A recent study evaluating New Zealand's fees-free tertiary education scheme, which began in 2018, found it did little to widen access to higher education. The scheme, costing around NZ$350 million annually, was intended to reduce financial barriers for students. However, it failed to increase overall participation rates or improve retention and completion among students, particularly those from lower-decile schools. Instead, the study revealed that many barriers, such as living costs and prior school performance, hinder access to tertiary education long before students even consider tuition fees. The research tracked over 250,000 school leavers from the 2015 to 2019 cohorts, showing that the scheme did not significantly alter enrolment trends or encourage students to pursue bachelor’s degrees over lower-level qualifications. The findings suggest that if New Zealand aims to enhance access to tertiary education, policies must address inequalities earlier in the education system rather than relying solely on financial subsidies at the point of enrolment.