Understanding Fees and Financial Support
20-Hours ECE: The Rules and Your Questions
20-Hours ECE: The Rules* and Your Questions Children’s eligibility for 20 Hours ECE starts on their third birthday and ends on their last day in
Childcare fees can vary widely between services, so it’s worth taking time to compare options. Some services may also have extra or “hidden” costs, such as charges for meals, late pick‑ups, or optional activities. Asking about these early can help you avoid surprises once your child is enrolled.
Financial help is available for many families through subsidies and tax rebates. Checking your eligibility can make a significant difference to what you pay. Support options include the Childcare Subsidy, FamilyBoost, and other forms of assistance depending on your situation.
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20-Hours ECE: The Rules* and Your Questions Children’s eligibility for 20 Hours ECE starts on their third birthday and ends on their last day in
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 subsidy amount from your fees, so it’s important to know how much you’re entitled to and check that it’s being applied correctly.
An early childhood service may charge a late fee instead of allowing at least a little or occasional flexibility as to when parents arrive to
Flexible Childcare Assistance helps with the cost of informal childcare. There are no income or asset limits, which makes this support more widely available than many other payments.
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
An enrolment fee or administration fee may be charged by an early childhood service. It is a method of gathering extra revenue most commonly used
On a public holiday such as Matariki or Good Friday, early childhood centres and home-based agencies close – only a relative few remain open for
Being charged fees and paying fees when you can’t use the service and it is not your choice not to use it, can seem crazy.
Community-based early childhood centres, often organise fundraising activities to raise additional funds for a specific project and ask for parent-help (e.g., to build a new
If wanting to use another centre or home-based service here’s what you need to know about changing 20 Hours so you can get this at
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