The Organisation
The New Zealand Qualifications Authority is headed by a Board appointed by the Minister of Education. The Board represents industry, community and education interests. The Minister of Education approves all policy matters related to schools.
Current NZQA Board members
| Sue Suckling (Board Chairperson) |
 Governance specialist. Currently Board Chair of both the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd and AgriQuality Ltd. Other governance roles have been Chair of Barkers Fruit Processors Ltd, The Oxford Clinic in Christchurch, the Carson Group, and as a member of the Takeovers Panel |
| Warwick Bell | Warwick Bell has a strong industry training background and experience in both governance and management. He currently has a leadership role with a national consortium of architecture practices, teaches part time professional practice and management at VUW School of Architecture and is a member of the Commonwealth Association of Architects Validation Group. Mr Bell is past deputy chair of the Industry Training Federation and a past chair of both the DCCITO and the New Zealand Institute of Architects Education Task Group. He has also been on several NZQA advisory groups and undertaken moderation for NZQA |
| Scott Davidson | Professor Scott Davidson is Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean, School of Law, University of Canterbury. He is a former Dean of the University of Waikato law school and Director of the University of Hull law school in the UK. Professor Davidson is familiar with course design and delivery in a tertiary context, and qualification quality control processes in the New Zealand tertiary sector |
| Angela Foulkes | Angela Foulkes is a former secretary of the Council of Trade Unions. She is currently consulting for her own company. She has extensive governance experience and has served on a variety of advisory boards and commissions over the last 15 years. She is currently a member of the New Zealand Fire Service Commission and the Crown Forestry Rental Trust |
| Dr John Langley | Dr John Langley is the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Auckland. Previously he was Director of the Teacher Registration Board (now the New Zealand Teachers Council), and the last Principal of Auckland College of Education. John has been a teacher, teacher of the deaf, lecturer in a college of education, principal of a large primary school, and was a founding director of a private teachers college in Christchurch. He is also a qualified psychologist |
| Samantha Lundon | Samantha Lundon is Curriculum Advisor for Ideal Success Academy, a private training establishment in South Auckland. She is of Tainui descent, and closely aligned to Māori and Pasifika communities. Ms Lundon is the current chair of Aotearoa Māori Providers of Training, Education and Employment (AMPTEE). Ms Lundon has served on several working groups for NZQA and the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), and is currently on the TEC Maōri Reference Group |
| Alison McAlpine | Alison McAlpine has been principal of Nelson College for Girls since 1990. Before that, she was Deputy Principal and Assistant Principal for Waimea College in Richmond. She has been seconded into a variety of Ministry of Education roles, and was appointed leader of the Ministry of Education Intervention Team from 2003 to 2004. She is currently a member of SPANZ (Secondary Principals of New Zealand) Executive Committee and sits on a number of reference groups for them. From 2000 - 2003 she was involved with the UNESCO Education Sub-commission for the New Zealand secondary school sector and was a Hillary Commissioner from 1996 - 2002. |
| John Morgan | John Morgan is the Chief Executive of National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Limited (NIWA). Mr Morgan was previously CEO of AgriQuality which he joined in 1999 after a number of years as a senior executive and director in the chemical and bioscience industries. During his time at the helm, AgriQuality has become the market leader in its field with turnover growing from $38m to over $80m. He has extensive governance experience; current roles include Chairman of Clearlite Ltd, Executive Director of AgriQuality Australia and Director of North Harbour Rugby Union |
| Shona Smith | Shona is Deputy Principal of Waitakere College in Henderson, Auckland. Formerly Head of English at Birkenhead College, a teacher at four different Auckland secondary schools, and a member of the Scholarship Processes Advisory Group, she has a wide range of curriculum, assessment and qualifications expertise. Shona has also served on the NCEA Forum and was the convenor of Te Tiro Hou – the Qualifications Framework Inquiry in 1996-97. She is a former National President of the NZ PPTA and former President of the Auckland Secondary and Deputy Principals Association. She additionally served two terms on the Auckland College of Education Council. |
| Keith Taylor | Keith Taylor is Director of KTB Consulting Ltd. He has previously served as a senior executive and director of several major companies in New Zealand and Australia including 15 years experience as a Chief Financial Officer and then Chief Executive at Tower Limited, where as CE he oversaw a major restructuring and a recovery of 70% in share prices in 2 years. He brings specialist skills in strategy and finance to the Board |
Corporate structure
The Strategic Management Team leads the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. It comprises the Chief Executive, three Deputy Chief Executives and the Chief Advisor Māori.
NZQA is organised into three divisions, these being:
- Qualifications
- Quality Assurance
- Strategic and Corporate Services
Each division is managed by one of the Deputy Chief Executives.
Chief Executive
Dr Poutasi was appointed Chief Executive in May 2006. Previously Karen was Director General of Health, having worked for more than 25 years in senior roles in health services management. She has extensive experience in change management and organisational development. Karen is a medical graduate of Otago University and her area of specialisation is public health medicine. She has Otago and Harvard management qualifications.
 Bali Haque, Deputy Chief Executive, Qualifications Division |
Bali Haque joined the NZQA in September 2006. He has extensive experience in the secondary education sector, having lead three schools through significant change processes over 14 years. Bali has also been actively involved in advising the Ministry of Education and NZQA on a wide range of initiatives, ranging from strategic planning and reporting to curriculum development and the development of NCEA. Bali was a member of the National Executive of the Secondary Principals' Association of New Zealand for eight years, and was President during 2003/04. The Qualifications Division is responsible for:
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Mike Willing joined NZQA in July 2006. Mike has significant quality assurance experience as well as practical knowledge of industry training gained from key roles in the private sector. He had a long career with the New Zealand Dairy Board and, since 2001, with Fonterra, working on the design, development and delivery of quality assurance and Total Quality Management processes. A trained teacher, he worked briefly in the education system early in his career. The Quality Assurance Division is responsible for:
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Catherine Williams joined NZQA in 2007 as Chief Information Officer and was appointed to her current role in October 2008. The Strategic and Corporate Services Division is responsible for:
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Kararaina Cribb joined NZQA in February 2005, and has recently been working as Private Secretary to the Associate Minister of Education while on secondment to the Ministry of Education. Kararaina has extensive experience and knowledge in Māori education having worked in regional and national administrative and management roles with Te Kohanga Reo National Trust; as the Head of Te Wānanga Māori and then as Director of Equity for Whitireia Community Polytechnic. Kararaina contributes to Te Wānanga o Raukawa Studies. She has pursued qualifications in Māori, Administration, Management and Education. Kararaina is of Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kauwhata and Ngā Puhi descent. The Chief Advisor Māori is responsible for :
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View the current Organisation chart.