Ara Financial Hardship Assistance
| Value | Variable depending on circumstances |
| Closing date | Ongoing (dependant on course dates and application criteria) |
| Provider | Ara |
| Location | Christchurch, Timaru, Oamaru, Ashburton |
Ara Financial Assistance helps fully enrolled, fees-paid students who are experiencing temporary financial hardship because of unforeseen circumstances, or a change of situation relating to their study that causes an unmanageable financial burden, suffering or deprivation.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Financial Hardship Assistance you must be:
- a fully enrolled, fees-paid Ara student
- a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident at time of application
- studying in your enrolled programme for at least four weeks and have good attendance or a justified reason for lower attendance (evidence may be requested)
- currently experiencing financial hardship, suffering and or/deprivation
Please note: Applications won’t be considered if received within seven days of your course end date. If you’re an Ara, UC or Lincoln staff member and you’ve received funding to pay a proportion of your Ara course fees or you’re studying a free course at Ara, you’re not eligible to apply for any Financial Assistance.
Additional information
- Financial assistance payments are intended for students who are experiencing a level of financial hardship that could impact their ability to continue their studies.
- Please be aware that we may not be able to provide the full amount you request in your application.
- Payments are not available to assist with paying Court fines, traffic fines, rental bonds, hire purchase or any debts you accumulated before enrolling at Ara.
- Financial assistance cannot be used to pay for your course fees or to purchase cars or other assets.
- Financial assistance is a last resort when you’ve exhausted other appropriate sources such as savings accounts, Work and Income (WINZ) or Studylink.
- No student has an automatic right of entitlement to assistance from the fund and Ara reserves the right to decline any application.
- If you’re not sure about your eligibility to apply for this assistance, or you’re unsure about the process, please speak to a Student Advisor at your campus
What happens once I’ve submitted my application?
We check your application and supporting documents. If anything’s missing, we’ll be in touch to request it. Then we’ll begin assessing your eligibility and process your request as quickly as possible. The manager makes the final decision and we’ll let you know the outcome by phone, text or email. If your application’s approved, we’ll make the payment, either directly to you or to whichever company you need to pay.
How long does it take?
Once we have all the information we require, it usually takes about eight days for approval and final action.
How to Apply
- Complete the application form in full
- Be specific about your needs
- Provide the supporting documentation specified in the application form (this helps us determine your current financial position)
Before submitting your application, we recommend you meet with a Student Advisor. They can check you've got all the necessary documentation and discuss your needs in more detail (bring your application form with you). Alternatively, you can send your application form and supporting documents to learnersupport@ara.ac.nz so a Student Advisor can check it to ensure you have everything you need to apply.
If you’re asking for assistance to pay an account, please provide the account documentation showing the company’s bank account details.
Application Form