE against the following commitments:

• number of learners and hours of delivery (contracted and delivered)
• hours of learner attendance, and
• regions of delivery.