Student loan scheme charitable organisations (Order in Council)

Section 87 of the Student Loan Scheme Act 1992

Under section 38AE 1(b) of the Act, a student loan borrower who has been personally absent from New Zealand because he or she was working as a volunteer or for token payment for a charitable organisation named in the regulations may be granted an exemption. An exemption entitles that borrower to a full interest writeoff, which gives effect to the government's interest-free student loan policy.

Borrowers living overseas for more than six months will generally not qualify for the interest-free student loans policy which came into effect from 1 April 2006. However, the law gives the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to grant an exemption for certain borrowers who are overseas.

The charitable organisations covered by the exemption are:

• Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA);
• Alay Buhay Foundation Trust;
• Amnesty International;
• ANCOP Foundation International Inc;
• Anglican Social Services (Hutt Valley) Trust Board;
• Caritas Internationalis;
• ChildFund International;
• Christian Blind Mission International (CBMI);
• Christian World Service (CWS);
• CORSO Incorporated;
• Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières;
• ECPAT International;
• Habitat for Humanity International;
• Hibiscus Coast East Timor Appeal Trust (HETA Trust);
• IHC New Zealand Incorporated;
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies;
• IN Network;
• International Save the Children Alliance;
• Mahitahi Catholic Overseas Volunteer Trust;
• Mobility Equipment for the Needs of Disabled Trust (MEND);
• New Zealand Family Planning Association Incorporated;
• New Zealand Vietnam Health Trust;
• Oxfam International;
• Pax Christi International;
• RedR International;
• Richmond Fellowship International (RFI);
• Rotary International;
• Soroptimist International;
• SurfAid International;
• Te Ora Hou Aotearoa Incorporated;
• TEAR Fund;
• The Cambodia Trust;
• The Foundation for Peace Studies Aotearoa/New Zealand Incorporated (The Peace Foundation);
• The Fred Hollows Foundation;
• The Leprosy Mission International (TLM);
• The Salvation Army International;
• The UMMA Trust;
• The Volunteer Ophthalmic Services Overseas Charitable Trust (VOSO);
• Trade Aid New Zealand Inc;
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF);
• United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM);
• Vietnam Cambodia and Laos Support Network (VICALSN);
• Vision Pacific Charitable Trust;
• Volunteer Service Abroad Inc;
• World Vision International;
• WWF; and
• World Young Women's Christian Association (World YWCA).

The amendments were made by Order in Council on 27 March 2006 and came into force on 1 April 2006. (Student Loan Scheme (Charitable Organisations) Regulations 2006, 2006–68)