NZ ECE funding diff
What changed in 2021
2021 was the first full year of the centre-based pay-parity rollout. The Labour government committed to closing the long-standing pay gap between certificated teachers in education & care centres and their kindergarten-association counterparts. Pay parity required services to opt in via the funding system; participating services received targeted uplifts in exchange for paying teachers at the kindergarten scale.
Changes this year
- Workforce
Pay parity rollout begins for centre-based ECE
Centre-based education & care services able to opt in to a funding rate uplift conditional on paying certificated teachers at parity with kindergarten teachers. A multi-step rollout — services move up the funding scale as they meet successive pay-parity steps.
About this page: a neutral catalogue of NZ ECE funding and policy changes by year. Built from official Crown / Treasury / Ministry sources cited above. We do not represent any political party — corrections and additions welcome via contact. Last reviewed 2026-05-28. See also: our methodology · data sources + licences.