Yep its true, there's some HR person who's commented to another colleague that people who went through the process earlier in the year who didn't have UE didn't fair as well as those who did have UE.
At 25 yes you can enter university but now with NCEA there is a difference in how you actually get UE. You now need credits in Maths, science and English at NCEA level 1 and 2.
Now if you don't have UE it is an absolute nightmare trying to get it.