Kia ora Kieran

Thank you for your request for information below. The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) will consider and respond to your request in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act)

Under section 15(1) of the Act, we are required to make and inform you of our decision on your request as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day on which your request is received. You can therefore expect to receive our decision on your request on or before 06 May 2026. If more than 20 working days are needed to answer your request, we will notify you accordingly.

In the interim, if you have any questions about your request, please email [email address]

Ngā mihi
Ministerial and Privacy Services
Organisation Planning and Performance

PO Box 27-048, Wellington, New Zealand
www.tec.govt.nz

-----Original Message-----
From: Kieran O'Donoghue <[FOI #34355 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 2 April 2026 15:29
To: Ministerial Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Official information request: TEC Plan Guidance For providers submitting Investment Plans for funding from 1 January 2027, Appendix B, page 70

Tena Koe,

Please supply the following information under the Official Information Act (OIA) regarding the TEC Plan Guidance For providers submitting Investment Plans for funding from 1 January 2027.
The information I am interested in concerns social work qualifications and the advice that was given to or received, or informed the statement in Appendix B, page 70 that states “For social work going forward, we will prioritise funding for delivery of the three-year Bachelor of Social Work recently accredited by the Social Worker Registration Board (SWRB) over the four-year programme, consistent with our wider priorities for health provision.”
Specifically, I am requesting:
1. What advice was used to inform the statement in Appendix B, page 70 that states “For social work going forward, we will prioritise funding for delivery of the three-year Bachelor of Social Work recently accredited by the Social Worker Registration Board (SWRB) over the four-year programme, consistent with our wider priorities for health provision.”
2. Who (individuals or bodies) was this advice received from, and given to?
3. Please supply all communications relating to this advice.
Including the following:
• Advice and analysis: any briefings, reports, Cabinet papers, memos, or internal analyses relating to this decision
• Any educational, workforce, or economic analysis used to support this prioritisation
• Consultation and engagement: records of consultation with the Social Workers Registration Board, ministries, universities, professional bodies, or sector groups
• Any feedback received from stakeholders regarding programme length or structure.
• Correspondence: communications (emails, memos, meeting notes) between TEC and other agencies (including the SWRB, Ministry of Education, or other government bodies) relating to this matter.
• Decision making rationale: any documents outlining the policy rationale for prioritising the three-year BSW over the four-year programme
• Any consideration of impacts on postgraduate qualifying SW pathways and programme length: provide relevant communications, modelling and analysis.
• Impact and risk analysis: any assessments of the potential implications for workforce supply, quality of training, or sector capacity.
If you need any more information from me, please let me know as soon as possible.
I understand that a decision on a request for information under the OIA should be made within 20 working days of receiving that request.
If you do not normally deal with official information requests, or you need advice on dealing with this request, guidance is available from the Ombudsman at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.

Ngā mihi
Kieran O’Donoghue
Professor of Social Work
Massey University

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #34355 email]

Is [TEC request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to Tertiary Education Commission? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Caution: If you have received this email in error please notify the
sender immediately and delete this message along with any attachments.
Please treat the contents of this message as private and confidential.
Thank you. TEC collects, stores and uses personal information in
compliance with the Privacy Act 2020. If you would like to know more
about how TEC manages personal information, please see our privacy
policy for more information. https://www.tec.govt.nz/footer/about-our...

hide quoted sections

UNCLASSIFIED

Kia ora Kieran

Please see attached the response to your Official Information Act request below.

Ngā mihi
Dean Gillatt
Senior Advisor
Ministerial and Privacy Services
Organisation Planning and Performance

PO Box 27-048, Wellington, New Zealand
www.tec.govt.nz

UNCLASSIFIED
-----Original Message-----
From: Ministerial Requests <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 7 April 2026 08:21
To: Kieran O'Donoghue <[FYI request #34355 email]>
Cc: Ministerial Requests <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Official Information request - Official information request: TEC Plan Guidance For providers submitting Investment Plans for funding from 1 January 2027, Appendix B, page 70

Kia ora Kieran

Thank you for your request for information below. The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) will consider and respond to your request in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act)

Under section 15(1) of the Act, we are required to make and inform you of our decision on your request as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day on which your request is received. You can therefore expect to receive our decision on your request on or before 06 May 2026. If more than 20 working days are needed to answer your request, we will notify you accordingly.

In the interim, if you have any questions about your request, please email [email address]

Ngā mihi
Ministerial and Privacy Services
Organisation Planning and Performance

PO Box 27-048, Wellington, New Zealand
www.tec.govt.nz

-----Original Message-----
From: Kieran O'Donoghue <[FYI request #34355 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 2 April 2026 15:29
To: Ministerial Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Official information request: TEC Plan Guidance For providers submitting Investment Plans for funding from 1 January 2027, Appendix B, page 70

Tena Koe,

Please supply the following information under the Official Information Act (OIA) regarding the TEC Plan Guidance For providers submitting Investment Plans for funding from 1 January 2027.
The information I am interested in concerns social work qualifications and the advice that was given to or received, or informed the statement in Appendix B, page 70 that states “For social work going forward, we will prioritise funding for delivery of the three-year Bachelor of Social Work recently accredited by the Social Worker Registration Board (SWRB) over the four-year programme, consistent with our wider priorities for health provision.”
Specifically, I am requesting:
1. What advice was used to inform the statement in Appendix B, page 70 that states “For social work going forward, we will prioritise funding for delivery of the three-year Bachelor of Social Work recently accredited by the Social Worker Registration Board (SWRB) over the four-year programme, consistent with our wider priorities for health provision.”
2. Who (individuals or bodies) was this advice received from, and given to?
3. Please supply all communications relating to this advice.
Including the following:
• Advice and analysis: any briefings, reports, Cabinet papers, memos, or internal analyses relating to this decision
• Any educational, workforce, or economic analysis used to support this prioritisation
• Consultation and engagement: records of consultation with the Social Workers Registration Board, ministries, universities, professional bodies, or sector groups
• Any feedback received from stakeholders regarding programme length or structure.
• Correspondence: communications (emails, memos, meeting notes) between TEC and other agencies (including the SWRB, Ministry of Education, or other government bodies) relating to this matter.
• Decision making rationale: any documents outlining the policy rationale for prioritising the three-year BSW over the four-year programme
• Any consideration of impacts on postgraduate qualifying SW pathways and programme length: provide relevant communications, modelling and analysis.
• Impact and risk analysis: any assessments of the potential implications for workforce supply, quality of training, or sector capacity.
If you need any more information from me, please let me know as soon as possible.
I understand that a decision on a request for information under the OIA should be made within 20 working days of receiving that request.
If you do not normally deal with official information requests, or you need advice on dealing with this request, guidance is available from the Ombudsman at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.

Ngā mihi
Kieran O’Donoghue
Professor of Social Work
Massey University

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FYI request #34355 email]

Is [TEC request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to Tertiary Education Commission? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Caution: If you have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately and delete this message along with any attachments. Please treat the contents of this message as private and confidential. Thank you.
TEC collects, stores and uses personal information in compliance with the Privacy Act 2020. If you would like to know more about how TEC manages personal information, please see our privacy policy<http://www.tec.govt.nz/footer/about-our-...> for more information.

hide quoted sections