Grant Library

2026 Start Strong for Long Day Care

NSW Government

Total poolTotal pool: $365,000,000 (multiple grants offered)
DeadlineCloses Thu, 31 Dec 2026
RegionNSW

Overview

The Start Strong for Long Day Care program provides funding to deliver affordable, quality preschool education to children aged 3 and above who are enrolled in eligible long day care services in NSW.

Eligibility

Who can apply 6.1 Service eligibility criteria and decision-maker To be considered eligible for funding under any of the Start Strong for Long Day Care funding streams, a provider must ensure its service/s meet all of the following criteria: have service approval for its service to operate under either: the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 (National Law) and Education and Care Services National Regulations , and operate as a centre-based service and have checked the long day care Nature of Care field under Service Details on the National Quality Agenda IT System (NQAITS), or the Children (Education and Care Services) National Law Application Act 2010 (NSW) , the Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions Act 2011 (NSW) or Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions Regulation 2024 (NSW) , and be a Multifunctional Aboriginal Children’s Service (MACS), an Occasional education and care service or a Mobile education and care service be approved to operate a service and administer the Child Care Subsidy under the Family Assistance Law and be operating and reporting with a Centre Based Day Care (CBDC) approval through the Child Care Subsidy System (CCSS) deliver a quality early childhood education program to children aged 3 and above, that is: delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher (ECT) in accordance with the requirements under the National Quality Framework and based on the Early Years Framework . Note: the early childhood education program for 3-year-old children need only be developed by a qualified ECT in accordance with the requirements under the National Quality Framework; and accept and comply with the Early Childhood Outcomes Commissioned Programs – Funding Agreement – Terms and Conditions – 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026 (Terms and Conditions). The department reserves the right to pause or cease funding in alignment with any decisions made by the Australian Government regarding its funding of a service approved or previously approved to administer the Child Care Subsidy under the Family Assistance Law . Services must take reasonable steps to deliver 600 hours of quality preschool to children in the two years before school at their service. The Start Strong for Long Day Care program is an open non-competitive program as this best supports the delivery of affordable quality preschool education for 3- to 5-year-old children enrolled in eligible long day care services in NSW. The department determines eligibility of funded services annually (or more often where required) which is generally based on NSW enrolment data provided by the Australian Government from the representative week of 23 June to 29 June 2025 (June 2025 Data). The department may consider any other details provided by the provider or other parts of the department to assist in the determination of funding eligibility. See Section 6.4 Identifying eligible services and assessment process . The eligibility of a se

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