See the following condition for tertiary education organisation (TEO) eligibility requirements. 

• Condition: Organisation eligibility 

In addition, universities, institutes of technology and polytechnics (ITPs), and wānanga must meet the following eligibility requirement.

• Condition: Benchmarking

Conditions about programme (including course) eligibility requirements include but are not limited to the following conditions.

• Condition: Use of SAC1&2 Fund Funding 
• Condition: Programmes and qualifications 
• Condition: Compulsory student services fee (CSSF) 
• Condition: Minimum performance standards 
• Condition: Subcontracting

Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool

Tertiary education organisations (TEOs) that deliver SAC levels 1 and 2 funded provision must use the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool to assess its students. See Condition: Literacy and numeracy assessment tool.

Restrictions on fees

TEOs that deliver SAC levels 1 and 2 funded provision must not charge students a fee unless it is the compulsory student services fee (CSSF). 

See the following conditions for information about restrictions on fees.

• Condition: No charging fees 
• Condition: Compulsory student services fee (CSSF) 

Restrictions on the use of SAC levels 1 and 2 (competitive) funding for some types of courses

SAC levels 1 and 2 funding must not be used for:

• health and safety compliance training, or
• regulatory compliance training.

See Condition: Health and safety or regulatory compliance learning.

See the following condition for student eligibility requirements.

• Condition: Valid domestic enrolments.  

Limit on prior qualification achievement

See Condition: Students with prior qualifications.

The prior qualification achievement limit is to ensure that government funding is targeted to students with no or low prior qualification achievement, and to enable students to progress to higher-level qualifications.

In practice this means you can only enrol a student in SAC levels 1 and 2 funded provision if he or she does not hold a qualification at level 2 or higher on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) (that was achieved in the last five years) unless:

• the student is enrolling in an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) or a Te Reo Māori qualification, or
• your organisation has not reached the funding condition threshold for enrolments of students with prior qualifications.

Domestic Students studying overseas

Studying outside New Zealand while enrolled at a New Zealand campus of a New Zealand tertiary education organisation (TEO)

A student is a valid domestic enrolment and eligible for SAC level 1 and 2 funding if they are:

• a Domestic Student enrolled in a course(s) leading to the award of a recognised qualification offered by the New Zealand TEO, and
• enrolled at the New Zealand TEO while studying outside New Zealand.

Note: A student is not a valid domestic enrolment if the student is studying outside New Zealand at an overseas campus or delivery site of a New Zealand TEO.

See Condition: Valid domestic enrolments.

New Zealand Residents (NZRs), Australian citizens, and Australian Residents (ARs) studying overseas 

NZRs, Australian citizens, and ARs studying outside New Zealand must meet the criteria set out in the Education (Tertiary Education—Criteria Permanent Residents Studying Overseas must Satisfy to be Domestic Students) Regulations 2016. If they do not meet the criteria, they are not a valid domestic enrolment. The criteria include that the student must be:

• studying in an unfamiliar country
• not enrolled as an extramural student, and
• ordinarily resident in New Zealand.

"Unfamiliar country" means the student, if they have been to that country previously, has spent less than six months in total in that country in the five years before the date on which their overseas study begins.

"Ordinarily resident" in New Zealand means the student meets the "ordinarily resident test" whereby they are lawfully able to reside in New Zealand and intend to remain in New Zealand (ie. they consider New Zealand to be their home). A student cannot be "ordinarily resident" in two countries at the same time.

Use the Ministry of Social Development’s Guidelines for deciding ordinarily resident to decide whether a student meets the “ordinarily resident test”.

TEOs are responsible for ensuring that a student meets the "ordinarily resident test" and is eligible to access tuition subsidy funding and study support. The TEO may require NZRs, Australian citizens, and ARs intending to study part of a New Zealand qualification overseas to complete a declaration to confirm their unfamiliarity with the overseas country they intend to study in and provide evidence that they are ordinarily live in New Zealand. 

See Condition: Valid domestic enrolments.