Financial Support for Parents

20 Free Hours

Your child is entitled to up to 20 free ECE hours a week from their third birthday. 20 Hours ECE will help you with the cost of early childhood education.

You can use up to 6 hours a day. Any hours over and above the 6 hours a day or 20 Free hours a week are charged at the centre's hourly rate. Other charges may apply.

The Childcare Subsidy and 20 Hours ECE

The Childcare Subsidy is for parents whose income is below a certain level. It helps to pay for childcare costs.

Sometimes, you can receive a mix of both the Childcare Subsidy and 20 Hours ECE. This can happen if your Childcare Subsidy is for more than 20 hours a week. For example, if you are entitled to 30 hours Childcare Subsidy and you choose to claim 20 Hours ECE, then you could receive the Childcare Subsidy for the remaining 10 hours. The Childcare Subsidy cannot be used for the same hours as 20 Hours ECE.

Work and Income New Zealand

WINZ offer a childcare subsidy, which is a payment that helps families with the cost of preschool childcare.

You may get Childcare Subsidy if:

you're the main carer of a dependent child
you're a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
your family is on a low or middle income.

Online Calculator

Download Application Form

Early Learning Payment (ELP)

The Early Learning Payment helps pay the costs of Early Childhood Education for children aged 18 months to 3 years. These children need to be from families enrolled in selected Family Start or Early Start Programmes.