Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021

The Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021 (the Code) was put in place by New Zealand’s Government to ensure there are consistent standards for all tertiary education organisations, like AUT, in supporting domestic and international students’ wellbeing, development, and educational achievement.

It also provides a procedure for complaints that you can follow if you have concerns about the treatment you receive from your education provider or an agent of the provider.

What does the Code cover?

All tertiary learners (domestic and international)

1. A learner wellbeing and safety system
2. Learner voice
3. Safe, inclusive, supportive and accessible physical and digital learning environments
4. Learners are safe and well
5. A positive, supportive and inclusive environment in student accommodation
6. Accommodation, administrative practices and contracts
7. Student accommodation facilities and services

International tertiary learners

8. Responding to the distinct wellbeing and safety needs of international tertiary learners
9. Prospective international tertiary learners are well informed
10. Offer, enrolment, contracts, insurance and visa
11. International learners receive appropriate orientations, information and advice
12. Safety and appropriate supervision of international tertiary learners.

AUT’s commitment to the Code

AUT’s mission is to create great graduates. To achieve this, the university creates exceptional learning experiences and dedicates specialist support for students to develop personally, socially and culturally throughout their time at AUT. AUT’s student services focus on student safety, health and wellness. This extensive pastoral support is complemented by a community-based residential experience within AUT’s student accommodation and a wide-ranging employability programme accessible to all students.

To ensure transparency and accountability, AUT completes an annual self-review that assesses whether we are meeting the expectations of the Code of Practice and identifies improvements that can be made in the future. This process is overseen by the Senior Assurance Manager of Code of Practice and incorporates student voices and perspectives by seeking feedback from representatives across AUT for evidence that these processes are in place.

You can contact the AUTSA Advocacy team for free, confidential advice about issues with AUT: advocacy@aut.ac.nz

Support for complaints

If you have any concerns or would like to make a complaint, the first step is to share your feedback

If your concerns are not resolved by AUT’s internal complaints process, you can pursue an external complaint through Study complaints Ngā amuamu tauira

You can also contact the AUTSA Advocacy team for free, confidential advice about issues with AUT: advocacy@aut.ac.nz

Study complaints Ngā amuamu tauira

Pastoral Care Code of Practice reporting

All signatories to the Code are required to review and report on their compliance, as determined by NZQA, the governing body for the Code of Conduct. Reports are submitted to Universities New Zealand Te Pōkai Tara (UNZ), the statutory authority for monitoring the Code compliance. Reports on AUT’s compliance with the Code are listed below.

• Self-reviews represent a total review of the University’s compliance.
• Complaint reports outline the reporting of formal complaints over the previous year.
• Critical incident reports outline the reporting of serious incidents across the University over the previous year.

Pastoral Care reporting documents:

• AUT 2024 Self-Review Outcomes 1-4
• AUT's Student Complaints & Critical Incident Annual Report 2024
• AUT's Student Complaints Annual Report 2023
• AUT's Student Critical Incident Annual Report 2023