About the Ministerial Advisory Group#

The Associate Minister of Education Hon David Seymour established the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) on 19 June 2025 to review funding for early learning.

The MAG is an independent body supported by the Ministry for data, research and analysis, and secretariat.

Recommendations to redesign the ECE funding system will be delivered to the Government in late 2026.

Members of the MAG#

Members were appointed by Hon David Seymour for their skills, experience and ability to improve funding settings. 

Read more about the appointed MAG members.

Early childhood education funding system review engagement

What is included in the ECE funding system review#

The MAG was asked by the Government to consider 4 broad concerns in the ECE funding system: 

• Affordability and access.
• Universal versus targeted funding.
• Complexity.
• Impact. 

More than $3 million in funding each year is within the scope of this review. This includes Government spending on licensed teacher and educator-led services including: 

• education and care services
• kindergartens
• home-based services
• hospital-based services
• puna reo
• Pacific early learning services. 

The review includes funding which reduces the cost of ECE for parents, including: 

• FamilyBoost
• the Childcare Subsidy
• the Early Learning Payment
• the Guaranteed Childcare Assistance Payment. 

The MAG must provide recommendations to Government within the amount forecast to be spent on ECE.

Funding that is not in scope for this review#

The review focuses on Government funding for ECE and how it interacts with parent contributions and other sources of funding. It does not include Government funding for:

• Playcentres
• kōhanga reo
• Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu ECE services 
• playgroups. 

Terms of reference#

Download the terms of reference for the ECE funding review.

How the review is being done#

The MAG is working through the review in phases. 

Discovery phase#

The discovery phase included initial engagement from September 2025 to January 2026. More than 2,000 providers, employers, parents and caregivers shared their experiences and insights on how the funding system could be improved. 

The MAG also considered existing research and analysis. They commissioned extra work to understand where change could make a difference. 

Read more about who the MAG heard from and what it heard during this phase.

Early childhood education funding system review engagement

Option development#

From November 2025 to June 2026, the MAG worked through the material and insights it had gathered to develop areas of possible change and options for consultation.  

Consultation#

The MAG consulted on areas of possible change and options within these from 30 June to 6 August 2026. 

Read the consultation document and access all other consultation materials:

Consultation on early childhood education funding system

More than 3,500 submissions were received. About half were by email and half via an online survey.

Preparing final advice #

Every submission received during consultation is being carefully considered alongside all the MAG has learned so far. 

Advice and recommendations to the Government will be the MAG’s assessment of how to most effectively support quality and sustainability in New Zealand’s early childhood education system.

Next steps#

The MAG will provide independent advice and recommendations to Government on how to strengthen the ECE funding system so that it is fit for purpose, sustainable and able to support quality, access, choice, affordability and equitable participation for children and families across New Zealand.