Formal training opportunities

NZQA regulatory practice qualifications 

There are four regulatory practice qualifications in the New Zealand Qualifications Framework, managed by Te Pūkenga: 

• Core Knowledge 
• Operational Knowledge
• Operational Practice, and
• Specialised Operational Practice in Audit, Inspection, or Investigation.

Regulatory Practice qualifications at Te Pūkengaopen_in_new

Postgraduate Certificates in Regulatory Practice and Crown Entity Monitoring 

The Wellington School of Business and Government at Victoria University of Wellington offers a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Management. The Postgraduate Certificate is for staff working in central and local government agencies with regulatory functions and Crown entity monitoring roles. 

To qualify for a Postgraduate Certificate, students must complete four courses. Most courses are available either in person at Victoria University, or online via Zoom.

Bespoke Postgraduate Certificate in Public Management at Victoria University of Wellington open_in_new

National Regulators Community of Practice – Professional Regulator course 

The National Regulators Community of Practice (NRCoP) is an active network of public sector regulators from all levels of government in Australia and New Zealand. They offer a professional development course for regulators. The course is self-paced, and consists of six modules that are completed online. It aims to develop capability across the sector by providing a common understanding of current regulatory practice.   

NRCoP Professional Regulator programmeopen_in_new

A pilot group of 14 learners from New Zealand regulators enrolled in the Professional Regulators Programme to help us assess its relevance, impact, and role in building regulatory practice capability in New Zealand.

After reviewing the pilot, we found:

• The Professional Regulators Programme improved learners’ ability to explain the ‘why’ of regulatory practice, giving them the context and confidence to influence the thinking and practice of those around them.

• While its cost limits its use as a foundation-level programme for broad adoption across the New Zealand public sector, the planned development of three additional levels — Extension, Expert, and Leader — could establish a much-needed pathway for advanced regulatory capability, currently missing from the capability development landscape.

• The full pathway programme gives regulatory organisations a way to recognise and support staff who are motivated to grow professionally. By investing in these people, organisations can help them become stronger champions of good regulatory practice.

• The pathway programme could also help strengthen the regulatory system by supporting experienced staff to lead by example, share knowledge, and guide others in their daily work — helping spread good practice across teams and functions.

We will provide further updates as the programme develops.