Need-to-know | Me mātua mōhio#
Fuel Response Plan update#
Earlier this week, the Government announced changes to New Zealand’s Fuel Response Plan (FRP), following extensive consultation with key stakeholders.
What’s changed
Fuel prioritisation will only be considered if New Zealand moves to Phase 4 of the FRP. In Phase 4, those categorised as critical users will have priority and uncapped access to fuel. In the Phase 4 fuel user categories, schools and early learning providers are considered critical users.
Details of the updated Fuel Response Plan phase descriptions and priority groupings are available in the Government’s media release.
Flexibility, adaptability key to Fuel Response Plan – Beehive.govt.nz
We are still in Phase 1, which means early learning services will keep operating as usual. There’s no change to children attending a service, staff teaching onsite and using transport to get to and from a service.
Critical dates for the July 2026 RS7 return#
On 1 July, we will pay the next instalment of ECE funding to licensed early learning services.
Key funding dates for the upcoming July 2026 payment are as follows:
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 June | Opening date for RS7 return submission |
| 11 June | Final date for paper-based RS7 returns to be received by us for funding to be paid on 1 July |
| 16 June | Final date for electronic RS7 returns to be received by us for funding to be paid on 1 July |
| 1 July (overnight) | ECE operational funding payment occurs |
If you submit your paper-based RS7 return after 11 June and electronic RS7 return after 16 June, but before 21 July, you will receive funding on 3 August. Please note that there are no longer ECE funding payments on 20th of the month.
An email acknowledging receipt of the RS7 return will be sent to your service’s funding contact from Pourato.
Pay parity opt-in scheme
Higher funding rates are available to education and care and hospital-based services who pay all employed certificated teachers | kaiako at or above the pay parity minimum salary steps.
Funding rates are available at:
ECE Funding Handbook: Appendix 1
The minimum salary scales are available at:
ECE Funding Handbook: Appendix 4
The two-year moratorium, implemented in July 2025, remains in effect. As a result, services who have currently attested to paying their permanently employed certificated teachers at the Parity or Extended Parity salary scale amounts are unable to move to a higher pay parity salary scale at this time.
This moratorium will not prevent any service from attesting to lower salary scales during this period.
Services are still required to progress certificated teachers up the salary scales as they complete the 2080 hours of work, while maintaining their Teaching Council certification.
Information relating to the moratorium, and the changes made to the pay parity requirements for newly certificated teachers and certificated teachers who are new to the early childhood education sector, is available at:
1 July 2025–30 June 2027 changes to the ECE Pay Parity Opt-in Scheme [PDF, 138 KB]
If a service has attested in their RS7 return to a pay parity salary scale that the moratorium does not permit, the service will be required to resubmit their RS7 return with the correct attestation. If this resubmission is not received in the required timeframe, the funding payment may be delayed.
If you want to change your pay parity minimum salary scale attestation for the advance funding months of the July funding round, because you intend to pay your certificated teachers a different (higher or lower) parity minimum salary scale from 1 June (within the moratorium conditions), email us.
Email: [email protected]
Your changes should be consistent with the employment agreements that apply to your teachers.
ECE Funding Handbook: Chapter 3-B-2
RS7 returns following a change of ownership
Following a change of ownership, the new owner may submit an electronic RS7 return for the period after the purchase and send a paper-based RS7 return for the period prior to the purchase. Alternatively, the new owner can send an entire funding claim using a paper-
based RS7 return.
Services that have had a change of service provider/ownership are temporarily excluded from the moratorium and will be allowed to attest to paying any pay parity minimum salary scale when completing their first RS7 return. After they have selected the minimum salary scale in their first RS7 return the moratorium will apply.
Funding payments are based on your attestation response in your RS7 return. This records the salary condition services have met during the attestation period/wash-up period (full 4 months). Changes to a service’s attestation of the pay parity salary scale must happen at the beginning of a funding attestation period. These attestation months cannot be separated.
| Funding period | Attestation period |
|---|---|
| March | October to January |
| July | February to May |
| November | June to September |
If a change of ownership occurs around the time of an ECE subsidy payment, processing timeframes may not allow the subsidy payment to be made to the new owner.
If you are considering a change of ownership around an ECE subsidy payment, contact us.
Email: [email protected]
Any split payments should be negotiated between past and present ownership and should be considered in the sale and purchase agreement when the service is sold.
