In NSW, the department:

• is the primary funder for community preschools, mobile preschools and public preschools
• delivers funding contributions to long day care, Multifunctional Aboriginal Children’s Services, Aboriginal Child and Family Centres, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, outside school hours care (OOSH) and vacation care.

Our programs and initiatives are aimed at driving quality outcomes for children, priority funding areas include:

• equity and inclusion
• child development
• delivery of quality early education programs
• affordability.

We also provide funding to the sector to meet the goals of the Preschool Reform Agreement and to ensure all children in NSW can participate in 600 hours of quality preschool programs in the years before school via Start Strong.

Australian Government funding

The Australian Government supports families to access ECEC by helping with the cost of childcare through the Child Care Subsidy (CCS). CCS is paid directly to approved providers of:

• centre based day care, including long day care and occasional care
• family day care
• Outside school hours care, including before, after and vacation care
• in home care.

The Australian Government also provides other funding to address barriers to ECEC participation , including the Community Child Care Fund and the Inclusion Support Program.

Visit the Australian Government’s Department of Education website for more information.