Fees Free Dropped without Evidence or Consultation

Documents revealed by the Official Information Act (OIA) show the Government scrapped Fees Free without consultation with universities or student unions, and without evidence on the impact of its final-year model.

Fees Free had four goals when it was announced in 2018:removing financial barriers to education, reducing learner debt, supporting life-long learning, and increasing tertiary participation. A 2024 Ministry of Education analysis found the policy only succeeded at reducing debt. 

Finance Minister Nicola Willis used that analysis to justify discontinuing the scheme, saying it had not increased student numbers and had failed to bring more disadvantaged people into tertiary education.

But Willis and the Government were comparing apples with oranges. 

In 2025, the Government changed the scheme from first-year Fees Free, as introduced by Labour in 2018, to a final-year Fees Free model. It then scrapped the policy entirely in this year’s Budget.

The first university students who would have been eligible for final-year Fees Free began studying in 2025, meaning they had not received any subsidy before the scheme was scrapped.

Tertiary Education Minister Penny Simmonds confirmed to Salient in a written statement that there was no evidence on the efficacy of final-year Fees Free.

“Final-year Fees Free was introduced on 1 January 2025, so there is not yet outcome data on its direct impacts,” Simmonds said.

“However, officials assessed the policy using evidence from the first-year Fees Free scheme, international research on fees-free policies, and analysis of participation, completion, student loan repayment patterns, and the scheme's long-term fiscal costs.”

Relevant parties impacted by the policy were also blindsided by the announcement, with no universities or student unions being consulted beforehand. OIA responses confirmed only the Ministry of Education and other government ministries were consulted. 

Simmonds said this was “standard practice,” as potential budget decisions are not usually consulted on to maintain confidentiality. 

VUWSA president Aidan Donoghue said the decision-making process was unsurprising but disappointing, and that VUWSA had heard nothing from the Government.

“I think this government just looked at the dollar amount and went yup, if we’re going to cut something it’s going to be students and low earners first,” Donoghue said. 

“The fact that it’s not even phased out is so horrific for those first and second year students who thought they were going to get a year free and all of a sudden it’s just gone.”

The axing of Fees Free will save the Government $1 billion. In responses to written parliamentary questions, Simmonds stated just 8.4 percent of the savings would be put back into the tertiary sector.

Simmonds has also allowed tertiary providers to increase course fees by 6 percent. Between 2014 and 2024, course fee increases were limited to between 2 and 2.8 percent.

Given the impact of the Government’s decisions on student finances, Salient requested an interview with Simmonds and offered to make time at her convenience.

The offer was declined as the minister was “not available.”