Student loan scheme - volunteer exemption

The Student Loan Scheme (Charitable Organisations) Amendment Regulations 2012 adds two organisations to the current list of charitable organisations specified for the purposes of the Student Loan Scheme Act 2011.

The following organisations have been added to the list of specified organisations for the purposes of section 25(1)(b) of the Student Loan Scheme Act 2011, with effect from 1 September 2012:

• Empower Missions Trust Incorporated
• Troppodoc Charitable Trust.

The effect of being listed is that a student loan borrower working overseas as a volunteer, or for a token payment, for such an organisation may be treated, for a period of up to two years, as if they were based in New Zealand. Borrowers who are based in New Zealand qualify for an interest-free loan.

Borrowers must be engaged in one or more of the following activities in order to qualify for the exemption:

• work to relieve poverty, hunger, sickness or the ravages of war, or natural disaster; or
• 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 2012