What is a new provider?

A provider is considered “new” when they do not currently receive on-Plan TEC funding or have not received any on-Plan funding from TEC in the past 12 months, even if they receive other types of TEC funding.

On-Plan funds are:

• Adult and Community Education (Communities) Fund
• Adult and Community Education (Schools) Fund
• Adult and Community Education (TEIs) Fund
• Adult Literacy Educator Fund
• Delivery at Levels 1 and 2 on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) Fund (DQ1-2)
• Delivery at Levels 3 to 7 (non-degree) on the NZQCF and all industry training Fund (DQ3-7)
• Delivery at Levels 7 (degree) to 10 on the NZQCF Fund (DQ7-10)
• English Language Teaching – Intensive Literacy and Numeracy (ELT)
• Equity Fund
• Intensive Literacy and Numeracy Fund (ILN)
• English Language Teaching – Refugee English (Refugee English)
• TEO-led Workplace Literacy and Numeracy Fund (TEO-led WLN)
• Youth Guarantee Fund (YG).

If you wish to apply for other funds (off-Plan), you need to follow a different process.

For information on how to apply for these funds, please refer to the specific fund web pages in Fund Finder.

If your organisation is currently funded by TEC through an Investment Plan and you wish to be considered for new or additional funding, you do not need to apply as a new provider. More information about additional funding is available at Guidance to develop your Investment Plan.

Priorities for funding

As well as meeting eligibility criteria, new providers seeking funding need to demonstrate that their proposed provision closely aligns with our investment priorities.

For DQ3-7 and DQ7-10 funding this includes:

• delivering to learners most in need (for example, those from low socio-economic backgrounds, with low prior achievement, or who are disabled, neurodiverse, Māori and/or Pacific) that are not reached through existing provision by other providers
• delivering to one or more priorities outlined in Plan Guidance that require additional provision
• provision agreed as part of iwi settlements.

For foundation education funding (DQ1-2, YG and ILN) we expect provision to be guided by targeted priorities for foundational education.

Please refer to our Plan Guidance and Supplementary Plan Guidance (once available) for more information on WDC advice, strategic priorities, and under-served learner groups. See Guidance to develop your Investment Plan.

Application process for all funds

You must contact us to discuss your situation before applying for on-Plan funding. If you are invited to apply, we will send you the relevant application form and you will be required to provide evidence to support your application.

An invitation to apply for funding as a new provider does not guarantee that you will be approved for funding. That decision will be made upon review of your application and all applicable evidence, in the context of other applications made and the funding available at the time.  

Funding request timeframes

We have one main funding round each year for our on-Plan funds, with applications for 2026 closing on 4 July 2025. See the timeline at Guidance to develop your Investment Plan.

Your application will be assessed and you will be notified of our decision after October 2025. If your application is unsuccessful, we will give you the opportunity to respond and provide further information before making a final decision. Funding for approved applications will commence in January 2026.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss submissions outside of this timeframe.

Contact details

If you have any questions, or wish to discuss a potential application, please contact us:

Email: customerservice@tec.govt.nz
Subject line: New Provider funding enquiry

Free Phone: 0800 601 301
Phone: +64 4 462 5201