1. Business Capability Development Program trial

The broad objective of the Business Capability and Development Program (the program) is to boost the viability and sustainability of small and standalone early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers in NSW (that is, approved providers with between 1 and 6 approved services).

The program is to be delivered from the NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund (The Fund). The NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund Board (The Fund Board) is the source agency. It is designed as a test and trial program with a total program value of $5.3 million.

These program guidelines may be amended or replaced. Program participants and partners participating in Round 2 of the program must comply with this version of the guidelines on the Department of Education website which apply to their funding round.

2. Policy context for the program

The Fund Board seeks to address the challenges related to access and affordability of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services for NSW families.

The program aims to support the NSW ECEC sector by responding to some of the complex challenges faced by service providers associated with business viability. These include:

1. Business acumen varies across the ECEC sector, particularly for services run by small providers.
2. The ECEC sector is highly complex and regulated, resulting in high administrative burden.
3. Business support is not readily available and accessible to ECEC services.
4. Business acumen gaps are exacerbating the critical workforce shortages in ECEC sector.

Strengthening the operational viability and business management practices of services will support the sustainability of ECEC in local communities and enhance services’ capacity to meet diverse family needs. It also aligns with one of the aims of The Fund to provide support for the ECEC workforce and sector.

3. Program overview

3.1 Objectives

The core objective of the program is to enhance the viability and sustainability of NSW ECEC services by uplifting workforce business leadership and management capabilities to better support NSW families, children and the ECEC workforce.

For this program, the term ‘viability’ refers to the ability of ECEC services to exist, sustain and grow their operations over time, and the term ‘sustainability’ refers to the ability of ECEC services to continually provide quality services that meet the needs of the community in which they operate.

For the purposes of the program, ‘business leadership and management’ refers to the skillsets, capabilities and behaviours that lead to the effective, sustainable and high-quality administration and operations of an ECEC service. More information is available in Section 4.4: Program scope.

The program goals are to:

1. increase ECEC service viability and sustainability
2. improve ECEC service workforce capability, and broader workforce satisfaction and retention
3. increase insights into needs and identify opportunities to strengthen sector viability.

By enhancing the business viability of small ECEC businesses the program also aims to maintain or improve access to quality and affordable ECEC in NSW– an essential service.

One of the intended benefits of the program is for services to redirect time savings, efficiencies, or increased profits back into quality service delivery as well as to avoid service failures. This will enable families to continue to access quality and affordable education and care for their children, and support parents’ ability to participate in the workforce. Further, by contributing to increased workforce satisfaction, the program aims to positively impact ECEC workforce attraction and retention.

3.2 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.

The trial's operations are guided by the following principles:

• Evidence informed – activities are to be developed based on service needs, evidence available, and designed to be measurable, contributing to the evidence base for what works to strengthen service viability.
• Workforce aware – activities are to be informed by the current ECEC workforce context and designed to best support the workforce to achieve good outcomes.
• Culturally safe – program activities are to be culturally responsive, safe and inclusive for staff, children and families who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and/or culturally and linguistically diverse.
• Responsive and inclusive – activities are to be tailored to meet identified local community and service needs and must aim to provide equitable opportunities to access support. Program activities are to be safe and inclusive for staff, children and families who may experience, or care for those experiencing, disability.
• Outcomes focused – quality of service provision is to be maintained, and outcomes are to be measured, while minimising the burden on providers, services, staff and families as a result of their program participation.

3.3 Program logic

To illustrate the relationship between the program’s activities and intended outcomes, a Business Capability Development Program logic model has been developed: Program Logic BCDP (September 2024).

The intended outcomes of the program are directly linked to the program logic. These outcomes will be tracked through program data collection and other evaluation activities.

