Allan, Quentin2026-01-192026-01-192025-12-17ATLAANZ Journal, ISSN: 2463-3453 (Print); 2463-3453 (Online), ATLAANZ (Association of Tertiary Learning Advisors, Aotearoa/New Zealand), 8(1). doi: 10.26473/atlaanz.2025.1/0062463-34532463-3453http://hdl.handle.net/10292/20515<jats:p>This article examines the competencies and practices that underpin effective individual consultations (ICs), contributing to the evolving professionalisation of tertiary learning advising in Aotearoa New Zealand. Responding to Malik’s (2021) invitation to co-construct a national core competencies model, it focuses on Core Competency #3: “Plan and conduct successful advising interactions in one-to-one … settings.” Drawing on an autoethnographic methodology which foregrounds practitioner reflection, the article reflects on three consultations with undergraduate students at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), each involving the use of asynchronous academic literacy resources. The article argues that ICs should be understood not as remedial or transactional encounters, but as pedagogical spaces that require clearly articulated professional competencies. It explores how Tertiary Learning Advisors (TLAs) integrate institutional tools, respond to diverse learner needs, and foster student agency. The vignettes illustrate challenges related to unfamiliarity with assignment types, academic integrity, and neurodiversity; discussion of each vignette highlights the transformative potential of relational advising and digital resource integration. By identifying salient themes, attributes, and values relating to ICs, this study contributes to the co-construction of a national competencies framework that reflects the full scope of TLA practice: pedagogically grounded, institutionally aware, and committed to inclusive, student-centred learning.</jats:p>Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.39 Education3904 Specialist Studies In Educationcore competencies modeltertiary learning advisingprofessional practiceindividual consultations1:1 consultationsone-to-one consultationsJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.26473/atlaanz.2025.1/006