PRIVACY STATEMENT

The Privacy Act 2020 has the stated aim of protecting and promoting the privacy of individuals.  It governs the collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information. South Pacific College of Natural Medicine (SPCNM) handles personal information in accordance with the thirteen information privacy principles in the Act.

South Pacific College of Natural Medicine collects and stores personal information from this form to: 

• comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act 2020, the Education and Training Act 2020, and other legislation relating to maintenance of records. (This includes legislation governing the maintenance of official records and for accountability for public funding.) 
• manage the business of South Pacific College of Natural Medicine (including internal reporting, administrative processes and selection of scholarship and prize winners).
• supply information to government agencies and other organisations as set out below.
• provide relevant information to course lecturers and other key staff regarding students with significant injury, long term illness, a disability, or additional needs.

In signing the enrolment application form you authorise the disclosure of your personal information on the understanding that SPCNM will comply with the legal requirements in relation to the use and disclosure of personal information, as set out in the Privacy Act 2020, the Education and Training Act 2020 and other relevant legislation. You are entitled to see any information that SPCNM holds about you and request to correct any errors in that information. To do so, contact enquiries@spcnm.ac.nz.

Disclosure of personal information to government agencies 

South Pacific College of Natural Medicine may supply personal information collected on the enrolment application form to the following government agencies: 

• Tertiary Education Commission 
• Ministry of Education 
• New Zealand Qualifications Authority 
• Ministry of Social Development 
• Inland Revenue 
• Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, including Immigration New Zealand
• when required by law, New Zealand Police, Department of Justice and the Accident Compensation Corporation; and
• agencies which support specific students through scholarships, payment of fees or other awards (if you are a recipient of one of these awards). 

The government agencies listed above may use the personal information supplied to them to: 

• administer the tertiary education system, including allocating funding and the administration of the Fees Free schemes 
• develop policy advice for government 
• conduct statistical analysis and research 
• update the New Zealand Record of Achievement 
• include in the National Student Index or use in an authorised information matching programme with the New Zealand Birth Register 
• fulfil their statutory responsibilities 
• supply it to Statistics New Zealand to be integrated in Statistics New Zealand’s Integrated Data Infrastructure.

Disclosure of personal information to government agencies and organisations

South Pacific College of Natural Medicine may also supply personal information as applicable to: 

• other educational organisations for the purpose of verifying academic records 
• Education New Zealand for the purposes of supporting international students
• scholarship providers for the purposes of administering scholarships 
• debt collection agencies for the purposes of recovering unpaid fees.  

In handling data supplied by you on the enrolment application form, the government and other agencies are required to comply with the provisions of the Privacy Act 2020.

Storage of personal information 

Data collected from tertiary education organisations by the government is now stored in the Cloud. Student enrolment and course and qualification completion data is stored in a Microsoft datastore based in Sydney, Australia.

Disclosure of personal information to SPCNM staff  

In signing the enrolment application form you acknowledge that any relevant information relating to significant injury, long term illness, disability or other additional needs provided by you during the enrolment application process may be noted in an Additional Needs Register. 

Specific, necessary details may be shared with Course Lecturers and other key staff, e.g. Academic Director, Academic Administrator and/or Student Support Team for the purpose of offering individual support. Your information will be removed from the Additional Needs Register at the end of your enrolment.

DOCUMENTATION

Eligibility to enrol as a domestic student

Section 10 of the Education and Training Act 2020 sets out who is eligible to enrol as a domestic student and likely entitled to pay domestic fees. This means an individual who is: 

• a New Zealand citizen, or
• the holder of a residence class visa granted under the Immigration Act 2009, or 
• to be treated as if they are not an international student under the Tertiary Education (Domestic Students) Notice 2024, or any other corresponding notice published in the Gazette and applying for 2025.

There are scenarios under which you may be eligible to be treated as a domestic student. The responsibility for ensuring a student is eligible to access tuition subsidy funding and study support rests with SPCNM, who can provide you with more guidance. 

For more information on other valid domestic enrolments visit: Other valid domestic enrolments.

EVIDENCE TO ENROL

Domestic students must provide evidence of identity and eligibility to study by providing one of the following:

• National Student Number (NSN)
• New Zealand birth certificat 
• New Zealand or Australian passport
• A certificate of identity from Immigration New Zealand
• A New Zealand certificate of citizenship
• Overseas passport with visa approval notification
• An assertion from the Department of Internal Affair’s RealMe® online identity verification service.

You may be required or permitted to provide additional or other evidence to SPCNM depending on the visa type granting you domestic student status and the fund SPCNM is accessing. For more information on these requirements visit: Other valid domestic enrolments.

You can bring the original documentation to the reception desk or provide a certified copy. A certified copy means a photocopy, photograph or scanned copy that has been endorsed as a true copy of the original document. To be certified the document must be certified by an official of the issuing authority or a person authorised by section 9(1)(a) to (h) of the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957, such as a Justice of the Peace (JP), Court Register or Deputy Registrar.

International students must provide an original or certified copy of their passport and visa. 

Please note that your name, date of birth and residency as entered on this enrolment form will be included in the National Student Index, and will be used in Authorised Information Matching programmes with official government information such as the New Zealand Birth Register, to verify the information provided.  

On occasion, more than one National Student Number is created for an individual. The Ministry of Education regularly monitors the quality of the National Student Index and, when duplicates or errors are discovered,  it works with providers and government agencies to merge duplicates and correct errors. This may require the documentation you provide at enrolment being shared between agencies authorised to access the National Student Index to make these corrections.

For further information please see: About National Student Numbers. 

International Students

Along with providing all information and documents required during the enrolment application process, please note international applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Payment of annual course fees upfront
• Travel and Medical Insurance
• A NZ study visa or relevant visa that allows study
• Must be residing in Auckland, New Zealand
• Must study full-time and on campus
• NZQA requirements for English language proficiency must be met, even when English is your first language. We may require you to provide proof of your education in English; and/or to successfully submit IELTS test results or complete an IELTS test to show language proficiency at level 6.5 with no band score under 6.0.
• Chemistry background/qualification.

International students must bring their passport with them when they initially arrive on campus. 

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Student Loans & Allowances – for eligible Domestic Students only*

SPCNM’s programmes are NZQA approved therefore students, who meet StudyLink criteria, are eligible for Student Loans through StudyLink. Note: students who study full-time (7 or 8 courses per year or 4 courses per semester) may be eligible for student allowances and course related costs. Part-time students may only apply for course fees and student services fees. See the StudyLink website for further information.

Fees-free Study – for eligible Domestic Students only

There is different Fees-Free eligibility criteria for learners who started study in 2024 or earlier (who have studied for less than one year at tertiary level) and those who are planning to start tertiary study for the first time. SPCNM encourages all applicants to visit the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) Fees-Free website, to check whether you are eligible or not. If you have studied overseas, we advise you to contact TEC by phoning 0800 601 301 to discuss your eligibility status.

*NOTE: To be eligible for Fees Free, a Student Loan or Student Allowance you must be a New Zealand citizen and/or must meet Fees Free and/or StudyLink learner criteria.