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20 Hours ECE — what it covers and where to find it

The 20 Hours ECE scheme funds 20 hours/week of licensed early childhood education for children aged 3, 4, and 5. The Ministry of Education pays the funded hours directly to participating services — most teacher-led centres opt in. Here's exactly what 20 Hours covers, what it doesn't, and how to find centres in your suburb that offer it.

What 20 Hours ECE covers

  • Up to 20 hours/week of licensed ECE for children aged 3, 4, and 5 (from the 3rd birthday until they start school).
  • Maximum 6 hours/day — you can't bank the funding for a single long day.
  • Funded directly to the centre at the MoE hourly rate. Centres opted in commit to not charging for the funded 20 hours.
  • Multiple centres OK — you can split the 20 hours across two participating services.

What 20 Hours ECE does NOT cover

  • Children under 3 — there's no equivalent universal subsidy for under-2s; the Childcare Subsidy (means-tested) is the main support there.
  • Optional charges — excursion fees, lunch programmes, photography. Centres can charge for these on top of the funded hours.
  • Hours beyond 20/week. If your child attends 40 hours/week, the centre charges for the additional 20.
  • Services that haven't opted in. Most teacher-led centres do; a small number of community-led / parent-led services don't.

How to read centre listings on this site

Every centre profile shows whether 20 Hours ECE is offered. On /explore, the "Offers 20 Hours ECE" filter lets you show only participating centres. Suburb profile pages (e.g. /suburb/howick) also flag the share of suburb centres that participate.

The "optional" charges loophole

Some centres charge an "optional fee" alongside the funded 20 hours. By law it must be optional — you can decline and still receive the funded hours. In practice, declining means missing out on excursions, photos, or end-of-year events. Decide if those add-ons are worth the cost; the funded hours themselves cannot be made conditional on paying.

Frequently asked questions

Does my child get 20 Hours ECE automatically? +
Once your child turns 3, yes — at any centre that's opted in. You fill out a 20 Hours ECE attestation form at enrolment. The MoE pays the centre directly; you don't handle the funding yourself.
What's the MoE hourly rate that 20 Hours pays? +
It varies by service type and teacher qualification mix. The base rate for education & care centres is around $10/hour; kindergartens and centres with higher qualified-teacher ratios receive higher rates.
Can I use 20 Hours at home-based ECE? +
Yes — home-based services that have opted in offer it the same as centres.
Does 20 Hours ECE work alongside FamilyBoost? +
Yes. 20 Hours runs first (removes the funded hours from the bill), then FamilyBoost rebates 25% of what you still pay (capped at $75/week).
When does 20 Hours ECE stop? +
When your child starts school. Most NZ children start on or shortly after their 5th birthday.
Are there plans to extend 20 Hours to 2-year-olds? +
The Government announced an expansion to include 2-year-olds in Budget 2024, with phased implementation. Watch the changes timeline for status.

Related topics

FamilyBoost — the 25% childcare rebate, in plain English

How FamilyBoost works: 25% of weekly fees back, capped at $75/week, claimed quarterly via myIR. Income phase-out, stacking with 20 Hours ECE and Childcare Subsidy, and which NZ suburbs see the biggest dollar savings.

Teacher:child ratios in NZ early childhood services

The legal teacher:child ratios for NZ licensed ECE services, how they vary by age, why ratios matter, and how to ask a centre about their actual operating ratios (which are often better than the legal minimum).

Equity Index funding — how MoE supports centres in higher-need communities

The Equity Index replaces decile funding for NZ schools and is increasingly used to direct ECE funding to centres serving children from higher-needs communities. Here's how it works and which suburbs have the most equity-funded centres.

Home-based vs centre-based ECE — choosing the right model

Compare home-based ECE (1:4 educator at home) with centre-based education & care (1:5 under-2 / 1:10 over-2 in licensed premises) on cost, ratios, hours, continuity of carer, and which suits your family.