Qualifications and standards overview

Our role for qualifications and unit standards

We are responsible for developing and maintaining qualifications, and developing, setting, and maintaining unit standards for the industries in our coverage area.

These qualifications and standards were previously managed by Transitional Industry Training Organisations and have now been transferred to Hanga-Aro-Rau.

Identifying which qualifications and unit standards have been transferred to Hanga-Aro-Rau

All qualifications and standards have been updated on NZQA’s system, and you can find out which ones have been transferred to Hanga-Aro-Rau by searching NZQA’s website:

• For qualifications, search for the qualification by keyword or qualification number on the NZQF. Click on the qualification to view the name of the current qualification developer.
• For standards, search for the unit standard by number (or via field/subfield/domain) on the Directory of Assessment Standards. The name of the current standard-setting body is displayed on the resulting screen. Note: the individual Word and PDF documents relating to the standard will still show the previous standard setting body’s details.

Skill Standards

Skill standards will replace unit standards as the core components of vocational programmes. NZQA has been working on engagement with WDCs and others on the definition and design of skill standards. Substantial progress on their design has been made.

Providers will have the opportunity to participate in the development of skill standards where they have an interest in the subject area. When unit standards are replaced, this will be communicated to providers with existing consent to assess and there will be time to update existing programmes to reflect new skill standards.

Support for Providers developing programmes for our qualifications

A range of guidance documents are available to support providers developing programmes that result in the award of one of our qualifications. A full list is available here.

Last date of assessment for any qualification or standard

If you plan to request an extension for the last date of assessment for any qualification or standard, please note that NZQA now requires additional evidence to support these requests, especially for extensions beyond two years or for repeat requests. NZQA is working on a policy to guide the review of these applications, and we will ensure you have the most up-to-date guidance possible once its available.

Hanga-Aro-Rau has developed this form to capture the information needed to support your application. Please include as much detail as you can, and email to [email protected].

Contact us

If you would like to contact us about our qualifications or standards, or to receive a copy of a programme guidance document, please email [email protected].