• Prepare your application and supporting evidence in advance. Plan to submit before the close of the round, refer to the Key Dates.
• Read the program guidelines and FAQs.
• Email our team with any questions.

• Consider Section 2 Selection criteria
• Consider Section 5 Funding streams and spending rules

Consider what evidence you need such as the evidence listed in the program guidelines at:

• Section 3 Application
• Section 2 Selection criteria
• Section 4 Application assessment
• Section 5 Funding streams and spending rules.

• Applications must be submitted online through SmartyGrants to be considered for funding.

• A separate application must be submitted for each individual service.

• Incomplete forms will not be considered for funding assessment.

• To apply, you will need to register to use the SmartyGrants application system. Registration is a free and straightforward process.

To submit your application:

• Read the instructions on the application form.

• Complete each question using the information you have prepared and upload the evidence that you have collected.

• Save the application form as you go, this will allow you to return to it later. Changes can be made to an application any time until it is submitted.

• Check that all sections are completed and all required evidence is uploaded.

• Submit the application.

Once you submit your application you will not be able to send further documentation (unless this is specifically requested).

Please email ecec.eqa@det.nsw.edu.au or call 1800 619 113 if you are unsure about any aspects of your application.

Hello everyone, good morning. I'm Lara Stapleton, Manager, Expanding Quality Access at the NSW Department of Education.

We can see the numbers are rising, so we'll just give it a couple of minutes for services to join and also work through any technical issues and then we'll get started.

Thank you for joining the information session on the new Expanding Quality Access program. You will hear us refer to the program acronym E.Q.A or EQA. While we're waiting for the others to join, we'd love to hear from you and learn which Aboriginal lands you're on today.
It'd be great if you could write your response to that question in the Q&A chat function at the top of your screen.

Let's jump to the next slide. Today I'm joining from the lands of the Gadigal people and I acknowledge all the various Aboriginal lands you are joining us from today. I recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the ongoing custodians of the lands and waterways where we work and live. I pay respect to Elders past and emerging as ongoing teachers of knowledge, song lines and stories. I also acknowledge and pay my respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues joining us today.

We all strive to ensure every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child in New South Wales achieves their potential.

Before we start the session, I will go over a few housekeeping items.

This presentation is recorded and it will be published on the NSW Department of Education website in the coming weeks.

The published recording will include captions and a transcript.

As there are so many of us, the microphone, camera, and chat functions are disabled.

During the presentation you may submit any questions via the Q&A function.

However, we do anticipate most of your questions will be covered today in this session, but we will also have a team available to answer some of your questions.

However, we might not be able to get to all of your questions today, particularly specific questions such as those about funding for a particular service, those are best directed to the department in the usual way.

Questions submitted in the Q&A function will also be answered after the session via updates to our program’s frequently asked questions on our website, and we will send it to participants today via email.

For those who've just joined, thank you for joining Early Childhood Outcomes at the NSW Department of Education for this Expanding Quality Access information session.

My name is Lara and I'm the manager of the Expanding Quality Access program.

I would now like to warmly introduce our other presenter today, the Program Director of Expanding Quality Access, Natalie McCall, who will take control of the mic.

Thanks, Lara.

Hi, everyone.

I'm Natalie McCall, Director of Sector Programs at the Department, and it's great to be with you to explain this new optional funding opportunity for community preschools.

Before we get into the detail though, I do want to take a moment to acknowledge the really important role that community preschools play in New South Wales.

At the NSW Department of Education, we recognise that community preschools have built a very strong reputation for delivering high quality, affordable early childhood education and care.

We know community preschools are trusted and popular.

We know many have operated for decades, even generations, and we know many operate in locations where families otherwise have limited preschool options.

We know community preschools focus on play based learning, inclusion, well being, and school readiness.

And we know this is something families value very highly and it's something the sector should be proud of.

The Expanding Quality Access program is designed to build on these strengths.

Ir's about empowering and supporting community preschool providers to find a way to retain these strengths while expanding their service offering in response to their local community need for high quality care for longer hours, weeks of the year, or younger children.

So why was the Expanding Quality Access program created?

Well, the program or EQA as what we like to call it in the department, is a new grants program from the NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund.

An objective of the Fund is increasing participation in the states’ workforce, particularly for women, by making quality early childhood education and care more affordable and accessible.

EQA supports this objective.

Across NSW we know many families report needing early childhood education and care that's available for more weeks of the year, for longer hours of the day, and for alot younger children.

In many communities there simply aren't enough services to meet these needs.

