Funding and data

Resources and information about operational funding and data collection.

• Funding changes
• Funding handbooks
• Key funding dates 2023
• ECE Census dates 2023 and 2024
• Financial declaration for early learning services
• Service audits
• The Targeted Funding for Disadvantage scheme
• Equity funding 
• The 20 Hours ECE funding scheme
• Early Learning Information (ELI)
• Early learning statistics
• Further information
• Learn More

Funding changes

Budget 2021 announced three potential funding changes for early learning. Find information about the changes:

Funding changes 

Discretionary hours increased to 80 hours for Education and Care Services

An increase to discretionary hours from 40 hours to 80 hours will be available for education and care services, casual education and care services and hospital-based services and kindergartens from 1 February 2022 until 31 May 2022.

This change acknowledges the present challenges of the ECE education and care sector concerning self-isolation requirements for teachers under red in the Covid Protection Framework (CPF).

Education and care services, casual education and care services and hospital-based services and kindergartens can use up to 80 discretionary hours per funding period from 1 February 2022 until 31 May 2022. A discretionary hour is an hour that a service can count an unqualified teacher (other teacher) as a qualified teacher (certificated and qualified) for ECE funding purposes on the Staff Hour Count.

Discretionary Hours Reporting

Every service that uses discretionary hours during the current funding period, must submit a record of the total number of discretionary hours used. This must be submitted alongside the RS7 before:

• 7 June 2022 for the 1 July 2022 payment

The reporting form is available to download on the funding and data page of our website. If no hours have been used, then no submission is required.

Completed forms should be returned:

• By post: ECE Operational Funding, PO Box 1666, Wellington
• By email: ECE.Funding@education.govt.nz

Funding handbooks

All information related to operational funding (also known as subsidy funding or bulk funding) is covered in the funding handbook.

There are two versions of the handbook available.

Funding handbook for:

• national bodies and advocates of licensed early learning services
• managers, administrators, educators, kaiako, parents and whānau working in licensed services
• staff and administrators of centrally-administrated services
• Ministry of Education staff.

ECE Funding Handbook

Playgroup funding handbook for:

• certificated playgroups funded by the Ministry of Education, especially management committees.

Playgroup Funding Handbook

Also see the handbook updates:

• ECE Funding Handbook updates
• Playgroup Funding Handbook updates 

Key funding dates 2023

Download the key funding dates for Early Childhood Education for 2023: 

Key funding dates for Early Childhood Education 2023 [PDF, 532 KB]

Further reminders on dates and important information will be advertised on this website and in the Early Learning Bulletin.

He Pānui Kōhungahunga – the Early Learning Bulletin 

ECE Census dates 2023 and 2024

The ECE Census is an annual data collection from early learning services. The Ministry advises early learning services of the dates for ECE Census week in advance in He Pānui Kōhungahunga - The Early Learning Bulletin

Financial declaration for early learning services

Before 30 June each year, services are required to submit an annual financial declaration relating to the previous financial year. This is a condition of Ministry funding and assures the Ministry that the funding is being spent appropriately. To find out more about the requirements of financial declarations, follow the link below.

Financial declaration for early learning services

Early learning service audits

The Ministry's resourcing auditors audit all early learning services to ensure that the service is receiving the correct amount of funding and to verify that the service is meeting their record-keeping requirements. 

Early learning service audits

The Targeted Funding for Disadvantage scheme

The fund aims to improve the affordability and quality of early learning for tamariki/children from disadvantaged backgrounds and ensure that they start school ready to learn.

Targeted Funding for Disadvantage

Equity funding for early learning services

Equity funding provides additional targeted funding to make early learning opportunities equally available to everyone. It also helps services to raise educational achievement regardless of people's cultural background, socio-economic status or location.

Equity funding

The 20 Hours ECE for ECE Services funding scheme

The 20 Hours ECE for ECE Services funding scheme reduces cost barriers so that more children can benefit from participation in ECE. For every eligible child, an early learning service will receive the 20 Hours ECE funding rate instead of the usual ECE funding subsidy rate.

20 Hours ECE for ECE Services

Early Learning Information (ELI)

The Early Learning Information system (ELI) collects and stores information on enrolment, attendance and staffing.

We will use the information collected in ELI for the purposes of:

• monitoring and ensuring student enrolment and attendance
• encouraging attendance at early childhood services
• ensuring education providers and students receive appropriate resourcing
• statistical purposes
• research purposes
• ensuring student’s educational records are accurately maintained.

Find more information about ELI and National Student Numbers:

Early Learning Information

Early learning statistics

The Education Counts website displays statistics on topics including:

• the annual census of early learning services
• participation
• services
• finances
• staffing
• Māori in early learning
• Pacific Islanders in early learning.

Education Counts(external link)

Learn more

Review of equity and targeted funding in early learning

Targeted Funding for Disadvantage

Equity Funding

Last reviewed: 01 May 2023 Has this been useful? Give us your feedback