On this page:

• Limit on prior qualification achievement
• Age limit for learners

For full learner eligibility requirements, see the funding conditions for the relevant year

Learners must not be simultaneously enrolled in school and a YG funded programme.

Learners must not be enrolled in a YG funded programme and another Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) funded programme at the same time, eg, Intensive Literacy and Numeracy (ILN), Delivery at Levels 1 and 2 on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (DQ1-2), a New Zealand Apprenticeship or a Gateway programme.A learner who is eligible for ILN-funded programmes is not considered to have the necessary literacy and numeracy skills to be successful in a YG programme.

Limit on prior qualification achievement

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

In practice this means:

• a “new enrolment” is the first time that learner has been enrolled in YG at your tertiary education organisation (TEO), and
• you must verify individual learners’ prior achievement before accepting them into the programme.

Level 1 and 2 programmes

You must ensure that learners who already hold a qualification at Level 1 or 2 on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) comprise no more than 10% of new enrolments in a YG programme leading to award of a qualification at that level. An exception is where the learner is progressing from a Level 1 to a Level 2 qualification (ie, a higher level of qualification).

A learner enrolling in a subsequent YG qualification at your TEO at any level is not considered a “new enrolment”.

Level 3 programmes

You must prioritise enrolments in YG programmes that lead to an award of a Level 3 qualification on the NZQCF for:

• learners with no or low prior achievement (no qualification or a Level 1 qualification), and
• learners who have already completed a Level 1 or 2 qualification funded through YG and are progressing to a Level 3 qualification during their funding entitlement of 2.5 equivalent full-time students (EFTS). You must not enrol a learner in a YG programme if the learner has already achieved a qualification at Level 3 or above on the NZQCF.

Age limit for learners

In 2023 the YG upper age limit was extended from 19 years, to include learners up to 24 years of age at the time they commence the YG programme.

Learners may be re-enrolled in YG, as long as they continue to meet the learner eligibility conditions, including enrolling in no more than 1.5 EFTS provision per calendar year.

Some learners may turn 25 years old during a programme they are enrolled in. These learners remain eligible for YG for the courses required to complete their qualification.

YG funding is not available for learners who have already turned 25 to re-enrol in courses they did not successfully complete. Keep this in mind when you enrol a learner who is close to turning 25, as any re-enrolments in qualifications or courses will need to be self-funded by the learner or from DQ1-2 or DQ3-7 funding. 

Learners have a lifetime limit of YG EFTS

Since 2023, part-time enrolments are permitted under YG funding to support flexible arrangements and learner needs. 

However, all YG learners have a 2.5 EFTS lifetime limit. This limit excludes provision for NCEA co-requisite standards.

Track learner YG EFTS consumption carefully

Learners’ consumption towards their YG lifetime limit using course enrolments needs to reflect:

• 80 credits per EFTS for Level 1 and 2 qualifications (40 credits for 0.5 EFTS); and
• 120 credits per EFTS for Level 3 qualifications (60 credits for 0.5 EFTS).

You should not enrol a learner in a programme if the enrolment will take them over the 2.5 EFTS per learner limit for YG.

Similarly, consider a learner’s course re-enrolments before you enrol them in a further programme. Where a learner does not complete a course successfully and you re-enrol them and claim funding, they will consume additional EFTS towards their entitlement.

Note: Your Mixes of Provision (MoPs), Single Data Return (SDR) and DXP Ngā Kete information products will continue to calculate all YG funding and delivery volumes using a nominal 120 credits for 1.0 EFTS.