Opened: 30 Jun 2026, 9:00 am Closed: 6 Aug 2026, 5:00 pm
The Early Childhood Education (ECE) Funding System Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) is consulting on possible change to how the Government spends $3 billion each year on ECE.
Purpose of the consultation
The MAG wants to hear your views on how the funding system could do more to:
- support children’s development and help them learn, in turn leading to success in education and better life outcomes, and
- help parents and caregivers to work, to help families to thrive, and
- support a strong economy by helping people caring for children to work.
Areas of change being explored could change how funding is allocated, if the Government agrees. This could make a difference to many whānau | families and tamariki | children, their communities and to those who work in and provide ECE.
What the MAG has found so far
The MAG identified 3 major problems with the current ECE system:
- some families face barriers to get the amount and type of ECE they want for their tamariki
- variation in the quality of ECE means it may not deliver all the benefits it can for children and whānau, particularly those who could benefit most, and
- government and whānau do not have enough information about ECE and the value it delivers for tamariki, whānau and society.
What is being consulted on
The MAG has identified 7 areas where it believes change could make a difference, and a range of possible options in each of these areas.
- Improve targeted funding to services to better support the needs of specific children, families, communities, or government priorities.
- Changing the approach to fees assistance to help families struggling with affordability.
- Changing how ECE subsidies that support all tamariki are used, including changing the hours covered and funding for home-based care, to help working parents and whānau.
- Simplifying funding bands that apply to teachers and affect the level of funding provided.
- Reconsidering how government funding pays for the ECE workforce.
- Strengthening information and reporting requirements.
- Modernising and simplifying the funding system.
This does not mean change will be recommended in all these areas. No decisions have been made on advice and recommendations.
