Fee-free Criteria
You may be eligible for fee-free training, check our criteria below.
Fees-free funding for approved programmes is provided by the Tertiary Education Commission and is managed by NZSAR for the SAR sector. Attendance is subject to the following conditions:
- for approved delivery only;
- that participants are funded for the acquisition of new skills;
- that the participant is funded on a one-time only basis for that training event.
This funding also has three specific funding criterion shown below. Applicants must meet all three criteria to be eligible for funding.
Criterion 1: Be a volunteer
- For the purpose of the SAR fund, ‘volunteer’ means a member of a search and rescue organisation approved by NZSAR. This includes, but is not necessarily limited too: Land Search and Rescue, Coastguard, Surf Life Saving, Police SAR squad members, Police SAR squad reserves, RCCNZ, AREC.
- For CDEM funding this is a person who volunteers for an approved Civil Defence Emergency Management Group. This includes council employees who are not employed as a CDEM professional, volunteer Response Teams (NZRT/CRT) who have an MoU with the appropriate CDEM Group and/or persons approved by the CDEM Group who work in, or provide support to, a CDEM EOC, ECC or NCC. Written endorsement must be provided by the CDEM Group fund manager to for Land Search and Rescue to be able to claim the funding.
Criterion 2: Be a New Zealand citizen or resident
2a: A New Zealand citizen and provide an original or certified copy of one or more of the following documents:
- a New Zealand birth certificate; or
- a New Zealand passport; or
- a New Zealand certificate of citizenship; or
- a NZ drivers licence if registered and verified in NSI.
2b: A New Zealand permanent resident and provide an original or certified copy of one or more of the following documents:
- a) a passport with a current returning residency class visa; or
- b) a passport, and letter or email, confirming current returning residency class visa followed by confirmation with Immigration New Zealand (where appropriate); or
- c) a certificate of identity from Immigration New Zealand if the student is a refugee; or
- d) a NZ drivers licence if registered and verified in NSI.
Where international students are members of established Search and Rescue organisations, including, but not necessarily limited too: Land Search and Rescue, Coastguard, Surf Life Saving, Police SAR squad members, Police SAR squad reserves, RCCNZ, AREC they may still be eligible for fee-free training providing the prior approval of NZSAR is sought to enrol as if they are not international students.
A “person required to be treated as if they are not an international student” is an international student who expects to stay in New Zealand on a visa for at least six months after their enrolment in a search and rescue training course or activity in New Zealand funded by payments made under this TEC/NZSAR training fund.
The intent of this clause is aimed predominantly at specialist Land Search and Rescue Groups, who often have limited local eligible members (small communities) and/or have seasonal workers with specialist skill sets.
Approval of international students may be sought by SAR Sector persons here.
Criterion 3: Complete all TEO enrolment requirements
- Tertiary Education Organisations (TEO’s) have mandatory reporting requirements to Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) for all enrollments. TEO’s collect various data on behalf of TEC. Completion of the data is a requirement for all TEC funded training courses.
- Persons who enrol on training events but fail to complete enrolment, supply the necessary supporting data as requested or supply false information shall be billed for their training event.