DECEMBER 2023 UPDATE
Industry feedback is now invited on the draft Profs NZQA Qualification
Please go to Consultation on the 2023 Development of the New Zealand Certificate in Professional Legal Skills (Level 6) - Ringa Hora where you will be able to view the draft qualification and, if you wish, provide feedback. If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Tecke, IPLS Marketing & Communications Manager, at k.tecke@ipls.org.nz
NOVEMBER 2023 UPDATE
NZQA Qualification Development - Professional Legal Studies Course
Background
The Government recently streamlined the classification categories for tertiary education providers as part of their RoVE initiative, which aimed to facilitate better access for students to vocational training. As a result of this broader change, the Professional Legal Studies Course (Profs) needed to be developed as a qualification on the NZ Qualifications and Credits Framework, in order to enable continued access to student support (loans/allowances) from 2025 onwards.
As part of these vocational education reforms, Workforce Development Councils were established by the government to assist education providers to make the change to the new categories. Ringa Hora is the relevant council for the legal profession and their team is experienced in working with NZQA and the professional services sector.
The aim is to have the qualification approved by NZQA and registered on their framework by the end of 2023. Once the qualification is registered with NZQA, individual providers can apply to be an approved provider of the qualification. Approved providers can then apply to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) for funding and student access to loans and allowances. IPLS is aiming to have this completed by mid-2024 in order to provide certainty for those firms and students enrolling into 2025 courses.
It's important to note that, as Profs is an existing, well-established course governed by the NZCLE Regulations this process is a re-classification exercise only and not a new course being developed. Changes to the existing NZCLE Regulations is out of scope of this process. The process, through Ringa Hora, involves mapping the existing course into the Qualification criteria and seeking approval for it to be listed as a ‘qualification’ for the purposes of the New Zealand Qualifications and Credit Framework.
A note on Government funding and student loans and allowances
While there will be no decision regarding funding and access to student loans and allowances until the formal application is made to the TEC, an initial meeting has been held with NZCLE, the providers, NZQA and TEC and all parties agree on the importance of ensuring ongoing equity of access to Profs training, particularly for Māori and Pasifika. IPLS is committed to doing all we can to ensure continued access for students to loans and allowances and this is the key driver underpinning the work we’re undertaking to register as a qualification.
Progress to date
Ringa Hora set up an initial writing group in order to draft the NZQA qualification, with the first meeting held on 28 August 2023. This writing group is made up of an NZCLE representative (David Brown), IPLS and College of Law. This draft has been through a number of iterations and is nearing completion.
A consultation group of other industry bodies was also set up by Ringa Hora to provide initial feedback to the working draft. This group consists of the Law Society (Bronwyn Jones), Crown Law (Justine Falconer), President of Law Student Association (Manraj Singh) and the NZ Bar Association (Jacqui Thompson).
The final draft will reflect the work of the writing group and the consultation group.
Next steps
The draft is expected to be finalised mid-November and will be published on the Ringa Hora Services Workforce Development Council website for wider industry consultation. It is expected that there will be a two week period for interested parties to review the documentation and provide feedback.
Further updates will be available on the Ringa Hora, NZCLE and IPLS websites as the process progresses.
Proposed timeframe from Ringa Hora and IPLS (as at 8 November)
If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Tecke, IPLS Marketing & Communications Manager, at k.tecke@ipls.org.nz