Budget 2026 must prioritise quality early childhood education

22 May 2026

Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood New Zealand says Budget 2026 must deliver meaningful investment in early childhood education (ECE) to protect quality, support tamariki, and ensure services remain affordable and sustainable for whānau across Aotearoa.

Te Rito Maioha says years of underinvestment, combined with rising operational costs and ongoing workforce pressures, have left many ECE services struggling to maintain quality without increasing fees for families.

“Early childhood education is not simply childcare, it is one of the most important investments we can make in our children and in New Zealand’s future,” says Kathy Wolfe, Te Rito Maioha Chief Executive.

“Budget 2026 must recognise ECE as a public good and provide funding that supports quality education, qualified kaiako, safe teacher-child ratios, and affordable access for families.”

“The current funding and policy settings risk undermining the quality of New Zealand’s internationally respected ECE system.”

The organisation says the Government must prioritise:

• increased investment in ECE services to meet rising costs and maintain quality

• a long-term teacher workforce strategy to attract and retain qualified kaiako

• improved teacher-child ratios

• a funding model that better supports tamariki, whānau and ECE providers

• maintaining a fully qualified teaching workforce.

Te Rito Maioha says the current funding model is outdated and no longer reflects the realities facing the sector.

“While there is currently a funding review underway, without additional investment we risk simply shifting the deckchairs,” says Mrs Wolfe. “Many services are being forced into impossible decisions - increasing fees for parents, reducing staffing, or cutting back on quality, and to date, the Family Boost policy simply hasn’t worked as the government had hoped.”

“The reality is that high-quality ECE requires sustained public investment. We cannot continue expecting services and families to absorb the growing funding shortfall.”

The call comes as sector organisations warn that ECE funding has failed to keep pace with inflation and rising costs. Recent analysis from NZEI Te Riu Roa found government funding has fallen significantly behind inflation since 2020, requiring a15.05% ECE subsidy increase to reverse years of under investment.

Te Rito Maioha also pointed to growing international evidence showing that investment in high-quality ECE delivers significant long-term social and economic benefits.

“Research consistently shows that quality early childhood education improves lifelong educational, social and economic outcomes for tamariki,” said Mrs Wolfe.

“Every child deserves access to high-quality ECE delivered by qualified professionals in safe, well-supported learning environments.”

Te Rito Maioha has also warned against policy settings that prioritise low-cost provision over quality, and said recent examples from Australia where significant child harm both mentally and physically has occurred, demonstrate the risks of weakening regulation, reducing qualifications, and allowing profit-driven models to dominate the sector.

“We must not repeat the mistakes we are seeing overseas. New Zealand has built a world-leading ECE system based on qualified kaiako, strong world-renowned curriculum foundations through Te Whāriki, and a commitment to child wellbeing. Budget 2026 is an opportunity to strengthen that foundation, not abandon quality ECE.”

Te Rito Maioha said the Government must work alongside the sector to develop a sustainable long-term strategy that keeps tamariki at the centre of all ECE decision-making.

“Quality early childhood education benefits everyone including tamariki, whānau, communities, and the wider economy. Children begin their learning journey in ECE, building the foundations they need to succeed as they move through primary and secondary education. Investing in quality early learning is simply common sense, and this Budget must reflect that reality,” says Mrs Wolfe.

Media Contact

Rob McCann - Lead Communications Advisor | Kaitohutohu Whakapā Matua
022 411 4560
rob.mccann@ecnz.ac.nz