Student loan scheme - volunteer exemption
Four organisations have been granted volunteer exemption status so that student loan borrowers working for these organisations qualify for loans.
The following organisations have been added to the list of organisations that are "named" for the purposes of section 38AE(1)(b) of the Student Loan Scheme Act 1992, with effect from 1 April 2009:
- Australian Volunteers International
- Pioneers (New Zealand)
- Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand
- Students Partnership Worldwide (Australia).
Campus Crusade for Christ, New Zealand, which was added to the list of "named" organisations last year, has changed its name to Tandem Ministries and its listing has been changed to reflect this.
The effect of being "named" is that student loan borrowers working overseas as a volunteer or for a token payment for these organisations may be granted an exemption, for a period of up to two years, from the requirement that they be present in New Zealand for 183 or more days to qualify for an interest-free loan.
Borrowers must be engaged in one or more of the following activities to qualify for the exemption:
- work to relieve poverty, hunger, sickness, or the ravages of war or natural disaster
- work to improve the economy of a developing country, or
- work to raise the educational standards of a developing country.
Student loan borrowers seeking the exemption should contact their local Inland Revenue office.
Student Loan Scheme (Charitable Organisations) Amendment Regulations 2009 (SR 2009/29)