Please note, these outcomes are predictions based on the test and trial nature of the program. Participating services should expect to see the benefit of realising at least one of the outcomes at a service-level:

• reduced administrative burden for ECEC providers
• increased educator-child interaction time
• increase in employee engagement and retention across the ECEC sector
• increase in the leadership, business management and technological skills of the ECEC workforce
• increase in the responsiveness and adaptability of ECEC operating models that meet the needs of the community (medium- and long-term outcomes)
• supply of ECEC is maintained across NSW (medium- and long-term outcome)
• increased operational sustainability and service viability (short- and medium-term outcome)
• increased accessibility of ECEC services, particularly in areas of low supply (long-term outcome)
• uplift in service operational sustainability and service viability (long-term outcome)
• strengthened service viability and sustainability, particularly in areas of low supply (long-term outcome)
• increase in evidence base to inform resource allocation decisions across government.

3.4 Trial locations

The program is designed as a test and trial grant program to support NSW ECEC services run by small providers (that is, NSW ECEC providers with between 1 and 6 services).

Round 2 of the program will be trialled in 8 locations which have been selected to ensure the program will be accessible to communities and services with the greatest need.

The program will be available to eligible ECEC services in the following Statistical Area 3 trial locations (as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics):

• Queanbeyan
• Griffith – Murrumbidgee (West)
• Blacktown
• Mount Druitt
• Camden
• Campbelltown
• Penrith
• St Marys

Visit the ABS website to view the detailed map for the Queanbeyan area.

Visit the ABS website to view the detailed map for the Griffith-Murrumbidgee (West) area.

Visit the ABS website to view the detailed map for the Blacktown area.

Visit the ABS website to view the detailed map for the Mount Druitt area.

View the ABS website to view a detailed map for the Camden area.

View the ABS website to view a detailed map for the Campbelltown area.

View the ABS website to view a detailed map for the Penrith area.

View the ABS website to view a detailed map for the St Marys area.

The following datasets were used to select the trial locations:

• 2021 NSW census data – to examine population dynamics
• National Quality Agenda Information Technology System (NQAITS) – August 2025 – to examine the quantity and types of services operating in given areas.
• IPART Demand & Supply S9 Model – 2023 – to examine Demand & Supply Ratio for ECEC services
• 2021 Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) – to examine relative location advantage and disadvantage
• Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia+ (ARIA+) – to examine relative geographic access to services.

The boundaries of trial locations are based on the 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Australian Statistical Geography Standard Statistical Area Level 2 (SA3).

3.5 Program stages

The program will be delivered by contracted external partners Semann Slattery & Associates and Community Early Learning Australia (CELA) who will support services through 2 program stages and a range of activities to uplift service-level business leadership and management capabilities.

Stage 1: Discover and plan

In Stage 1, Semann Slattery & Associates will support participating services to:

• undertake a business review to identify service-level opportunities to strengthen business leadership and service management
• develop an action plan.

See Section 3.5.1: Stage 1: Discover and plan for more details on Stage 1.

Stage 2: Implement

Based on a service’s context, available resources and comparative merit and need, participating services will be supported by either Semann Slattery & Associates or CELA to:

• undertake capability development activities to upskill staff in identified priority areas
• embed skills and processes within a service and team
• implement a sustainable exit strategy from the program.

See Section 3.5.2: Stage 2: Implement for more details on Stage 2.

3.5.1 Stage 1: Discover and plan

Collaborative business review

Participants will be supported with up to 12 hours engagement with Semann Slattery & Associates in sessions to undertake a business review, analyse their service support needs, and identify opportunities to strengthen their service’s business leadership and management. This stage will follow a hybrid delivery model, combining online sessions with targeted in-person, on-site support at key stages to strengthen practical application and connection.

Participants will be expected to share and discuss information about their service which may include:

• business leadership and management practices

• existing relevant processes, policies and procedures

• financial information

• community context.

This information will be used as the basis for a co-designed, tailored action plan to maximise support for the participating service.

Participants may be required to obtain consent forms to enable sharing of any personal information. Participants are expected not to share any personal information during these sessions without obtaining the relevant consent.

Action plan

Participants and Semann Slattery & Associates will co-design an action plan centred around the service-level opportunities identified during their business review. The action plan will focus on service-level uplift, including staff capability development.

