Aussies blocked from free study
Tasman neighbours must have lived in NZ at least 3 years
Families across the Tasman are taking note of New Zealand’s free tertiary scheme — but unless they have lived here long-term they will be locked out.
The Labour-led Government will roll out a year of free study from next year, eventually implementing three fees-free years from 2024.
Students from Australia at present pay the same fees as locals in New Zealand, and the same applies for Kiwis living in Australia.
The annual domestic fees for a bachelor of arts at Melbourne’s Monash University total about $7765.
Avondale College, one of New Zealand’s largest schools, has already had an inquiry from an Australian family, interested in how they can qualify their children for free study here.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed Australians will be barred from free study and training unless they have lived here for at least three years.
“Any Australians wanting to take up fees-free tertiary study will need to meet the three-year residence requirement that currently applies to accessing interest-free student loans and student allowances. This will also apply to other residents from different countries,” Hipkins said.
“Australians who have been ordinarily resident in New Zealand for less than three years will continue to pay domestic fees.”
Australians pay domestic student tertiary fees but cannot access student loans or support unless they live here for at least three years.
National’s tertiary spokesman, Paul Goldsmith, said barring Austra- lians from free study would need to be handled carefully.
“There is precedent for it in the sense that the access to interest-free student loans and allowances have that three-year stand-down.
“But you would have to change the arrangement,” Goldsmith said.
“At the moment it is quite clear — for the purposes of fees, [Australians] are treated as domestic students. It is a change to the agreement.”
He didn’t think Australians would expect to get free study here, but it was a change to the policy of treating Australians as domestic students, “and that has to be managed”.
National’s education spokeswoman, Nikki Kaye, said the free tertiary policy was being rushed, and there were potential unintended consequences, including for schools.
“When we have principals saying they have had calls from Australia . . . we may see Australians taking advantage of the policy, and we may see more Australian kids in our schools.”
Kiwi expats currently in Australia could return or send students and their siblings to stay with relatives while studying, Kaye said.
“I’m not saying that is all bad ... but the point is about what we need to do to plan for particular policies like this,” Kaye said. “Schools need time to plan.” Hipkins dismissed the idea people could cross the Tasman as a result of the new scheme.
“It may prove an added attraction to Australians already considering moving to New Zealand, but by itself it is hard to imagine it would motivate Australians to shift here for the three
By itself it is hard to imagine it would motivate Australians to shift here for the three years needed to access fees-free study. Chris Hipkins, Education Minister
years needed to access fees-free study,” the minister said.
“I am taking advice on the likely impact on student numbers but overall I expect it will increase participation over time.”
Kiwis who have not studied at tertiary level before will be entitled to one year of free tertiary study or post-school training from next year.
The policy will be extended to two years free in 2021, and three years free in 2024 — or more rapidly, if conditions permit.
After a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Sydney this month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern indicated Australians wanting to access the fees-free scheme would need to have lived in NZ for a certain length of time.
She also reiterated her position to raise fees for Australians if Kiwis were charged international fees there.
A measure in the Australian Budget would see Kiwis treated as international full-fee paying students, although many would be able to access student loans for the first time. That measure is stalled in the Senate and is unlikely to be implemented in the foreseeable future.
Another sore point in the transtasman relationship has been the Barnaby Joyce affair. In August, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in August she could not trust a future Labour Government if it had colluded with Australia’s Labor Party to reveal then Deputy Prime Minister Joyce was a New Zealand citizen.
Bishop’s comments followed parliamentary questions from Hipkins about citizenship after a chat with a Labor staffer. He has denied knowing there were issues about Joyce’s citizenship, saying he asked the questions to clear up the law.