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Learn about fees, quality, and regulations
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How to make a complaint
Join the ECE Parents’ Council

Make a Complaint

The Education Review Office (ERO) now handles all complaints about early childhood services.

Before you fill in the form opposite, please read How to Make a Complaint. It includes clear steps and an email template you can use if you want to contact ERO yourself.

If you don’t feel comfortable contacting ERO directly, we can send the complaint on your behalf. We will include your contact details so ERO can reach you if they need more information for their investigation. We will also ask ERO not to reveal your identity to the service unless you give permission.

If you want to be fully anonymous, simply uncheck the box opposite. This tells us not to pass your name or contact details to ERO.

What to include in your complaint

Please make sure the form opposite includes:

Your name and contact details
Service details (name and full address)
What the complaint is about and full details on what you saw, heard, or were told
Date(s) of the incident or issue
Where it happened
Names of people involved
The impact on your child, you, or others
Any evidence you can provide (photos, emails, medical notes, timeline, etc.)
What remedy or practical outcome you want

Topics and Issues Parents Most Need to Know

You don’t buy a car or house without asking questions and doing some background research, do you? You want to know as much as you can and about any warning signs. The same goes for choosing and using an early childhood service.

My ECE provides expert knowledge and straightforward information to allow parents to form their own opinions and be more confident to be involved in their child’s early education and care.

Below are 4 featured articles – you will find more under the “Guidance” tab (or use the Search function).

complaints procedure and regulations in early childhood centres and home-based

Fees and ECE Charges & Financial Support for Parents

Can Parents be Made to Pay for Something their Child Breaks or Damages?

A parent asked if she can she be made to pay for breakages. Her child's centre said her child was involved in breaking a window…

Media

ECE Parents’ Council

The ECE Parents' Council represents parents, caregivers, grandparents, and families with children in early childhood education across Aotearoa New Zealand The ECE Parents’ Council gives…

Fees and ECE Charges & Financial Support for Parents

Childcare Assistance in NZ: Childcare Subsidy, FamilyBoost, and Other Financial Support for Parents

The Childcare Subsidy helps with the cost of early childhood education and is paid directly to your ECE service. The service must deduct the full…

Setting-in to childcare. Happy and settled child

After Your Child has Started - Care, Health, Safety & Education Issues

Happy and settled child? How to tell if your child has settled-in or putting on a brave face to please you

How to tell if your child has settled-in and is truly happy © myECE.org.nz. Parent Support and Information. Many children settle into an early childhood education…

Find Your Nearest and Best ECE Services

Zoom in (+) to your city or town on the map to find what licensed services are near you.

In the National Register, look up service names to get details, reviews, rating, and other information. Use the compare button on the services you are interested in to compare.

Find Out More

The Parents’ Choice Award

Celebrating the best for children and families

Outstanding in Every Way

The quality and differences a service makes are such that families want to shout from the roof-tops and tell us the great things about it. It follows the Ethical Conduct of Conduct and has had no recent licensing action taken against it.

Amazing Staff, Volunteers and Management

The team behind the wonderful service deserve to have their skills, caring, and hard work acknowledged publicly by winning this Award.

Find Out More

Rules and Regulations

Read about the requirements all licensed early childhood services must comply with.

If your service isn’t meeting these, please speak up.

Make a formal complaint using our complaint form or go directly to the Education Review Office.

The regulations set out the very minimum standards for children’s safety, health, education and what government is prepared to fund for staffing and service operation. So, it is a serious matter if a service does not always meet at least these minimum requirements.

Regulations Early Childhood Education - Regulatory Requirements and licensing

Regulations, Rules, and ECE Service Legal Requirements

Regulations and Licensing Criteria: A Guide for Parents

The "My ECE Guide to Early Childhood Service Regulations and Licensing Criteria for Parents." View the full guide here.

Show All Regulation Requirements