Report an incident

This page is a quick guide to ensure you have information to hand on reporting an incident in a setting or service.

If an incident has occurred that affects, or could affect, the health, safety or wellbeing of children or mokopuna, your priority is to respond to the situation and ensure children are safe. If there is an immediate risk to children or others, contact emergency services on 111 straight away.

Once any immediate risks have been managed, some incidents must be reported to ERO as part of a service's regulatory responsibilities. Reporting incidents helps ERO understand potential risks, monitor compliance with regulatory requirements, and determine whether any further action or support may be needed.

 How can I report an incident?

You can notify ERO:

• Via email at enforcement@ero.govt.nz

• By contacting ERO directly if urgent advice is required via phone by contact 0800 376 800 .

Who should report an incident?

If you are responsible for the operation or governance of an early learning service, kōhungahunga or playgroup, you may need to notify ERO when certain incidents occur.

 This may include:

• service owners

• managers and service leaders

• governing organisations

• other authorised representatives acting on behalf of a service.

Reporting incidents helps ERO understand potential risks to children and mokopuna and determine whether any further action is needed.

What kinds of incidents should be reported?

Services should notify ERO about incidents that are required to be reported under relevant legislation, regulations, licensing criteria or certification requirements. Full guidance about incidents can be found here.

These may include incidents involving:

• The health, safety or wellbeing of children and mokopuna.

• Serious accidents, injuries or illness.

• Allegations of abuse or neglect.

• Incidents that may affect a service's ability to meet regulatory requirements.

• Other events that services are required to notify under their licensing or certification obligations.

What information will I need to provide?

When reporting an incident, please provide as much information as possible, including:

• what happened

• when the incident occurred

• who was affected

• actions already taken by the service

• any ongoing risks or concerns

• any planned follow-up actions or support being provided.

Have an incident notification underway before 1 September?

If you have already notified an incident before 1 September 2026, you do not need to report it again.

 Any incidents that have already been reported will continue to be assessed and managed as part of the existing process. If further information is required, or if there are actions you need to take, you will be contacted directly.

 If there are new developments relating to the incident, or you need to provide additional information, please contact ERO.