New Zealand is one of eleven countries that has been annually resettling refugees as part of the UNHCR refugee resettlement programme since the 1980s. Consequently, New Zealand’s refugee-background population continues to increase, and statistics show that the majority of recent refugee intakes are youth with ages of between 16 and 36, many of whom may aspire to achieve in higher education.
The purpose of this paper is to advocate for recognition of refugee-background students as an equity group both in government policy and at New Zealand tertiary institutions, and for their inclusion in equity funding and other special and targeted support.