Ministry for Regulation early childhood education (ECE) regulatory sector review#

The Ministry for Regulation sector review team led a review into early childhood education, working closely with the Ministry of Education and the Education Review Office.

Scope of review#

The scope of the review was broad and examined the regulatory systems for education, health, safety, child protection, food safety, buildings, and workplaces as they applied to the early childhood sector. 

The funding settings were not in scope of this review.

Engagement#

A range of engagement methods were used to gather information for the review, focusing on where rules and regulations result in bad outcomes.

Findings#

Read more about the Ministry for Regulation findings in the final report.

Our publications – Ministry for Regulation

Work to progress the recommendations from the review#

The Government has agreed to the recommendations in the Ministry for Regulation’s report, which the Ministry of Education is progressing as part of its early learning regulatory work programme.

The Government announced these decisions on 25 April 2025.

ECE sector review changes begin – Beehive.govt.nz

Advice provided by the Ministry of Education#

Below is a list of the advice we provided for the early learning regulatory review.