Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) is one on New Zealand’s leading tertiary education providers, serving the regions of Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti from foundation level through to Masters degrees. EIT also has wide international relationships, but is domiciled in New Zealand, with the Office of the Chief Executive located at the Hawke’s Bay Campus, at 501 Gloucester Street, Taradale, Napier. There is another campus at 290 Palmerston Road, Gisborne and an international postgraduate campus in Auckland, with learning centres and other provision across Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti regions and communities, together with online learning options.
EIT is an independent, regionally based polytechnic
EIT is once again an independent Institute of Technology, following amendments in late 2025 to the Education and Training Act 2020, and is no longer a part of Te Pūkenga, the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (NZIST).
This follows a number of government policy changes in the vocational education sector in recent years, some of which have changed EIT’s legal status. From 1 November 2022 until 31 December 2025, EIT was a business division of NZIST (and until November 2025 known as Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology). From 1 January 2026 EIT became a Crown Entity again, as it had been up until March 2020 (prior to it then becoming a subsidiary company of NZIST until October 2022).
Under the Education and Training (Vocational Education and Training System) Amendment Act, on 1 January 2026, all rights, assets, obligations and liabilities of (Te Pūkenga) NZIST trading as EIT transferred to the new Crown Entity, Eastern Institute of Technology. This means contracts with the old EIT continue with the new Crown Entity without novation of or amendment to contracts, however, business suppliers and customers and other stakeholders should update their records to reflect our new name accordingly. While we retain the same bank accounts, we have a new GST number and a new NZBN number. We retain our various trading names, including EIT and Te Aho a Māui.
Reporting and accreditation
The primary objective of EIT is to deliver tertiary education services for the benefit of the community, rather than to make a financial return. Accordingly, EIT has designated itself and its subsidiaries as Public Benefit Entities for the purposes of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Similarly, EIT (like other Tertiary Education Institutes) is not subject to income tax, because as a provider of education it is treated by IRD as a charitable organisation.
EIT produces an annual report each year, which is tabled in Parliament. This contains information about the activities and operations of EIT, with an audit report from Audit NZ covering the Statement of Service Performance and the Financial Statements. The first report since becoming a Crown Entity again will be for the 2026 year and will be published in 2027. For 2025, NZIST will produce an audited annual report on its whole operations, including EIT and all its other business divisions, in 2026.
EIT received a Category One rating as a quality educational provider in its most recent External Evaluation and Review (EER) assessment in 2015, the highest level rating by the New Zealand Qualification Authority (NZQA). A targeted review by NZQA in October 2021 reported positively on EIT. The EER Quality Assurance process is no longer used by the NZQA and has been replaced by NZQA’s new integrated Quality Assurance Framework (iQAF).
EIT, like other government owned tertiary education providers, is also subject to oversight by its funder, a crown agency, the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC).
Eastern Institute of Technology
NZBN: 9429053303264
501 Gloucester Street, Taradale, Napier, 4112
Postal: Private Bag 1201, Hawke’s Bay Mail Centre, Napier 4142
www.eit.ac.nz
Phone 0800 22 55 348