Both domestic and international students are likely to require and are entitled to academic support beyond the classroom, including additional help and training around study and test-taking skills, self-management skills (time management, goal setting etc.), critical thinking, academic writing, research, and more.

Many students have additional learning needs and require support for example for dyslexia, visual impairment, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and more. Please see Section 4 of this project to learn more about the students’ and their guardians’ responsibility to disclose additional needs to the school before enrolment. 

One obvious area where students are likely to require support involves matters around enrolment, including course planning and advice, re-enrolment, withdrawals, academic holds and other matters.

Many students will seek help around safety concerns at some point in their studies, for example around emergencies, stolen or lost property, after-hours campus security, and more.

Transport is of vital importance to students, and questions often concern bus passes, student discounts for public transport, and more.

International students require support not needed by domestic students, including amongst other things, assistance around visa renewals, insurance claims, cultural and social support.

International students often require English language support. Many schools offer additional ESOL classes. Many tertiary institutions provide pre-sessional English classes, learning support services, language learning centres with self-access materials, language-buddy programmes, and more. Community services might also offer support in this area, for example by offering discussion groups.

All students are likely to require help with educational technology, including accessing the institution’s Wifi, logging into the institution’s intranet, changing one’s password, dealing with the institution’s learning management software (LMS), submitting an assignment online, accessing software made available for free by the education provider, installing programmes, accessing online materials.

All students require and can expect support for their health and wellbeing, including for their general health, their sexual health, and for mental and emotional wellbeing (homesickness, test anxiety, depression, etc.). Education providers offer information about how students can access health services and provide assistance if students find it challenging to access services on their own. Many tertiary providers offer their own basic medical centre and mental health service. All institutions provide self-access materials on topics around health and wellbeing, and many organise workshops, meditation classes, and more.

All students need and can expect advice and training around deciding on and preparing for their future career, including course choices, employability and soft skills training, exploring strengths and interests, finding an internship, volunteer position, or part-time job. Many institutions offer leadership and intercultural programmes and access to a career portal where students can manage their CV and learn more about becoming employable.

Students can find assistance finding and changing their accommodation, resolving conflicts with accommodation providers, including homestay families and landlords.

Students might require help resolving conflicts with classmates, teachers, and other people in their lives. Schools and tertiary institutions can assist in finding mutually acceptable solutions for interpersonal conflicts. Legal disputes can often also be resolved without going to court, and support can be found at: Resolve a problem without going to court. 

Many young students are not yet fully skilled and confident in managing their finances. Many education providers offer financial advice and workshops (budgeting, saving, investing, dealing with debt). When finances are tight, some institutions provide hardship funds, more affordable fruit and vegetable markets, and more. Some student associations organise food “give-aways” like “Free Bread Friday”. Many community services, for example chaplaincies, offer a free lunch once per week.

Students who identify with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and sex characteristics can and should find support through their education providers. Various community services provide advice, support, and community for “rainbow students”.

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^{Students identifying as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) are also referred to as rainbow students.}

All students, but especially international students, who arrive at a new school or tertiary institution have to build new relationships and friendships. Education providers offer a range of social clubs. Students can also get involved in the student association. Institutions often organise social events and excursions specifically for international students. Community services provide a wide range of opportunities to socialise. For example, Meetup is a social media platform for hosting and organising social groups around common interests, from discussion groups debating hobbies, professional topics, or politics to sports and adventure meetups and more. Students who would like to explore the beautiful outdoors in New Zealand can benefit from tramping clubs, who will provide guidance around outdoor safety. Many cities and communities in New Zealand also offer opportunities for free or a low price. For example, some museums offer free entry, and many cities organise seasonal events that are free to attend, such as fireworks and  festivals.

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^{Tramping means hiking, that is, doing long walks in more remote natural areas, often with overnight stays in tents or very simple huts.}

Students of different faiths can find support at their institution to practice their religion. Religious centres, churches, and centres of various faiths can be found in many cities in New Zealand.