RS7 returns following a change of SMS
If you have not been using your new system (SMS or ELI web) for the entire funding period, you can:
- submit the portion of your claim electronically, for the month/s you have been using your new system, and send the paper-based RS7 return for the month/s before you began using this system, or
- submit your entire funding claim using the paper-based RS7 return.
Resubmissions
You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the data submitted. Resubmissions are available to correct genuine errors or oversights that emerge later.
- February to May 2026 period should be made electronically.
- June 2025 to January 2026 period should be submitted using a paper-based RS7 return.
Resubmissions relating to any time before June 2025 will not be processed. Note that resubmissions may be audited by our monitoring team.
Accessing your funding notice
Funding contacts will receive an email when funding information is available in Pourato. We expect this to be a few days before payment on 1 July. If you need tips or information on how to use Pourato, visit:
Pourato for Early Learning – Applications and Online Systems
Service open (SO) code
If your service is open on a day where children were enrolled but no children attended, you can claim funding for that day by using the SO code in your RS7 return. Input the ‘funded child hours’ enrolled for that day so that funding is paid correctly.
Discretionary hours reporting requirements
Teacher-led, centre-based, and hospital-based services could use up to 80 discretionary hours in the February to May 2026 funding period. A discretionary hour is an hour that a service can claim an unqualified teacher as a certificated teacher for the staff hour count.
- If your service used discretionary hours during the current funding period, you must submit a record of the total number of discretionary hours along with your RS7 return.
- If you use an approved SMS and require assistance providing the information, contact your SMS provider.
- If you submit a paper-based RS7 return or use ELI Web and have used discretionary hours, you must also send us the form below along with your RS7 return.
Discretionary hours report form: 80 Hours [PDF, 276 KB]
Do not complete the form if your service has not used any discretionary hours.
Email your completed discretionary hours form and RS7 return to [email protected].
For specific information on discretionary hours, visit:
3-B-2 Teacher-led education and care services
More information
For funding rules, refer to the ECE Funding Handbook:
ECE Funding Handbook
Electronic RS7 returns and ELI reports are available on the ELI homepage:
Early Learning Information (ELI) reports
Any pātai, contact us.
Phone: 0800 323 323
Email: [email protected]
For any licensing or general operational matters, or if you require any updates to your service’s contact details, contact your local Te Mahau office.
Heads-up | He kupu puaki#
Updating resources#
We are currently updating our guidance to support the establishment of new centre-based early childhood services, including the development of a new resource specifically for these services.
We will notify you once the updated ‘establishing a service’ guide is live. In the meantime, we have published new resources to support the application process and to help new services understand the timeline and key steps involved when applying for a licence. These resources are available at:
Guides for starting an early childhood service
Emergency planning and preparedness resources
We also wish to highlight the updated emergency planning and preparedness resources now available on our website:
Prepare for an emergency or traumatic incident in early learning
Alternate formats and translations – Early intervention resources#
Our Early Intervention Service (EIS) Journey and Expansion of EIS factsheet for parents, caregivers, whānau and families are now available in:
- te reo Māori
- 5 Pacific languages – Gagana Samoa, Te Reo Māori Kūki ʻAirani, Vagahau Niue, Lea Faka Tonga, Gagana Tokelau
- alternate formats – New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), Braille, audio, large print and Easy Read.
The resources explain how EIS supports children with additional developmental, communication or behavioural needs. EIS now extends from birth to the end of Year 1 at school. Check them out on our website:
Learning support resources for parents
Ngā Haeata o Aotearoa 2024: A Māori education indicators report released #
This report provides a snapshot of how the education system is performing for Māori learners and Māori language in education. It spans early learning, primary, secondary schooling and tertiary across English-medium education, Māori-medium and Kaupapa Māori education. Māori students experience a wide range of outcomes in the education system with many ākonga in English-medium education continuing to experience inequitable outcomes.
It includes Kaupapa Māori education data showing that ākonga in these settings experience more positive educational outcomes at secondary school.
Read more about the report here:
Ngā Haeata o Aotearoa 2024: A Māori Education Indicators Report – Education Counts
Legacy | Pacific Early Learning Fono 2026 – Registrations close 16 May#
The Legacy | Pacific Early Learning Fono 2026 will be held on 23 May with registrations closing on 16 May.
The free fono will focus on identity, capability and sustainability. You can register at:
