Approved provider: An individual, company or partnership who holds a provider approval to operate an ECEC service under the Children (Education and Care Services) National Law (NSW) and Education and Care National Regulations 2011. 

ARIA: Relative geographic remoteness is measured in an objective way using the Accessibility / Remoteness Index of Australia Plus (ARIA+). ARIA+ is derived by measuring road distance from various populated locations to five categories of service centre, using population as a proxy measure for service availability. 

Assessment criteria: The criteria that the assessment panel will use to evaluate eligible applications. See Assessment criteria. 

Authorised officer: Person with Management or Control or Nominated Supervisor as per service record in NQAITS).  

Business leadership and management: The skillsets, capabilities and behaviours that lead to the effective, sustainable and high-quality administration and operations of an ECEC service. 

Business sustainability: The ability of ECEC services to continually provide quality services that meet the needs of the community in which they operate.    

Business viability: The ability of ECEC services to exist, sustain and grow their operations over time. 

Children (Education and Care Services) National Law (NSW) No 104a of 2010: Legislation in NSW that sets the standard for children’s education and care. 

Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions Regulation 2011: Aims to enhance the quality, safety, and accountability of education and care services for children in New South Wales. 

ECCMS: The Early Childhood Contract Management System (ECCMS) is the online system used by the department to manage funding and contracting arrangements with early childhood education service providers .

ECEC: Early childhood education and care. 

Eligibility: The criteria or conditions that must be met to qualify for participation in the program. 

Evaluation: Ongoing monitoring, including the use of surveys and performance indicators and metrics to inform decisions about whether to start, continue, expand or stop an initiative. 

Funding agreement: The agreement between The NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund Board and the successful approved provider. The agreement outlines the terms and conditions of receiving the funding. 

Guiding principles: A set of principles guide the program’s approach to supporting ECEC services. These principles are fundamental to shaping the program’s activities. See Guiding principles in the guidelines. 

Objectives: The defined goals the program is designed to deliver.

Program governance: The systems and methods by which the program is defined, authorised, monitored, and supported. Governance includes the processes that guide a program and results in good management of a program through continuous oversight. 

Service: ECEC services cater to children from infancy to school age or 0-6 years old. Example of services include long day care childcare, occasional care, family day care, centre-based care and out of school hours care. 

Small provider: An approved  ECEC providers with between 1 and 6 early childhood education and care services. 

SmartyGrants: Grants administration system. Applicants will use this system to complete and submit their application. 

The NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund: A 10-year $5 billion fund established under The NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund Act 2022 to improve supply of, and equitable access to, affordable quality ECEC services for NSW families and children, and support and grow the ECEC workforce, with the objective to support increased economic opportunity and workforce participation, particularly for women.   

The NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund Board: The NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund (the Fund) is established under The NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund Act 2022. The Fund Board is a statutory body with responsibility for developing strategic investment plans for the Fund, and for the administration of Fund programs, with the support of the NSW Department of Education, under a memorandum of understanding.