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All early learning services must meet the requirements of:
- your licence
- the Education and Training Act 2020
- the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.
Education and Training Act 2020 – New Zealand Legislation
Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008 – New Zealand Legislation
Your service must meet all licensing criteria relevant to you:
When an early learning service does not meet the rules of regulation or licensing, this is called "non-compliance". There are a range of ways we might respond to non-compliance, depending on how severe it is.
We might:
- issue a formal warning or a written direction to fix a health and safety risk
- change a service's licence to provisional
- suspend a service’s licence if there is an immediate health, safety or wellbeing risk.
Record of non-compliance#
In some situations, we may keep a record of non-compliance even if an issue has been fixed. We will let you know what happened, how it was fixed, and the reason for keeping a record.
A record of non-compliance will not affect your service’s licence, but it is part of your compliance history. It can count towards a decision to change your licence to provisional if more areas of non-compliance are found.
Formal warning#
A formal warning is a written warning that lets you know there is an issue of non-compliance. It includes the steps you must take to fix the non-compliance and the deadline for completing them.
A formal warning does not affect your service’s licence. Children can continue to attend while the issue is being addressed. If your service does not meet the steps outlined in the warning, we may take further action. We may change your licence to provisional depending on your compliance history.
Written direction#
We may issue a written direction if we find risks to the health and safety of children and staff. A written direction will outline actions your service must take and deadlines for completing them. Depending on the seriousness of the issue, the deadline may either be:
- within 24 hours
- up to maximum of 10 working days.
A written direction does not affect your service’s licence. Children can continue to attend while the issue is being addressed.
If your service does not do what is set out in the written direction, we may take further action against the service. This could include:
- changing your licence to provisional
- suspending your licence if there is an immediate risk to the health and safety of children.
Specialist help#
In some situations, we may direct your service to get specialist help.
- Your licence will not be affected while you work with a specialist to achieve compliance.
- Children can continue to attend.
If your service does not seek specialist help, we may change your licence to provisional.
Improvement plan#
We can require your service to put an improvement plan in place. You will be asked to write an improvement plan outlining the steps you will take to comply with regulations and licensing criteria.
- Plans must be sent to us for approval within 15 working days.
- Once the plan is approved, your service must start on the steps and complete them in the specified timeframe.
An improvement plan does not affect your licence. Children can continue to attend.
If your service does not follow your improvement plan, we may change your licence to provisional.
Provisional licence#
Your licence can be reclassified to 'provisional' if you are not complying with the laws, regulations and criteria. Children can continue to attend your service when you have a provisional licence.
We may change your service’s licence to provisional if you have:
- not met a requirement of a written direction, specialist help or improvement plan
- been subject to 2 or more enforcement actions under regulations 29A to 29E within a 12-month period, and more non-compliance is found during that period.
A provisional licence sets out:
- the conditions your service must meet before we will return your licence
- deadlines for meeting the conditions.
If your service does not meet the conditions of your provisional licence, your licence may be cancelled.
Centre-based services must display a provisional licence clearly so parents, caregivers and visitors can see it.
Regulation 15 – New Zealand Legislation
Suspended licence#
We can suspend your service’s licence if there is an immediate risk to the health, safety or wellbeing of children and it is unsafe for you to continue operating. Children can not attend while your licence is suspended.
We will give your service a suspension notice. This will outline
- the conditions you must meet
- the date conditions must be met by.
If your service does not meet the conditions, we are required to cancel your licence to operate.
Learn more about all the reasons a licence may be suspended in the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.
Cancelled licence#
We may cancel your service’s licence to operate if:
- you have failed to meet the conditions of your provisional licence or suspension notice
- the person operating your service has been convicted of an offence involving harm to children, violence or fraud.
Children can no longer attend after your licence is cancelled.
Learn more about all the reasons a licence may be cancelled in the Education (Early Childhood Services) Regulations 2008.
Public notices about non-compliance#
We will publicly publish information when we:
- change a licence to provisional
- suspend a licence
- return a service’s licence (after the conditions of a provisional or suspended licence have been met)
- cancel a licence.
If it is in the best interest of the public, we may also publish information when we:
- issue a written direction to address risks to health and safety
- direct a service to employ or engage specialist help
- ask a service to put an improvement plan in place.
