Need-to-know | Me mātua mōhio#
Consultation on regulatory amendments#
We are asking for feedback on proposed changes to the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.
The proposed changes would allow a broader range of enforcement actions for different types of non-compliance by early childhood services. This addresses recommendation 8 of the Ministry for Regulation’s ECE Regulatory Review Report that identified the blunt nature of the current enforcement tools.
These proposed changes would:
- introduce new tools to help make sure services follow the rules and licensing criteria
- allow the proposed Director of Regulation to issue a public notification of non-compliance
- raise the threshold for licence reclassification or suspension.
We want to know if the proposed changes are clear and what impact they might have on you. Submissions can be made through email or online survey until 17 October.
Have your say here:
Consultation on ECE Regulations
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
Effective from the July 2025 funding period, there is a two-year moratorium on services that have currently attested to paying permanently employed certificated teachers at parity and extended parity salary scale amounts.
This means that services that have attested to paying their certificated teachers at parity and extended parity salary scales amounts will be unable to move to the higher pay parity salary scales during this time. This moratorium will not prevent any service from attesting to lower salary scales during this time.
This change does not affect the requirement for services to progress certificated teachers up the salary scales as they complete the specified hours of work.
Further information about the moratorium, and 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 here:
Changes to the 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 with the correct attestation. If this resubmission is not received in the required timeframe, the funding payment may be delayed.
Changing your service’s minimum salary scale attestation for the advance funding months of the November 2025 funding period
If you want to change your pay parity minimum salary scale attestation for the advance funding months of the November funding round because you intend to pay your certificated teachers a different (higher or lower) parity minimum salary scale from 1 October (within the moratorium conditions), contact the ECE resourcing team.
Email: [email protected]
Your changes should be consistent with the employment agreements with your teachers.
ECE Funding Handbook: Chapter 3-B-2
Critical dates and information for the November 2025 RS7 return#
On 3 November, we will pay the next instalment of ECE funding to licensed early learning services.
Key funding dates for the upcoming November 2025 payment are as follows.
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 October | Opening date for RS7 return submission |
| 10 October | Final date for paper and electronic RS7 returns to be received by us for funding to be paid on 3 November |
| 3 November (overnight) | ECE operational funding payment occurs |
If you submit your RS7 after 10 October, but before 7 November, you will receive funding on 20 November.
Your funding contact will receive an email acknowledging receipt of the RS7 return from Pourato. Any queries, contact us.
Email: [email protected]
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 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 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. This records the salary condition services have met during the attestation period/wash-up period (full 4 months). These months cannot be separated.
All funding following a change of ownership will be paid to the new owner. As we do not split payments, any payment to the former owner will be actioned by the new owner.
Changes to a services attestation of the pay parity salary scale need to happen at the beginning of a funding period.
| Funding period | Attestation period |
|---|---|
| March | October to January |
| July | February to May |
| November | June to September |
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.
- June to September 2025 period should be made electronically.
- October 2024 to May 2025 period should be submitted using a paper-based RS7 form.
Resubmissions relating to any time before October 2024 will not be processed. Our monitoring team may check resubmissions.
Accessing your funding notice
Funding contacts will receive an email when your funding information is available in Pourato. We expect this to be a few days before payment on 3 November. If you need tips or information on how to use Pourato, visit Purato.
Pourato for early learning – Applications and online systems
Service open code
If your service is open on a day when children were enrolled but no children attended, you can claim funding for that day. Use the service open (SO) code in your RS7 return and 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 June to September 2025 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.
- If you use an approved SMS and require assistance providing the information, contact your SMS provider.
- If you submit a paper-based RS7 or use ELI Web and have used discretionary hours, you must also send us the form below along with your RS7.
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 us via email.
Email: [email protected]
For more details on discretionary hours, visit our website.
3-B-2 Teacher-led education and care services
More information
For funding rules, refer to the 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 regional office.
Heads-up | He kupu puaki#
New webpage for Ministerial Advisory Group for ECE funding review#
Associate Education Minister Hon David Seymour recently convened a Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) to undertake a review of the ECE Funding System.
The MAG now has a webpage where you can find an introduction to the group and its work programme, as well as the terms of reference for the review.
You can also contact the MAG through the form linked at the bottom of the page.
Ministerial Advisory Group – Early childhood education funding system review
This page will be updated as work progresses.
Kia Manawaroa education pānui#
Kia Manawaroa is our dedicated newsletter for whānau Māori, sharing opportunities, updates and information about education, and issue 8 is out now. Share this free pānui with your communities.
Kia Manawaroa Issue 8 – Mailchimp
Subscribe to Kia Manawaroa – Mailchimp
For feedback or story ideas, email the team.
Email: [email protected]
Matavai Pacific education e-newsletter#
Matavai is our monthly e-newsletter featuring the latest Pacific education updates, stories and upcoming events. Share this with Pacific parents, carers and communities through your early learning centre.
Subscribe to Matavai – Mailchimp
For feedback or story ideas, email the team.
Email: [email protected]