Many students feel more comfortable opening up to other students of a similar age or in a similar situation. Many education providers recognise this need and organise support from students for students, for example, through student buddy or mentoring programmes, language buddies, and campus guides.

International students might require consular assistance, for example to renew their passport or their national ID card. The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade provides contact details for different embassies in New Zealand. NauMai NZ gives advice on accessing consular support: NauMai NZ – Help from your embassy, high commission, or consulate.

More mature international students often bring their children while studying in New Zealand. They can find different facilities at tertiary institutions such as baby change and (breast-)feeding rooms. Parents can also find a range of child care options in New Zealand, which include crèches and kindergartens. International students with small children are advised to arrange childcare early – ideally before they arrive in New Zealand – to secure a place for their child.

Many education providers offer training in various other life skills via self-access materials and/or in-person workshops, for example around eating well, managing stress, making friends, overcoming anxiety, and other matters. Many community providers also cater to a wide range of needs.

Lawrence is an international student from Hong Kong studying at a New Zealand university. He is facing challenges around a required IELTS result, and he feels increasingly isolated, anxious, and depressed. 

Lawrence is enrolled in a pre-selection semester for a medical programme, which has granted him conditional enrolment with an overall IELTS score of 6. However, to be admitted to the full professional phase of the demanding programme, he needs to have an IELTS score of 7. Lawrence has re-attempted the test twice already, but each time he missed the needed score in the writing section. He is getting increasingly anxious that he won’t be able to continue his studies. 

Lawrence often feels depressed now. Every day he sits alone in the library, studying hard – both for his pre-selection courses and for the IELTS test. He is very busy, so he is not eating well. He also is no longer playing basketball, and he stopped going for his morning run through the park. He is no longer seeing his friends. They are not enrolled in the same programme, and they don’t understand the demands of this medical degree. 

Lately, Lawrence has also had problems sleeping. He often lies awake worrying. He feels ashamed that he hasn’t been able to get the required IELTS score. It seems that all the other international students in his programme have passed their IELTS exam easily. He doesn’t feel like he can tell his family of this challenge. They have invested so much money in his education! They want to be the proud parents of a doctor. How can he tell them that he might not be able to continue his studies due to one area in an English test? 

A Kiwi friend, Alice, has told him that he should go and see a counsellor, but Lawrence thinks that’s really embarrassing. He has always been a top student and feels that he should be able to handle this by himself. Lawrences starts to feel like all is lost and there is no way out of this dark place.

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Lawrence reaches out to his education agent Hao. He trusts Hao, an older adult who is also from Hong Kong and who has always encouraged Lawrence to come to him with problems. 

Hao encourages Lawrence to see a counsellor at the university’s counselling service. The agent understands that this is a new idea for Lawrence, and he explains that seeing a counsellor is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, Lawrence has already paid for this service with his student fees. Hao encourages Lawrence to take a friend to the first appointment. Lawrence likes the idea and asks his friend Alice to come along for “moral support”. Hao makes sure that Lawrence has actually followed through with this plan by checking in with him a week later.

The counsellor Pria meets with Lawrence several times. She helps him develop a plan on how to feel better. As a start, Pria  helps Lawrence to get an extension on some of his course assignments. This way, he doesn’t feel overburdened and can focus on the IELTS test before having to submit some of his assignments. She also shows him how to book an appointment with Learning Support Services, where he gets help for some of his course work. 

The counsellor doesn’t only focus on the academic side of Lawrence’s life, though. Together, they come up with a daily schedule for Lawrence that includes time for relaxation, sports, and hanging out with friends. Pria recommends a weekly meditation class that is offered for free on campus. They also work out a healthy diet for Lawrence. All of this helps his body and mind to feel better and to be more resilient. He starts to enjoy life again.

The counsellor asks him whether he himself has ideas on how to improve his situation. Lawrence realises that he really likes and trusts his tutor Michael in his course on academic skills and writing. He approaches Michael and asks for ideas to prepare for the IELTS test. The tutor is an expert in this area and provides helpful study materials. For example, he points Lawrence to New Zealand IELTS Prepare, which offers many free (and also some paid) videos, practice tests, and other materials to get ready for his next attempt.

Lawrence gets the desired IELTS score. What is equally important, though: he has realised that he is not alone but that there are many people and services around him that are willing and happy to help. He has learnt that he shouldn’t isolate himself but seek support from the community. He knows that he can start with someone familiar, someone he trusts – like his agent Hao, his friend Alice, and his tutor Michael. Lawrence has also learnt that he should take good care of his mind and body and always schedule time for relaxation, fun, and friends. Today, Lawrence helps other international students. As an international buddy, he supports first-semester students by showing them around campus and sharing his knowledge about studying and living in New Zealand.

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Some international students are unaware of the services available to them at their institution and in the community. Many support services are introduced to new arrivals during orientation. However, some students do not understand the relevance of this welcome event and deliberately choose not to attend it in order to save money. 

Most international students will be informed about services in their first weeks in New Zealand, for example during orientation. However, some are understandably overwhelmed by the large amount of information presented in a foreign language at a time when they find themselves jetlagged in an unfamiliar environment. They might receive a large number of brochures and leaflets, but put them in the bottom drawer and forget about them.

Some international students wait for help to come to them rather than to take active steps themselves to seek out support. This can be due to their cultural background: they might come from a high context culture (see “Cultural Info” below), where help is provided and not “demanded”. This contrasts with New Zealand culture, where independence and self-reliance are valued and where “the squeaky wheel gets the oil”. (Please see our project “Understand New Zealand cultural values”for further information.) Other students  might not yet have enough life experience to navigate an “adult” world independently. 

Like Lawrence in the case study above, some students feel shame about perceived “failures” and “shortcomings”. They are afraid that they will “lose face” if they ask for help. Challenges around mental and emotional health, especially , are still difficult areas for many students. They are happy to get help from a doctor for a broken leg, but they are reluctant to get support when dealing with anxiety or depression.

Some international students don’t understand what support services can do for them. Some are unfamiliar with such services in their home country and can’t imagine how they can be beneficial. Others expect that the cultural difference between them and a New Zealand service provider will result in ineffective or culturally inappropriate advice and support.

Some students feel that their English is not good enough. They fear that they might not be able to explain their problem well and that they won’t be able to understand the answers provided by the support staff.

Some students fear negative consequences if they open up about personal struggles and perceived “weaknesses”, especially around mental and emotional health. International students are often unaware of the strict laws in New Zealand around information privacy and confidentiality. Often, they don’t know that a service provider cannot share a student’s private information with their parents or teachers except in very few circumstances, such as an indication that the student might harm themselves or others.

Some students fear disappointing their families. Lawrence in the case study above is afraid to tell his parents that he hasn’t received the needed IELTS score, especially as they have invested so much in his education. He doesn’t want to disappoint them. 

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Maybe he also doesn’t want them to hear the bad news from the counsellor or another university staff member. As explained in point 7, students like Lawrence might be unaware that counsellors and other support staff cannot easily share their personal information with other people. They are also often unaware that seeking out support is usually the best way to solve a problem and get through a challenging situation – thus avoiding any expected disappointment.

Accessing and using services typically requires some life experience and sometimes technical or other skills. Making an appointment with a doctor seems an easy, routine task for most adults, but inexperienced students might find this too challenging. Hao, the education agent in the above case study, is aware that Lawrence might not follow through with the plan they discussed – maybe because he has changed his mind or because he finds it difficult to make an appointment. Hao checks in with Lawrence a week later to see whether he has followed the plan. He has also encouraged Lawrence to bring a trusted support person to have support in a potentially challenging situation. 

Education providers in New Zealand also provide a lot of self-access materials on their website on a range of topics – from time management to academic writing, but accessing these materials takes technical and digital skills that some students have not yet acquired. Making effective use of these materials might require self-management skills such as goal setting and prioritising, and not all young students have yet developed the required level of maturity to be “their own life coach”.

For international students with little life experience around practical responsibilities, even seemingly simple tasks like making a doctor’s appointment can be new and challenging. Make sure to communicate clearly all the steps that the student needs to take to get the needed support.

 If you have agreed on a plan with the student, ask them to repeat back to you what they are supposed to be doing: “I will go to counseling services. I will talk to the receptionist and make an appointment with a counsellor. I will put the appointment in my calendar and set an alarm. I will go to the appointment. I will send an email  to you afterwards and tell you whether that was helpful or whether I need different help.”

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As adult professionals, we sometimes forget that routine tasks like making a doctor’s appointment can be quite challenging when doing them for the first time by yourself. We might also assume that the student understood our instructions – after all, they often nod and say that they understood everything perfectly. But when we ask them to repeat things back to us, we are often surprised to find out that they didn’t understand our instructions at all.

If you and a student agreed on a solution to a problem, check in later to make sure that they followed – and were able to follow – your advice. In the case study above, agent Hao checked in with student Lawrence to make sure that the student actually went to the university’s counselling service. You can ask your students to meet or call or write you an email to tell you whether they received the needed help or not.

Explain clearly to students that you are available to support them. This includes giving them clear instructions on how to approach you and an easy, low-threshold way to contact you. If you are not available for ongoing support, provide students with a helpful and trustworthy alternative.

While new and young students might need a lot of “handholding”, you should help them become increasingly independent in finding solutions and help for their problems. In the case study above, the counsellor Pria asks Lawrence whether he has his own ideas of improving his situation. He decides that he will contact his trusted tutor Michael to get more help with preparing for the IELTS test. 

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When they are ready, help your students to develop creative problem-solving strategies that work for them. Support them in becoming independent problem-solvers.

To direct students to the most suitable support service for them and their problem, you must be familiar with the services available at their institution and in their community. While we cannot give you all services in every city and at every New Zealand institution, we have highlighted a few helpful community services below.

Sometimes, students are afraid to access new, unfamiliar services and to talk to strangers. Can you find creative ways to help them overcome this fear? For example, like agent Hao in the case study above, you could suggest that they take along a friend or a homestay parent.

Some international students anticipate that support services in New Zealand won’t understand them because of the language barrier or due to cultural differences. Assure students that many services in New Zealand are prepared to support international visitors. 

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Find practical ways to deal with potential issues: If students declare their language needs when they make an appointment, the service provider might be able to select a staff member with the needed language skills and cultural knowledge. Services can also arrange translation services, if they know about language challenges in advance. 

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Some online services also provide support through written communication. The Citizens Advice Bureau – which can help with many questions around work, money, transport, and more – offers a live chat during the day. At the end of the conversation, students can select to receive a transcript of the entire conversation by email. This way, the student can review the conversation and make sure that they understood everything correctly. 

Alternatively, you can recommend culture-specific services to students, if they are available. For example, Asian Family Services is an online service providing help for mental distress, gambling problems, crisis intervention, and navigation of the New Zealand Health System in ten languages, including Hindi, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, and Thai.

Some international students are unfamiliar with certain support services and do not understand how they can benefit from seeking out help. Lawrence in the case study above thought that going to the counsellor would not be helpful and might even be shameful. His agent Hao clearly explained to him the advantages of getting help from a mental health professional.

Some international students think that they are a burden if they ask for help. Explain that students have already paid for many of the services available through their education provider with their student fees. They are entitled to help in many circumstances. Please note that the New Zealand Education Pastoral Care Code of Practice requires education providers to support students not only in their learning but also around their health and wellbeing. Have a look at our project “Understand key Code of Practice considerations” for more information.

