I make the following notice under clause 4, Schedule 24 of the Education and Training Act 2020.

Notice

1. Title and Commencement

(1) This notice may be cited as the Education (National Student Numbers) Notice 2024.

(2) This notice shall take effect on 2 December 2024.

2. Use of National Student Numbers

(1) The Ministry of Education, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, the Tertiary Education Commission, and tertiary education organisations are authorised to use national student numbers for the following purposes:

• monitoring and ensuring student enrolment and attendance;
• ensuring education providers and students receive appropriate resourcing;
• statistical purposes;
• research purposes;
• ensuring that student educational records are accurately maintained;
• establishing and maintaining student identities to support online learning (to avoid any doubt, online learning includes submission, assessment, and moderation); and
• ensuring that employers and students receive appropriate resourcing and support for work-based training.

(2) Registered schools are authorised to use national student numbers for the following purposes:

• monitoring and ensuring student enrolment and attendance;
• ensuring education providers and students receive appropriate resourcing;
• statistical purposes;
• research purposes; and
• ensuring that student educational records are accurately maintained.

(3) Registered schools are authorised to use national student numbers for establishing and maintaining student identities to support online learning (to avoid any doubt, online learning includes submission, assessment, and moderation) subject to the following condition:

• Registered schools may only use the NSN for this purpose through a service for establishing and maintaining student identities for online learning that has been approved by the Ministry of Education (for the avoidance of doubt this condition does not apply to use of the NSN through services provided by or through NZQA for online external assessment).

(4) Early childhood services are authorised to use national student numbers for the following purposes:

• monitoring and ensuring student enrolment and attendance; and
• ensuring early childhood services and students receive appropriate resourcing.

(5) Statistics NZ, being a body declared by regulations to be an authorised user¹, is authorised to use national student numbers for the following purposes:

• statistical purposes; and
• research purposes.

(6) StudyLink, a service line of the Ministry of Social Development, being a body declared by regulations to be an authorised user², is authorised to use national student numbers for the following purposes:

• ensuring education providers and students receive appropriate resourcing; and
• ensuring that employers and students receive appropriate resourcing and support for work-based training.

(7) The Education Review Office, being a body declared by regulations to be an authorised user³, is authorised to use national student numbers for the following purposes:

• statistical purposes; and
• research purposes.

(8) The Network for Learning Limited, being a body declared by regulations to be an authorised user⁴, is authorised to use national student numbers for the following purposes:

• monitoring and ensuring student enrolment and attendance;
• ensuring education providers and students receive appropriate resourcing;
• ensuring that student educational records are accurately maintained; and
• establishing and maintaining student identities to support online learning.

(9) Education providers in a jurisdiction described in section 455(2)(b) of the Education and Training Act 2020 and that provide teaching and assessment of NCEA standards in that jurisdiction are authorised to use national student numbers for the following purposes:

• statistical purposes;
• research purposes;
• ensuring that student educational records are accurately maintained; and
• establishing and maintaining student identities to support online learning (to avoid any doubt, online learning includes submission, assessment, and moderation).

(10) Education providers in a jurisdiction described in section 455(2)(b) of the Education and Training Act 2020 and that provide teaching and assessment of NCEA standards in that jurisdiction may only use national student numbers in relation to NCEA if that use relates to students who are residing in that jurisdiction

(11) Education providers described in (9) are authorised to use national student numbers for ensuring that student educational records are accurately maintained subject to the following conditions:

• Education providers may only use national student numbers for this purpose in relation to student educational records that are related to NCEA.

(12) Education providers described in (9) are authorised to use national student numbers for establishing and maintaining student identities to support online learning (to avoid any doubt, online learning includes submission, assessment, and moderation) subject to the following conditions:

• Education providers described in (9) may only use national student numbers for this purpose through a service for establishing and maintaining student identities for online learning that has been approved by the Ministry of Education (for the avoidance of doubt this condition does not apply to use of the NSN through services provided by or through NZQA for online external assessment).

3. Revocations

This notice revokes the following notice:

• The Education (National Student Numbers) Notice 2023 published in the New Zealand Gazette, 29 September 2023, Notice No. 2023-go4534.

Dated at Wellington this 27th day of November 2024.

ANDY JACKSON, Secretary for Education (acting).

1. The Education (Statistics New Zealand Authorised to Use National Student Numbers) Regulations 2008.

2. Other business units of the Ministry of Social Development do not have authority to access or use national student numbers. The Education (Ministry of Social Development Authorised to Use National Student Numbers) Regulations 2012 made the Ministry an authorised user but Cabinet approved the regulations on the basis that the national student numbers’ use would be only for StudyLink purposes and that this would be specified in the New Zealand Gazette notice authorising the use.

3. Education (Education Review Office Authorised to Use National Student Numbers) Regulations 2019.

4. Education (The Network for Learning Limited Authorised to Use National Student Numbers) Regulations 2024.