Travel and accommodation assistance grants

Purpose of the travel and accommodation grant

The travel and accommodation assistance grant is designed to help trainees working in areas 100 kilometres or more from the nearest Skills Matter-funded training programme.

The grant is intended to contribute to the travel and accommodation costs of attending the formal teaching component of the training programme.

The grant contributes to travel and accommodation costs, but is not intended to cover all costs. 

The funding is limited. Applying does not guarantee that your application will be accepted.

The travel and accommodation assistance grants are open to anyone who is:

• an eligible trainee enrolled in and attending a Skills Matter funded training programme
• employed in an area more than 100km from the training programme location
• not receiving any travel and accommodation funding from another source, for example, a scholarship or from your employer.

When is the next grants round?

The grants round typically opens at the end of July each year. If you are a Skills Matter student in 2020 you will receive an email with information on how to apply and the date the grants portal will open for applications. A portal button will appear on this page when the grants round opens. 

How much is the grant? 

The estimated grant amount is allocated by bands depending on how far you have to travel one way between your place of employment and the training programme.

In 2018 there were four bands of grants based on distance travelled from a trainee’s workplace to the Skills Matter-funded training programme:

Band 1

Distance between workplace and training programme (one way): 100-300km
Maximum indicative amount (estimate) per eligible trainee: up to $400

Band 2

Distance between workplace and training programme (one way): 301-500km
Maximum indicative amount (estimate) per eligible trainee: up to $800

Band 3

Distance between workplace and training programme (one way): 501-800km
Maximum indicative amount (estimate) per eligible trainee: up to $1,200

Band 4

Distance between workplace and training programme (one way): more than 800km
Maximum indicative amount (estimate) per eligible trainee: up to $1,600

Estimates are provided above to give an indication of the maximum likely to be available for each grant band for 2018.

Once all travel and accommodation grant applications have been received, Skills Matter will be able to confirm the maximum amount applicants can be awarded in each band.

As our travel and accommodation funding is limited, the amount per individual grant is an estimate only and may be reduced if we have more applications than in previous years. 

If you are studying part-time, the above grant amounts will be allocated on a pro rata basis. For example, a person studying 0.5 FTE will receive 0.5 of the grant entitlement in each year. 

Do I need to keep receipts?

In the past, Te Pou required students to submit receipts to support their grant application. We will no longer require receipts as the grant will be a direct contribution towards your costs.