Education Providers

Who are we?

We are a free and independent service to help resolve complaints. The service was established by the Ministry of Education and forms part of the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code of Practice 2016.

iStudent Complaints is part of FairWay Resolution Limited, New Zealand’s largest specialist dispute resolution organisation. FairWay provide nationwide dispute resolution and complaint management services, such as training and designing complaint systems as well as resolving disputes.

FairWay’s complaint experts are behind the iStudent Complaints service.

What do we do?

iStudent Complaints resolves contractual and financial complaints between international students and their education providers. Most commonly, we are asked to assist in complaints that involve refund requests, for example if a student returns home before the end of their course or if they decide to switch programmes.

We help in four different ways – facilitation, negotiation, mediation and adjudication. In most cases communication is key, and students and providers work things out between themselves with some independent assistance from iStudent Complaints. In the small number of cases where an agreement cannot be reached collaboratively, we can make an independent decision on the matter.

How much do we cost?

Our service is free for both students and education providers. iStudent Complaints is a government-funded (Ministry of Education) service so there are no fees for either students or education providers who need our assistance.

Can you refer students?

If you have reached the end of your internal complaints process and the matter is not resolved, then get in touch. You can contact iStudent Complaints or you can refer the student to us directly.

Useful links:

• Contact us
• How we help
• Decisions