The action plan will guide ongoing program participation in Stage 2. Participants will receive support to:

• develop an action plan that identifies goals and prioritises opportunities to strengthen business leadership and service management
• identify initial implementation strategies, tools and support required to achieve identified goals and opportunities
• nominate proposed Stage 2 activities
• regularly reflect on the implementation of the action plan and adapt in consultation with program partners as required.

3.5.2 Stage 2: Implement

Semann Slattery & Associates will make recommendations to the assessment panel for services to receive support in at least one capability focus area for Stage 2. This will be based on service preferences, nominated in their action plan, available resources and an evaluation of comparative need.

Capability development activities

Up to 158 hours (including up to 8 hours of Stage 1 program partner support) will be available for capability development activities by Semann Slattery & Associates and CELA for each participating service, to be informed by:

1. consultation, research, and the examination of evidence on relevant needs undertaken by the department in collaboration with the NSW ECEC sector
2. the findings of the business review
3. the opportunities and goals prioritised in the participant’s action plan.

Capability development activities will, where practical and feasible, be offered flexibly to participants to best suit their availability and needs by following a hybrid delivery model, combining online sessions with targeted in-person, on-site support at key stages to strengthen practical application and connection. Depending on the action plan, capability development support may include (but not be limited to):

• streamlining grants, funding and subsidy administration 
• training in payroll and staff management
• establishing a workforce professional development planning process 
• participating in a webinar series on grant writing with follow-up support to develop project management processes
• peer mentoring or the creation of communities of practice
• digitising family enrolment processes and digital literacy professional development
• reviewing contract management and revising supplier management arrangements 
• induction training in governance and financial management for voluntary committee members.

These activities could include training, participation in communities of practice, referrals to other programs, embedding enhanced practices and other support for business improvement of processes.

A 3-month post program health check to support sustainable outcomes beyond the program will be scheduled with services following their last Stage 2 activity.

3.6 Financial support to access program activities

Program participants will be eligible for access to payments to supplement the cost of backfilling while staff engage in direct approved program activity, or to supplement approved activities undertaken outside of work hours. The access payment will be a flat-fee hourly participation rate of $63.25. Participants will receive varying levels of financial and business support depending on their unique circumstances.

Program participants will be eligible for 12 hours of access payments to participate in Stage 1 activities. Stage 2 access payments will be determined by an assessment panel following completion of Stage 1. The Stage 2 payment may be for up to an additional 158 hours per service based on comparative merit and need (see Section 3.5.2: Stage 2: Implement for details) including information from the Stage 1 business review, and recommendations from the program partners.

Program participants wishing to access these payments in either Stage 1 or 2 will need to complete an agreement to receive financial support which will include commitments around financial reporting and acquittals. Specific payment timings and milestones will be defined in an individual Funding Agreement and any agreement variations. Payments will be subject to meeting all conditions outlined in the individual Funding Agreement, variations and these program guidelines.

Additional participation hours outside the above funding allocation or for additional participants will be funded directly by the service.

Access payments will be paid to recipients through the Early Childhood Contract Management System (ECCMS).

3.7 Funding conditions

Applicants that receive grant funding in the form of access payments must:

• Comply with both the terms and conditions within their funding agreement and the requirements outlined in these program guidelines.
• Failure to do so may result in funding being withheld or an offer of funding being withdrawn.
• Enter into a Funding Agreement. Funding Agreements must be signed by an authorised officer of the applicant no later than 4 weeks after receipt.
• Submit progress reports and required supporting evidence for approval upon completion of agreed milestones and completion of the project, in accordance with the Funding Agreement terms and conditions.
• Comply with all financial and data collection, reporting and acquittal requirements as specified in individual funding agreements.
• Participants are required to complete pre- and post-program implementation surveys, as well as any additional surveys conducted during the program, to assist the Department of Education with program evaluation.
• Maintain appropriate regulatory standing throughout participation in the program, including demonstrating a commitment to maintaining or improving their National Quality Standard (NQS) rating. Where a participant’s eligibility or regulatory circumstances change during the program, the department may review continued participation and determine appropriate actions.

In addition to the above funding conditions, participants are required to:

• Comply with all relevant legislation, regulations, and departmental policies that apply to the operation of early childhood education and care services.
• Ensure all program activities are undertaken safely, ethically and in accordance with applicable privacy and child protection requirements.
• Obtain and maintain any necessary consents or permissions for sharing information with the department or program partners. This may include obtaining consent from participating staff members and/or families before collecting or recording personal information for monitoring or evaluation purposes.
• Ensure all required consent forms are completed prior to collecting or recording personal information.
• Cooperate with departmental monitoring, reporting, and evaluation processes.

The Fund Board may terminate a service’s participation in the program if the service is not complying with relevant obligations.

3.8 Program eligibility

3.8.1 Eligibility criteria

Applicants must meet all the eligibility criteria, and none of the exclusionary criteria (in Section 3.8.2: Eligibility exclusions). This must be demonstrated in the application including through provision of any relevant documents or attachments.

To be eligible for the program:

• The applicant must operate in NSW in the following Statistical Area 3 trial locations (as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics):
  • Queanbeyan
  • Griffith – Murrumbidgee (West)
  • Blacktown
  • Mount Druitt
  • Camden
  • Campbelltown
  • Penrith
  • St Marys

Potential applicants should visit the ABS maps website at, select ‘2021 Statistical Area Level 3’ under ‘Choose a boundary type’, and enter your service address to see an interactive map of each of the selected SA3 regions. If uncertain, applicants may contact the Department of Education to confirm eligibility.

• The applicant must be an approved ECEC service provider under the Children (Education and Care Services) National Law (NSW) No 104a of 2010 – (National Law) or Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions Act 2011 (excluding public preschools), that is, one of the following eligible ECEC service types:
  • community preschool (centre-based)
  • long day care
  • mobile preschool
• The applicant must be a small approved ECEC service provider. A small provider is defined as an approved provider with between 1 and 6 NSW ECEC services.
• The applicant must deliver an early childhood education program designed by a degree qualified early childhood teacher in accordance with the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and relevant legislation.
• The applicant must hold a quality rating and compliance history of at least Meeting the National Standard for the relevant ECEC service
  • In limited circumstances, applications from services who are rated Working Towards or are awaiting assessment and rating may be considered.
• The applicant must be registered, or willing and able to register, with the Department of Education’s Early Childhood Contract Management System (ECCMS).
• The applicant must agree to participate in relevant program activities and funding activities as outlined in these program guidelines.
• The applicant must submit a satisfactory application form and self-assessment via SmartyGrants, completed by an Authorised Officer who confirms the accuracy of the information. The self-assessment must show how the service’s goals, opportunities, and challenges align with the program’s objectives and activities.

Successful applicants will also have to enter into and comply with a funding agreement and these program guidelines.

The following information relates to participation and implementation and does not form part of the eligibility requirements.

• The program encourages the engagement of staff in a range of roles within participating services. This may include:
  • approved providers (for example, persons with management or control (PMCs) under or as part of the approved provider, officers of a body corporate, persons in management positions, members of management committees)
  • service workforce – directors, early childhood teachers, ECEC educators
  • support and administrative staff
  • community or volunteer service support such as voluntary members of management committees, community Elders.
• Eligible services that applied for, but did not fully participate in both stages of the program during Round 1, may apply for the Round 2 program.
• An approved provider may arrange for multiple of its separate approved services to apply for funding under this program, so long as the eligibility criteria are met in each case. Participation is focused at a service-level, with the aim to meet the unique needs of each identified participating service and the opportunity to coordinate activities across action plans where relevant. Award of one service under an approved provider does not guarantee acceptance of other services under that approved provider.

3.8.2 Eligibility exclusions

The following are not eligible for this program:

• public preschools, family day care services and out of school hours care (OOSH) services
• services eligible for the Australian Government, Department of Education Business support for Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) grant recipients
• services eligible for the NSW Government, Department of Education, Sector Strengthening Partnership (nsw.gov.au)
• services cannot use Professional development subsidy - Department of Education, Australian Government for this program
• services that participated in both stages of Round 1 of the program.