Make sure that students are aware of ACC in New Zealand, whose no-fault scheme covers everyone, including visitors and non-residents, when getting injured in an accident in New Zealand. Finally, students should be aware of what their (compulsory) student health insurance covers. Please note that all international students must have (and pay for) medical insurance.

Some international students are afraid to speak up about their problems and worries with professional support staff, because they fear that this information might be shared with their families or with their education provider. New Zealand has very strict laws around information privacy, which protect the personal information even of teenagers and children. Please make students aware that their information will be kept confidential. To learn more about privacy laws in New Zealand, see our project “ Understand key principles in the Privacy Act”.

“My name is Erina. I am an international PhD student, and I came to New Zealand with my husband. We had a dispute with my landlord. We had signed a one-year lease to rent a house. That means, we can securely live there for one year, but it also means that we cannot simply move out in that year. If we want to move out within that year, we have to find new, acceptable tenants or continue paying the rent. Of course, if the house is damaged or unsafe, that all changes.

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A few months after moving in, my husband and I noticed that we were always sick. We both had a cough that didn’t go away. And we felt run down and had no energy. We went to our family doctor, and she suspected that there was toxic mould in our house that made us sick. And sure enough, we found black mould behind the wallpaper in the bathroom. We reported it to the landlord. He said that was normal in New Zealand and that he wouldn’t fix it. When we said that we would move out then, he said that we had to continue paying the rent because we had signed a lease. 

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I asked the Student Advocacy at my university what I could do, and they referred me to the Tenancy Services. The application fee was a little over NZ$20. The Tenancy Tribunal eventually decided that the house was unsafe to live in and that the lease was no longer binding. So we were able to move out. And the landlord also had to give us the application fee back.

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We have a really nice house now and a very friendly landlord. We are also healthy again! We are now seeking advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau and Community Law to see whether we should pursue legal actions because our health was affected for several months.”

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• Police, ambulance, fire services: Call 111.

• NauMai NZ – Life as an international student in New Zealand
  NauMai NZ is a website providing information and suggestions for international students to find their way, connect with and explore their new home. It is run by the crown entity Education New Zealand (ENZ).

• Study with New Zealand
  Study with New Zealand is the official government site for advice on studying in or with New Zealand. 

• Immigration NZ – Study in New Zealand
  Immigration New Zealand provides information about different visa options, student life, accommodation, working while studying or after graduation, registering for tax, and other matters.

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• Healthline: Call 0800 611 116
  Anyone can call Healthline 24/7 to ask a registered nurse for free health advice. They can call if they (1) feel unwell — but are not sure whether they need to see a doctor; (2) need some urgent advice about a family member or friend who is sick; (3) don’t know much about New Zealand and want to know where the nearest doctor or pharmacy is located. If students need to talk to someone in their own language, they can ask for a translator.

• COVID Healthline: Call 0800 358 5453
  For COVID-19 health advice students should call this number anytime. For COVID-related information they can also see https://covid19.govt.nz/.

• Asian Helpline: Call 0800 862 342 (Mo-Fri, 9am-8pm)
  Asian Helpline is provided by Asian Family Services and offers nationwide free and confidential services from Monday to Friday between 9am-8pm. The helpline assists Asian people in New Zealand in ten languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi and English. It supports callers in accessing appropriate mental health services and often receives calls around depression, anxiety, gambling, addiction, and also general information (for example, how to navigate New Zealand’s health and social systems).

The Mental Health Foundation offers an overview of a wide range of helplines mental health services, including their phone, text, online, and physical contact details:  Helplines and local mental health services. To highlight a few:

• Samaritans New Zealand: Call 0800 72 66 66
  Students can call this crisis helpline for free if they are experiencing loneliness, depression, despair, distress or suicidal feelings. The phones are operated by trained volunteers from the community for the community. The service is confidential, non-judgmental, and non-religious. See the Samaritans online.

