Level 9, 44 The Terrace
PO Box 27048
Wellington, New Zealand 6141
17 March 2017
P +64 4 462 5200
www.tec.govt.nz
Richard Thorpe
[FYI request #5425 email]
Dear Richard
Thank you for your email of 22 February 2017 requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982
(Act), the following:
1. The total number of audits performed or commissioned by TEC broken down by:
Year
Type of provider (PTE/ITP/University/Wananga),
Whether the audit was conducted by TEC or by an external party,
How many were completed vs. how many still in progress?
How many TEOs are planned to be audited in 2017/2018?
2. A list of external auditors engaged by TEC to perform these audits, the number performed by
each, and the total paid by the TEC to each for these audits.
3.
The final auditors report in any case where the report raised any concerns or made any
recommendations relating to the allocation, consumption, use, or monitoring of funding, or
which made any reference to the calculation or reporting of learner hours as it relates to funding
claimed. If the determination of which auditor reports fit this criteria is prohibitively time
consuming, all audit reports 2015 - current would also be acceptable.
And your further email of 6 March 2017, refining your request, under the Act, to the following:
I would like to refine my earlier query regarding the final reports from audits
completed. The final reports from 2016 onward, rather than my earlier request for
2015 onward, would be acceptable. However I would still like to know the number of
audits completed, and whether they were undertaken by the TEC directly or by 3rd
party auditors, from 2015.
Audits are a routine part of our monitoring system and are designed to ensure that a Tertiary
Education Organisation (TEO) is meeting its funding conditions. All audits are conducted by the
Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). The TEC does not use third parties to conduct tertiary
education organisation audits.
The TEC conducts up to 70 audits each year. Providing you with copies of the audits from 2016 would
involve substantial collation
. Therefore, the TEC is considering refusing your request under section
18(f) of the Act. However by extending the time limit for responding to your request and levying a
charge for the provision of the information the TEC may be able to provide you with the information
requested.
When levying a charge, the TEC follows the recommendations set out in the Ministry of Justice
Charging Guidelines. The charging guidelines allow for a charge of $38 for every chargeable half hour
of staff time spent working on your request.
The TEC estimates it would take a maximum of 31 hours to provide you with the information you are
currently requesting and would need to levy a maximum charge of $2,360 to provide you with the
information. The TEC would require half the fee or $1,180 to be paid in advance.
However, if you were willing to further refine your request, the TEC may be able to provide you with
the reduced level of information at no charge or a significantly reduced charge. The TEC would
consider a request for between 5 and 10 audits could be provided without the need to levy a charge.
To assist you in refining your request I have included a list of all the audits undertaken by TEC during
2016.
If you have any questions, would like further assistance in refining your request, or are willing to pay
a charge you can contact The TEC’s Senior Advisor Government Services by email at
[email address]. Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any decision the
TEC makes to charge a fee for access to official information.
Yours sincerely,
Tim Fowler
Chief Executive
Tertiary education organisation audits conducted by the Tertiary Education Commission in 2016
Samala Robinson Academy
Auckland Hotel and Chefs Training School
Morrinsville Training Centre
Service IQ
Catholic Institute of Aotearoa
Te Wananga Whare Tapere o Takitimu
New Zealand Motor ITO
Te Wananga o Raukawa
BCITO
Southern Institute of Technology
The Learning Connexion
Career Network (Audit cancelled as deregistered)
Waikato Institute of Technology
Bay of Plenty College of Homeopathy
Skills Update Limited
Waikato School of Hairdressing
YMCA
Wairoa Waikaremoana Maori Trust Board
Wellpark College of Natural Therapies
NZ College of Chinese Medicine
NZ School of Education
NZ Management Academies
NZ School College of Massage Limited
Service Skills Centre
Te Arawa Lakes Trust
Manaaki Ora Trust
MSL
Front-Line Training Consultancy
Multicultural Learning & Support Services Ltd
Te Kohanga Reo National Trust Board
U-Turn Community Training Services Limited
Netcor Campus (NZ Education and Tourism)
People Potential
NZ Institute of Fashion Technology
Quality Education Services Trust Limited
Crown Institute of Studies
Corporate Academy Group
Education Action Limited
NMIT
New Zealand Institute of Sport
Pacific International Hotel Management School
Adult Literacy Education & Consulting
Trade Education Limited
Lakeland Learning Company
Maata Waka Enterprises
Anamata Charitable Trust (Focused)
Anamata Charitable Trust (BAU)
English Teaching College
School of Audio Engineering Limited
Make Futures Happen International Institute
FutureCOL
G&H Training Limited
