2021 COVID-19 Hardship Fund for Learners

COVID-19 Hardship Fund for Learners (HAFL)

In 2020, the government announced a Hardship Fund for Learners (HAFL) as well as a Technology Access Fund for Learners (TAFL) in response to the nationwide lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  As part of the continuing support for learners, the Government announced an extension of HAFL for the 2021 calendar year.  

The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) defines hardship as any suffering, deprivation or financial challenge faced by a learner due to COVID-19 that is interfering with their ability to progress with their studies. In this regard, the HAFL can help with a range of costs including but not limited to:

• Food
• Utilities
• Housing
• Health related costs
• Transportation costs
• Childcare costs
• Resources for learning (e.g. internet connections), excluding devices (student laptops are available for short term loans via the library or longer loans can be organised via Heads of Schools).

We can use the HAFL to support our students facing hardship by providing direct cash payments to learners.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this funding, students need to:

• be a domestic student;
• have a valid enrolment in a programme being delivered in 2021; and
• be experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Criteria

Funding support will be awarded to students on the basis of demonstrated need, as per the definition of hardship outlined by TEC above. Some factors that will be taken into consideration when assessing need where COVID-19 has impacted students could include:

• Loss of or reduced hours in employment (personal or household income)
• Issues in covering rent/board/mortgage
• Inability to pay utility bills or cover grocery expenses
• Unforeseen costs or other added requirements for studying off campus and/or online
• Length of study and/or time left until completion
• Any other relevant circumstances identified by the Programme Coordinator and/or kaiako

All offers of funding support will be conditional upon receipt of a completed application form and bank account evidence.

Application and selection process

Please note: this is a news archive, applications closed in 2022.