Independent Tertiary Education NZ (ITENZ) was founded in Christchurch in 1991 as the New Zealand Association of Private Education Providers (NZAPEP).
At that time very few private training establishments were receiving any funding for their students. The aims of the Association included providing members with a united voice for PTEs in discussion with the Ministry of Education, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, politicians and the Government.
Throughout the nineties steady lobbying was a major focus of ITENZ and results were evident when in 1992 the then National Government introduced limited funding for PTE students in certain categories of study.
New Government initiatives meant that 1999 was the “transitional” funding year with 2000 being the first year that private tertiary students were able to access funding for their courses equal to that of the public institutions’ students.
This meant that PTE students were at last able to play on a “level funding field” and were no longer discriminated against.
Since then the private sector has grown considerably and as an industry has become very diverse and widely dispersed.
ITENZ has also developed, and continues to do so, into a strong and credible association.


























The Co-Founder and CEO of Next Software Solutions, Amanda Grassby, has over 25 years’ experience in teaching, education management, business development. Together with her business partner, Amanda has developed the NEXT concept from the ground up, recognising the need for a time efficient, sustainable software product, which would be beneficial not only within the education sector, but any sector which required the demonstration of compliance to industry standards.
Amanda Offen is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Next Software Solutions. She has been working in the Vocational Education and Training sector as Operations Manager for the past 3 years responsible for registration and audit in addition to other operations. Based on her over 20 years’ experience in the Early Childhood sector in various teaching and management roles, Amanda has demonstrated the ability and experience in maintaining and demonstrating compliance, in addition to providing high quality Educational services.
Dr Suzette Major is the Director of SAE Creative Media Institute. She holds over 25 years experience in education, having worked across PTEs, Polytechnics and Universities in New Zealand and Australia. As a manager, an educator and businesswomen, Suzette is forward-thinking, bold and passionate about the education, particularly within the context of the creative industries.
Michael Miller heads the Film Department at SAE Creative Media Institute. Alongside his academic career, Michael has also worked as a promo producer for Mediaworks as well as freelancing as a film editor. Michael’s colour, intense short films have screened at New Zealand and international film festivals and won critical acclaim including the University’s Geoff Evans Prize for Excellence in Screen Production.





David Straub is the director of SEBDATA and a database professional, reporting and analytic consultant and have worked in the New Zealand Education sector for the past 5-6 years. He is a passionate expert about data, data visualisation and the daily use of data to make better decisions for students, staff and organisation.