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Fees and ECE Charges & Financial Support for Parents

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.

20 hours ECE fees, money, and childcare charges
Fees and ECE Charges & Financial Support for Parents

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…
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home-based early childhood education
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…
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late to pick-up child, late fees, or arriving at early childhood centre
Fees and ECE Charges & Financial Support for Parents

Late Fee or Fine

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…
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who can pick up and collect a child
Fees and ECE Charges & Financial Support for Parents

Flexible Childcare Assistance – Help to Pay a Babysitter, Friend, or Nanny

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…
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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…
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Fees and ECE Charges & Financial Support for Parents

Enrolment Fees and Waiting Lists

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…
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holidays and paying fees when the service is closed
Fees and ECE Charges & Financial Support for Parents

Holidays and Charging Fees When the Service is Closed

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…
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Fees and ECE Charges & Financial Support for Parents

Fees when Forced Closure due to an Emergency or Health and Safety

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.…
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fees for not being available to parent help or fundraise
Fees and ECE Charges & Financial Support for Parents

Fees for Not Being Available to Parent-Help or Fundraise

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…
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Girls playing outdoors, with baby buggy and cart at a NZ preschool
Fees and ECE Charges & Financial Support for Parents

Changing 20 Hours to another ECE Service Temporarily

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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Key

Community Ownership:
Parents likely have a strong say in how the service operates and what happens to children, all money earnt stays within it, and teachers may be paid better and childcare charges may be lower compared to most (but not necessarily all) private and corporate owned services. (Ask: Is it an Incorporated Society? Does it also have charitable status?)

Small Boutique Centre:
Centres with 50 or fewer children make it easier for staff to provide a warm and nurturing environment, for children to have their individual needs met and skills, knowledge, and competencies extended. (Ask: For continuity of care and relationships, do children stay with the same group of children and teachers throughout their time at the service?)

100% Qualified Teacher Funded:
All staff counted toward meeting the minimum adult-child ratio requirement must hold a practising certificate as a teacher if the service receives this level of Ministry of Education funding. (Ask: Does the service count teachers trained in the ECE of children birth to 5 years and not primary or secondary school trained teachers?)

Men Included on Teaching Staff (as at last year):
There are strong benefits of having both men and women on the teaching team for the quality of care and education a service provides to children. Additionally, gender bias in staff recruitment and employment is not generally acceptable in society today. (Ask: How many teaching staff are employed and what proportion are men?).

Clean Licence Record (last year and the year before):
To be licensed a service must comply with regulations that help ensure children’s safety, care, and a suitable standard of education. When requirements are breached the Ministry of Education may downgrade a service’s licence to provisional or issue a suspension. (Check the lists of services placed on a provisional or suspended licence https://oece.nz/public/information/standards/ published each year)

Recommended Highly by 80% or More Families:
At least 80% of families recommend the service and rate it as being very good to excellent on a range of aspects of quality. (Note that a response rate of at least 51% families on the OECE parent survey https://oece.nz/public/information/resources/parent-survey/ research instrument within the last three years is necessary here)

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