The government subsidises teacher-lead education and care services for all licensed centres on a rate per attending child basis.

Subsidies are provided in respect of every hour a child attends up to a maximum of 30 hours per week. The rates outlined above take all of these funding subsidies into account. Differentials in funding rates are applied by the government as follows: 

• Children aged 3 and 4 are funded by government at a higher rate for centres offering the "20 Hours ECE" service, but for up to 20 hours per week only.
• Children aged under 2 years are funded at a higher rate than children aged 2 and over (up to 30 hours per week). The rate of funding per hour for under 2s is roughly the same as the "20 Hours ECE" rate for 3 and 4 year olds. 
• The funding rate for all age groups increases with a higher proportion of qualified and registered staff. Rates are calculated based on the proportion of registered staff on duty at any point in time (i.e. staff on non-contact time are not counted). The regulated minimum proportion of qualified staff per centre is 50%. A higher rate of subsidy applies when a centre has over 80% qualified staff. 
• No government funding is provided for hours attended in excess of 30 hours per week. For 3 and 4 year olds, a reduced rate of government funding applies for hours attended in excess of 20 but less than 30. 
• Latest funding rates are outlined on the Ministry of Education website.