We are leading work on the following initiatives for the universities portfolio. These were developed in response to the advice of the University Advisory Group and are outlined below.

University Advisory Group

Tertiary Education Strategy#

The Minister for Universities and Minister for Vocation Education are developing a new Tertiary Education Strategy (TES). This is expected to be issued later in 2025.

The TES sets the long-term vision and priorities for the entire tertiary education system.

Universities, wānanga, polytechnics and private tertiary education providers that seek government funding must develop investment plans that support TES priorities.

Priorities of the new strategy#

The draft priorities for the new TES are:

• lifting achievement to ensure that students and trainees achieve qualifications that lead to good careers
• maximising economic impact and innovation, by delivering relevant, adaptable skills and research that drives innovation
• increasing access and participation for people from all backgrounds and regions
• deepening integration and collaboration between tertiary providers, communities and industries
• boosting the international education sector and increasing New Zealand’s international connectivity.

The initiatives for the universities portfolio are outlined in the document below.

Tertiary Education Strategy 2020-2025

University Strategy Group#

The Minister for Universities, Hon Dr Shane Reti, is establishing a University Strategy Group to strengthen coordination and help give effect to the new Tertiary Education Strategy. It will be chaired by the Minister and include:

• university leaders
• independent experts
• senior officials.

We will support the operation of the group, which will run for an initial period of 18 months from late 2025.

Replacement of the Performance-Based Research Fund#

The Government has announced that the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) will be replaced with the Tertiary Research Excellence Fund. This will replace the PBRF’s Quality Evaluation component with a metric-based assessment of tertiary providers’ research performance.

Final decisions on the design of the Tertiary Research Excellence Fund will be taken in the first half of 2026, following further engagement with the sector and experts.

Performance-Based Research Fund

More changes to strengthen the university system#

The Minister has directed us to start work on 2 other important projects, working closely with universities.

The reform options that will be presented to Cabinet in 2026 are:

• quality assurance – we will review the current law and systems for approving new programmes and ensuring academic quality in universities
• governance – we will propose changes to strengthen institutional and academic governance by universities’ councils and academic committees.