Secretary’s consent required

TEIs need the written consent of the Secretary for Education ("Secretary") before they dispose of any land and buildings (including demolitions) they own, or any interests in land (such as easements) and buildings they own. The Secretary’s consent is also required if a TEI proposes to enter into a lease where the total term, including renewals, is more than 15 years.

These requirements are set out in Section 282 of the Education and Training Act 2020 ("the Act"). Their purpose is to allow the Crown to protect its interest in TEIs by exercising oversight of activities that may expose a TEI, and in turn the Crown, to a financial or educational risk.

Under section 282 of the Act, the Minister of Education (“Minister”) may also set a threshold amount for disposal of assets that require the consent of the Secretary. This would allow tertiary education institutions to enter into transactions for the disposal of assets valued below the threshold amount without first obtaining the consent of the Secretary. Thresholds that will apply to the disposal of property assets (land and buildings) have been set by the Minister. See Property disposal thresholds for TEIs (PDF 605 KB).

Provisions do not apply to land and buildings in Crown title

The above provisions do not apply to land and buildings held in Crown title. TEIs cannot dispose of land and buildings in Crown title. 

For information on options available to TEIs for Crown-owned land and building assets they manage, see Crown asset transfer and disposal.

Applications for consent

TEIs wishing to:

• dispose of land or buildings outside published thresholds, or
• demolish buildings outside published thresholds, or
• enter into a lease for longer than 15 years, or
• part with any right or interest in land, such as a grant of easement,

should write to the Manager, Monitoring and Crown Ownership (MCO), TEC enclosing all relevant supporting documents.

Information required with your application

You should provide the following information about the asset and your TEI’s reasons for the disposal, as relevant to the consent being sought, either in the application or as attachments:

• a description of the property (photographs can be helpful)
• confirmation of ownership (including whether the property was transferred to the TEI from the Crown under the government’s TEI Crown asset transfer and disposal policy)
• the rationale for the application, including the implications for the TEI’s campus master plan, long-term capital plan or strategic asset management plan (SAMP)
• authority to act – evidence of the TEI council’s decision on the property’s future, including a description of the options the council considered
• the value of the asset being sold (including a valuation report where relevant) and indicative costs of sale, or for leases and easements, the annual rental or payment
• how the net proceeds of sale will be applied
• if the property is currently being used for delivering educational or research programmes, the impact of the disposal or demolition and what provision has been made to mitigate these impacts
• an outline of the sale process, including whether the provisions of the Public Works Act apply, and if they do, an assurance that the process required by that Act will be followed
• any other information considered relevant or helpful
• the date by which consent is needed.

For demolitions, the following additional information is also required:

• the value of the building, indicative costs of demolition and the financial impact of the demolition on the financial statements
• the estimated remediation cost that is avoided by demolition
• a description of any heritage status held by the building and how heritage issues are being addressed
• a description of any known issues (for example, asbestos) that need to be managed as part of the demolition and how these will be mitigated.

For easements, the following additional information is also required:

• copy of record of title over which the easement is requested
• copy of the easement instrument.

We strongly encourage you to discuss any planned transaction that will require consent, with the Monitoring and Crown Ownership Team (MCO), prior to the submission of your request. For further information about what is needed for consent to  dispose, or enter into a long-term lease for, TEI-owned land and buildings, email camenquiries@tec.govt.nz.

Assessment of your application

The MCO team will assess your application and supporting documents provided before making any recommendation to the Secretary for Education to grant or decline the request under Section 282 of the Education and Training Act 2020 (the Act). Our assessment will focus on the educational and financial impacts, including financial viability and the ability of your TEI to fund replacement assets if required. We will also check the assets are not being sold below market value (without good reason) and that the proceeds are being appropriately reinvested.

Once the Ministry of Education (MoE) receives MCO’s assessment and recommendation it will confirm legal ownership of the building, and will determine whether consent is to be provided. Consent processing times can vary. A consent is required before you carry out the  proposed transaction. Retrospective consents will not be provided by the Secretary. 

Consents may include conditions

The Secretary may impose conditions on any consents granted under section 282 of the Act. The nature of any conditions (should they be required) will be discussed with you during MCO’s assessment of your application.

You must comply with any conditions imposed and advise the Secretary in writing when the transaction has been completed.

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