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This paper presents a case study of policy issues in a public educational quality assurance regulatory agency. It draws attention to matters of fundamental importance to countries which are considering introducing, or have introduced, a model of postcompulsory education quality assurance similar to (or based on) the system that had been in operation in New Zealand for the past decade. These important matters include: the particular educational and political context in which the agency conducts its affairs; the regulatory philosophy adopted by the quality assurance agency; service delivery standards adhered to by a public monopoly; the risks associated with the unit standards' models of skills and knowledge acquisition; the development of secondary education qualifications; compliance costs; the conflicting demands of stakeholders; and the capacity of a national qualifications framework to meet the expectations placed upon it.