Pay and Conditions
Wages & Salaries Survey
Helping centres understand how ECE staff are being paid, and supporting employers and employees to understand which wages are fair and reasonable.
More information
The Early Childhood Council (ECC) is committed to promoting high quality ECE in New Zealand. This begins with ensuring all staff are being paid fairly for the important work they do. Part of our approach is the annual Wages and Salaries Survey, through which we collect data about what ECE staff from a range of roles are being paid.
This independent survey gathers wage data across all roles in an early childhood centre – from management and certificated teachers to uncertificated roles like educators, cooks and administrators. The survey is open to all Education & Care services in Aotearoa New Zealand irrespective of membership with ECC, and we encourage a diverse range of centres to participate.
By participating, you’ll be helping to build a clear picture of pay rates and other factors across the ECE sector. The ECC Wages & Salaries Survey Report will be available for purchase in due time and provides insights on:
Average wage rates by role and experience
Trends across different regions and centre demographics
Benchmarking your pay rates to stay competitive when hiring
What additional benefits other employers are offering (like discounts, professional development and more)
Supporting your staff to better understand their position in the market
Our report helps you strengthen recruitment, retain your staff and support pay transparency across the sector.
Our 2025 survey collection has now closed.
Wages & Salaries Survey Report 2025
This report is now available exclusively to ECC members. It analyses responses from 229 centres across New Zealand. ECC's largest survey sample to date.
Key findings include:
The average hourly wage for certificated teachers was $37.85, with Pay Parity now a dominant influence on teacher wages across the sector.
Centre managers earned an average of $47.15 per hour – just $0.60 more than the FPP Step 11 certificated teacher rate of $46.55, highlighting wage compression between senior teachers and centre leadership.
Affordability of Pay Parity, increasing fees for parents, compliance and paperwork, encouraging new enrolments and reduced profit margins were among the most commonly reported challenges facing providers.
Become a member
Membership with the Early Childhood Council unlocks a range of benefits for your service and its staff. Join more than 1,300 member centres in New Zealand and become a member today.
Phone: 0800 742 742
Email: admin@ecc.org.nz
Floor 1, Petherick Tower,
38 Waring Taylor Street, Wellington
PO Box 5649, Wellington 6140,
New Zealand