ECE Regulation Change Timeline Welcomed By Providers

The Early Childhood Council is welcoming today’s announcement of confirmed changes to the regulation of early childhood education and care.

“It’s good progress to have a clear timeline approved by Cabinet. We can expect changes within the next 18 months, ensuring the regulatory improvements can happen as soon as possible,” said ECC CEO Simon Laube.

“The Ministry for Regulation’s work has been thorough and perceptive, and committed to getting to the bottom of problems that have built up over many years.”

“We’ve been waiting for the Government to confirm its full support for the regulatory changes released in December 2024, which will improve child safety, access to care and centre viability. We believe proactive risk-based monitoring will deliver greater quality oversight than the current reactive regime, and allow teachers to spend more time with children than on paperwork.”

“ECC will be supporting the implementation of changes to criteria, regulations and other legislation through the upcoming consultation processes – getting the detail right is crucial.”

“Right now, many providers face major financial headwinds. Fewer working parents reduces demand for education and care, with struggling families increasingly turning to unregulated care options, or simply caring for their children while working remotely,” said Simon Laube.

ECC is now calling on the Minister look into some simple changes that could be made more quickly over the next 18 months, like allowing services to move to fully digital compliance systems to address some overly burdensome rules.

Last year’s quick wins, including repealing the network management policy, removing the most unworkable part of the Person Responsible regulations, attending to reliever rates and giving providers flexibility on the discretionary hours funding condition, have contributed to keeping more providers financially viable.

“This is an exciting time for ECE. We have great expectations that the reforms can help address big problems like the large number of children in the Auckland region we expect will never participate in ECE before starting school – this affects disadvantaged families the most and places the burden of catching up on schools.”

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