Hon David Seymour
Minister for Regulation

Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation.

The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care and education.

“I have accepted all 15 of the review’s recommendations for regulatory changes ranging across licencing, workforce, compliance and regulation that promotes innovation, quality and growth. This represents a major shakeup of the sector’s outdated system.

“We’ve set out to identify changes that reduces costs and headaches for providers, and that encourages more providers into a thriving market so there are more safe and affordable options for parents. I’m pleased to see that carried out.

“Nothing highlights the bureaucratic quicksand providers are dealing with better than the findings regarding the licensing system.

“Providers are currently required to deal with 98 different licensing criteria for centre-based services. These include illogical and burdensome conditions such as a regulation to hold immunisation records for every child over 15 months old or needing to maintain a consistent indoor temperature of 18 degrees when we all know a small, short term plus or minus won’t do anyone any immediate harm.

“The Ministry has recommended removing, changing or merging approximately three-quarters, or 74 per cent, of these criteria, simplifying the system so it focuses on children’s welfare and education, instead of paperwork, duplicate recordkeeping and hawkishly watching the mercury.

“Another major issue identified by the review is the overlap caused by multiple government agencies applying different regulatory regimes to the same matters, creating uncertainty for providers trying to wade through conflicting requirements.

“The height of door handles within centre-based ECE services is a perfect example – both Fire and Emergency NZ and MBIE have differing requirements, then overseen by the Ministry of Education, resulting in both confusion and cost, moving door handles up and down.”

As part of its comprehensive review, the Ministry analysed over 2,300 submissions and written feedback, met with parents and caregivers, providers and workers, visited 16 ECE services, and conducted a series of structured interviews and workshops with other agencies that engage with or regulate the sector.

“Thank you to the thousands of people who contributed their views. Early in the New Year I will take a paper to Cabinet with the intention of turning these recommendations into action,” Mr Seymour said.

© Scoop Media