• 1737: Call or text 1737
  If students feel down, stressed, or overwhelmed, they can call or text this number for free. They will talk to (or text with) a trained counsellor or talk to a peer support worker. The service provides support predominantly in English. However, the team is culturally diverse and might be able to connect students with someone speaking their language of origin.

• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633, text 234
  Young people experiencing loneliness, anxiety, depression and other mental distress can call or text Youthline for free or use the Webchat on https://www.youthline.co.nz/. Youthline also works with young people in physical locations around New Zealand (Our Centres). 

• The Lowdown Website
  The Lowdown is a web-based service to help young people in New Zealand recognise, understand, and deal with depression or anxiety. 

• The Lowdown Helpline: Call 0800 111 757, text 5626.
  The Lowdown website also provides a helpline. Young people in distress can call, text, email, or engage via webchat (go to the website for email or webchat). 

• Asian Helpline: Call 0800 862 342 (Mo-Fri, 9am-8pm).
  Asian Helpline is provided by Asian Family Services and offers nationwide free and confidential services from Monday to Friday between 9am-8pm. The helpline assists Asian people in New Zealand  in ten languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi and English. 

• Aunty Dee – Mental health support for Pasifika students
  Aunty Dee is a web-based service relying on a holistic approach to support young Pasifika people who experience distress and mental challenges.

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• Police (no emergency): Call 105
  Students can go to any local police station to report safety concerns or to receive advice. Lost and found items are also often left with the local police.

• Netsafe 
  Netsafe is an independent, non-profit online-safety organisation. They offer free and confidential service to help people who are experiencing online bullying, abuse, and harassment.

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• Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
  The Citizens Advice Bureau provides free, confidential, independent information and advice to anyone. They help people understand what their rights are and how to access the services they need. Students can call (0800 367 222), email, use the webchat, or go to the local office. CAB also offers advice in a question-and-answer format on their website, including advice specifically for international students.

• Community Law
  Community Law has offices all around New Zealand and offers free legal help, from easy-to-read information to community workshops and one-on-one legal help. Please note that they are focused on the vulnerable members of society and people who cannot afford legal advice.

• iStudent Complaint
  iStudent Complaint helps international students to resolve complaints with their education provider. Students should first try to resolve the problem directly with their institution. However, if this fails, iStudent Complaint can help, first by mediating between both parties and finding a solution that is acceptable to everyone. If the two parties cannot come to an agreement, iStudent Complaint can make a binding decision.

• Office of the Privacy Commissioner
  If students find that their education provider or another agency has breached their information privacy, they should first approach the agency. If the matter cannot be resolved, students can make a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC).

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• Tenancy Services and Tribunal
  The Tenancy Services and Tenancy Tribunal can help if students have a serious problem with a landlord that they can’t solve themselves. The Tribunal will hear both sides of the argument and can issue an order that is legally binding.

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International students might require consular assistance, for example to renew their passport or their national ID card. The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade provides contact details for different embassies in New Zealand.

• Rainbow Youth
  Rainbow Youth supports young people up to the age of 27 who identify as LGBTQIA+. Support workers can provide face-to-face support in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Northland, Taranaki, and Dunedin, and online everywhere else in Aotearoa.

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New Zealand has many clubs, groups, and organisations that offer opportunities to socialise and exercise. One option to find people with similar interests:

• Meetup
  Meetup is a social media platform for hosting and organising in-person and virtual activities, gatherings, and events for people and communities of similar interests, hobbies, and professions. To find a meetup group in a particular city or region, have a look at: Find a meetup group in New Zealand.

• Language Assistance Services (LAS)
  Free language assistance can be requested at participating agencies via Language Assistance Services (LAS). To learn more about LAS, see Help in your language. The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) provides information about and help with Language Assistance Services (LAS) and can be used by citizens and non-citizens: Citizens Advice Bureau.