# Daycare for one year old



## piyu31 (Feb 8, 2017)

We are planning to move to Auckland. I will be working full time. My wife is searching for jobs and would eventually like to work full time too. We have one year old daughter and would like to know how is the daycare system works in NZ. How much should we expect to spend in daycare? Any suggestions for the daycare in Auckland northshore area? Are there any other options available for young kids? TIA.

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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

Daycare is available for children from aged 3 months until they are ready to attend school which is at age 5 up to age 6 (the law states they must be in full time schooling before age 6).
Up to age 3 you will pay full fees and that more or less depends on where you are living. No idea what the prices are in Auckland region. Wellington was pretty expensive and Tauranga a lot cheaper. Up until our youngest turned 3 in Tauranga we paid NZ $50 per day for 07:30 to 17:30 plus we had to provide nappy pants and a lunch box each day. He was in 3 days / week so NZ $150 per week. From age 3 (depending on visa status) children get an ECE grant of 20 or 30hrs free childcare per week (No of hours offered is dependent on the facility) and the daycare facility will claim this on your behalf and the fees will come directly off what you pay. This halved our weekly bill to NZ $75. 

Other options are PORSE which is a registered childminder who looks after up to 5 children in their own home. Probably around $35 per day ?

Another option is to get a live in nanny through a nanny agency which can be the best way to go if you both work full time and/or have more than one young child. Some friends of ours have done this for a few years.


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