New Zealand Childcare Survey

The New Zealand Childcare Survey has been run by Stats NZ three times. The survey was conducted as supplementary questions within the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) in September quarters. The surveys were conducted in 1998, 2009 and in 2017.

The Childcare in NZ Survey collected information about the use of childcare in New Zealand for children under 14 years old. In recent times there have been substantial changes to childcare as parents and caregivers have had to balance the dual responsibilities of family and work. The availability and cost of childcare are some of the main barriers to parents’ participation in employment, study and training. Workplaces are offering more diverse work arrangements such as flexible working hours and working from home. Results from the survey are of interest because childcare can have important consequences for parents and caregivers, as well as employers and the labour market in general.

Objectives

The overall objective of the Childcare in NZ Survey is to provide reliable statistical data about childcare usage for a point in time, and also so that the data can be compared with other Childcare Surveys that have been conducted previously. This will provide insight into the changes in childcare arrangements over a period of time. More specifically, the survey focuses on:

• Early Childhood Education (ECE) and childcare use for preschool children mainly aged 0-4 years
• Out of school services (OSS) used for children aged 5-13 years attending school, including school holiday programmes
• Informal care arrangements (e.g. grandparents looking after children)
• The use of government subsidies, and barriers to childcare arrangements
• How satisfied parents/caregivers are with teacher-led preschool care
• Whether a lack of childcare arrangements prevented parents from participating in employment, and/or study/training
• Use of workplace provisions and work arrangements made to assist with childcare responsibilities.