4. Stage 1 - Application and assessment

The program has a targeted competitive assessment process. To be considered, applicants need to demonstrate meeting the eligibility criteria (see Section 3.8 Program eligibility in their application and, in addition, provide a self-assessment that covers the Stage 1 assessment criteria (see Section 4.2: Stage 1 Assessment criteria). Both the eligibility criteria and the Stage 1 assessment criteria will be used to evaluate applications for program participation and funding approval for Stage 1.

The level of funding and activities provided in Stage 2 will be determined following completion of the Stage 1 and the Stage 2 assessment as outlined below. Services that successfully complete Stage 1 automatically move to Stage 2; no additional application is needed.

4.1 Eligibility assessment

Applications will be reviewed to ensure they are complete, meet the eligibility criteria and comply with the program guidelines. If the number of eligible applications exceeds the available budgeted places, those applications will proceed to Stage 1 of Assessment undertaken by an assessment panel consisting of Department of Education employees within Early Childhood Outcomes, in clerk Grade 7/8 Program or Project Officer roles or above.

If further assessment is not required, eligible applications will be recommended for funding to The Fund Board. The Fund Board members are the final decision-maker, and all decisions are final.

The Fund Board members may, at their discretion, seek information from other NSW Government agencies or third parties, such as probity advisors, to support the assessment of applications. They may also consider information obtained through regular departmental operations, including publicly available regulatory performance and compliance history.

It is important to note that applying does not guarantee funding.

4.2 Stage 1 Assessment criteria

If the number of applications is greater than the budgeted places, eligible applications will be evaluated by the assessment panel against the following criteria:

• comparative assessment of relative need for capability uplift in key areas based on information provided in the self-assessment
• applicants will receive additional weighting towards their application in the assessment process for:
• Eligible not-for-profit services
• the service’s readiness to participate in the program
• services operating in eligible Outer Regional, Remote, or Very Remote areas, based on the ARIA+ classification. of the service location.

Following their assessment, the assessment panel will recommend suitable applications for funding to The Fund Board based on their comparative merit and need. The Fund Board members who serve as the final decision-maker, and, in all circumstances, The Fund Board members’ decision is final.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application to participate in the program.

4.3 Stage 2 – Assessment to determine program activities and funding

Following satisfactory completion of Stage 1, existing participants who wish to continue into Stage 2 will be evaluated by an assessment panel (comprised of NSW Department of Education employees within Early Childhood Outcomes, in clerk Grade 7/8 Program or Project Officer roles or above).

The panel will determine:

• the extent of support to be provided (as an allocation of hours)
• the types of capability development activities to be undertaken
• the value of access payments to support participation.

The assessment will be informed by recommendations from the Stage 1 program partner, Semann Slattery & Associates, based on comparative merit and demonstrated need for services to receive support in at least one capability focus area for Stage 2.

Decisions to award funding will be made against the following assessment criteria:

• satisfactory completion of Stage 1
• comparative assessment of relative need based on the business review and action plan completed with Semann Slattery & Associates in Stage 1
• availability of program partner offerings.

Note: No separate application is required for Stage 2 assessment by applicants who proceed through Stage 1.

The Fund Board members are the final decision-maker and in all circumstances, The Fund Board members’ decision is final.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the Stage 2 assessment.

4.4 Program scope

The core objective of the program is to enhance the viability and sustainability of NSW ECEC services by uplifting workforce business leadership and management capabilities. The focus is on capability uplift, not on achieving regulatory compliance, or providing recommendations for operational changes, nor provision of ongoing business support services. At all times, services and approved providers remain responsible for complying with all applicable legislation, regulations, and regulatory requirements.

In scope

Support under the program may include the following business leadership and management capabilities:

• governance processes and oversight for example, volunteer board onboarding and operations
• community, family and staff engagement for example, relationship management, conflict management, cultural competency and excellence
• change management for example, implementing and communicating change related to new programs
• staff management​ for example, staff induction, rostering, recruitment
• administration processes​  for example, record keeping, reporting
• processes and procedures for operational management,​ work health and safety,​ property and asset management,​ financial management and​ information technology​ for example, risk management, budgeting 
• strategy/business planning for example, project management, disaster management planning
• other.

