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Fees Free tertiary study

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington students may be eligible for final-year Fees Free funding. Find out how it works.

Final-year Fees Free funding

Fees Free is a fund that reimburses fees for the final year of your qualification, up to $12,000.

If you are a domestic student studying towards your first tertiary qualification, you may be eligible to access this fund.

For more information about the final-year Fees Free policy, and to check your eligibility, visit FeesFree.govt.nz.

Fees Free study includes

  • tuition
  • associated mandatory fees
  • compulsory student service fees.

Fees Free study does not include

  • textbooks
  • club memberships
  • course materials
  • late fees.

Reimbursement of fees

The final-year Fees Free policy is a reimbursement scheme. If you are eligible, you can claim your entitlement through the IRD once you have completed your first qualification (from early 2026).

As the funding is not available until after you have finished your qualification, you will still need to pay your fees before your courses start. You may wish to apply for a student loan through StudyLink to help cover them.

If you started studying before 2025

Prior to 1 January 2025, Fees Free was available for your first year of study. If you started studying before 2025, you may be eligible to claim Fees Free funding under the transition rules.

First-year Fees Free transition rules

If you have already used Fees Free funding in your first year of study you won't be able to access Fees Free under the final-year policy. However, until the end of 2025, first-year Fees Free will operate under 'first-year transition' rules.

If you used Fees Free in 2024, you may be able to continue to use any remaining first-year Fees Free entitlement in 2025 if you:

  • are continuing in the same programme of study in 2025, and,
  • have first-year Fees Free entitlement remaining.

You will be able to access your entitlement until the end of 2025, or until you reach 120 points, or up to $12,000 (GST inclusive), whichever occurs first.

If you have remaining entitlement you will not be able to access Fees Free in 2025 if you:

  • did not use Fees Free in 2024, or,
  • used Fees Free in 2024 but are not continuing in the same programme of study in 2025.

Need help

If you have further questions, please review the Tertiary Education Commission’s FAQs on Fees Free. If you would like to speak to the University team about studying or Fees Free, you can contact us at 0800 04 04 04, email us at info@vuw.ac.nz, or book a course planning session.