Out of scope

The program does not provide the following supports:

• quality uplift support including support to comply with the National Quality Standards (NQS), regulatory compliance, educational leadership and/or educational program management.
• the provision of business advice and development of capabilities which are not targeted towards creating affordable, accessible, or quality ECEC services (for example, profit maximisation).
• recommendations, resourcing, or funding for service-level implementation supports, such as IT equipment, software, other physical resources, or additional staff positions.
• recommendations of specific operations, systems or processes, such as IT software recommendations.

4.5 Key dates

Program dates for the Round 2 of the program are outlined below.

5. Reporting and data collection

Program participants are required to comply with all financial data collection, reporting and acquittal requirements as specified in individual funding agreements. Program participants must have systems in place to allow them to meet these obligations.

Who and When

Program participants will be asked for data about their service by Semann Slattery & Associates or CELA and/or the department on behalf of The Fund Board at key program stages.

Purpose

Data collection will be used to support program activities, measure program outcomes and acquit grant payments. The types of data to be collected may include:

• service and provider details
• participant information (subject to relevant consent being obtained)
• mandatory funding acquittal information
• data required to report against program outcomes and objectives.

Services will be expected to provide operational details as part of the program activities to gain the full benefits of the program, as activities will be based on service context and needs including enhancing existing processes.

Requirements

Participants will be expected to share requested information, and obtain relevant consent where needed, as part of program activities and evaluation to get the most benefit from the program offerings and meet intended program outcomes as outlined in Section 3.3: Program Logic. Financial acquittal of grant funding, paid in the form of access payments, is mandatory for participation in the program and required information will be specified within individual funding agreements.

Consent

Services may be required to obtain consent from participating staff and/or families to share personal information with The Fund Board and the department. If consent is required, services will be provided with appropriate consent forms and disclosure information. Consent forms must be completed prior to collecting and recording personal information. 

5.1 Privacy 

Reporting and data collection provide information required to ensure the program’s activities can be delivered and measured to achieve intended outcomes. Any personal information will be held and managed by the department in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW). Services may be required to obtain consent from participating families to collect and use personal information. 

6. Governance

6.1 NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund governance

The NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund Board, which was established under the primary legislation underpinning the program the Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund Act 2022, is the decision-maker for the program. The Fund Board provides final approval of program partner/s, participants and program governance.

6.2 Program-level governance

Participants can expect the program partner/s to deliver the program according to relevant legal and regulatory requirements as specified by these guidelines. Program partner/s will meet regularly with the department to ensure high quality program delivery. Staff of program partner/s must also hold a valid working with children check and comply with associated child protection regulations.

6.3 Feedback and complaints 

Participants can offer suggestions, express concerns or provide feedback about department staff or program partner/s, by following one of the steps below: 

• complete the Department of Education Complaint, compliment or suggestion form 
• call 1800 619 113 
• email ececd@det.nsw.edu.au.

8. How to apply

Step 1: Read these program guidelines together with the example scenarios

Step 2: Check the eligibility criteria (see 3.8.1 Eligibility criteria and prepare supporting documentation

• Is your service eligible?

• Has your approved provider endorsed your service involvement?

• Does your service have capacity to participate?

Step 3: Prepare your application

Applications must be submitted thorough the SmartyGrants website, where you can access an application form.

You will need to register to use the Smarty Grants application system. Registration is a free and straightforward process.

In the application form, services will be required to:

• demonstrate eligibility
• complete a simple self-assessment

Step 4: Ensure all sections have been completed, and the online application form has been submitted to be considered for the program.

Changes can be made to an application at any time until it is submitted. Once the application has been submitted, no further changes can be made.

Applications close at 7 pm 30 March 2026.

9. Get help or advice

For questions about: 

• program activities or requirements
• whether your service is eligible
• how to apply

please contact Early Childhood Education Information Enquiries:

• call: 1800 619 113
• email: ecec.funding@det.nsw.edu.au

For assistance with the online application system, please contact:

Smarty Grants Support Desk
03 9320 6888 between 9 am and 5 pm Monday to Friday
service@smartygrants.com.au