In some places families have long commute patching together care, or they're reducing their work and study hours because suitable care isn't available.

Community preschools are often the first to see this.

You hear directly from families at drop off and pick up and in enrolment conversations.

We know expanding services isn't simple.

There are real barriers for community preschools in transitioning through this program, whether that's navigating government funding models, workforce changes, changing the way your space is used, and working with volunteer committees and existing and future families to explain the implications of your service changes.

EQA was created to respond to these realities.

It's designed to help community preschools that want to meet changing family needs but need time, advice, funding and support to do that in a planned and sustainable way without compromising quality care.

So who can apply?

EQA is an optional funding opportunity open to not for profit providers of existing community preschools and those representing them.

We term those representatives ‘agents’ in the program guidelines.

To be eligible, a service must be funded under the 2026 Start Strong for Community Preschools program and must be rated at least meeting the National Quality Standard.

The total program value is $100 million.

The primary object of the program is for recipients of funding and support to have transitioned from a not for profit community preschool to a not for profit long day care by the 30th of June 2028.

That's the primary goal of the program.

There are three operating models that services could transition to.

Model 1 is a long day care for children from birth to school age, Model 2 is a long day care for children two to five years of age, and Model 3 is a long day care for children three to five years of age.

Using EQA, funded services are supported to transition to one of these long day care service models and a service that will be approved as one of these models, operating for at least 48 weeks of the year, primarily providing care, as distinct from primarily providing preschool education, and a service that is administering the Commonwealth's Child Care Subsidy.

There are many pathways for transitioning a community preschool to a service that meets these post transition criteria.

Each pathway will be unique with a unique funding and support package and timelines.

Lara will shortly explain how you can access support from independent, experienced advisors who can help you imagine the costs and benefits of transitioning your service, as well as how to get there.

They can help you scope, plan and cost the pathway that's right for your service and your local community.

And they can help you plan and execute that plan for transition as well.

Importantly, applying for EQA doesn't mean rushing into change.

It means committing to a planned, staged transition by June 2028, with support on every step along the way.

There are three types of funding available to services during this two year transition period.

Operation support funding, capital works funding and transition support funding.

Let's look at each type now.

Firstly, operation support funding.

This is for the operational costs that are necessary to transition to a long day care service.

This can be workforce supports such as 10% of award rates for all staff employed at the transition service.

It could also be the cost of any additional workforce hours required for transition.

This could be educators or administrative staff working extra hours for transition related duties or it could be new staff.

It could be utilities expenses.

This is funding to cover incremental increases in utility bills directly related to extending your hours of operation, such as electricity, water, waste management.

There's also additional rent expenses that can be met through the program.

If the transition service existing lease requires changes to support transition to the operations, then any additional rent can be funded.

Let's move on now to the second stream of funding, capital works funding.

So EQA funding is available for capital works that are essential to your transition plan, that are compliant with regulatory requirements, and that are able to be completed within the agreed timeline for transition.

That's the timeline that's agreed between the provider and the Fund Board, but it's typically less than two years.

Capital works funding can be used to build a long day care service on vacant land or convert an existing property to a long day care service with the plan to transition the existing community preschool to the new site.

Or it could be for capital works at the transition service itself, converting an existing building or buildings to enable the long day care service to operate on the site.

More specifically, capital works funding under this program is available for new builds.

That is, funding to build a long day care service on vacant land or convert an existing property to a long day care service.

It's available for extension works such as extending the footprint of an existing building, and it's available for fit out, fitting out an existing space into a compliance space for children aged 0 to 5 or whichever age group your model of transition service is going to be.

Let's move now to the third and final stream of funding, transition support funding.

This funding is for one off activities and items necessary to transition to a long day care.

This is the only one of the three types of EQA funding for services that is capped.

The cap is up to $151,250 per service.

This funding could be used for staff training and professional development (anything that's directly related to the transition to a long day care for your staff) for software IT or digital upgrades, and for resources and equipment, even for relocation costs if the relocation is necessary for you to open as a long day care service.

OK, so that's the types of funding that are allowable under the program.

So what's not funded?

Of course, there are some activities and items which are not funded under EQA. Section 5.4 of the program guidelines and this slide have the full list, but it's worth me highlighting just a few now.

Most importantly, funding is not available for items and activities that do not directly relate to the transition to a long day care service model, That is, items and activities not essential to the planning and execution of that service transition.

Funding is not available for activities that have been started or completed.

That is, the program does not provide retrospective funding, only funding for activities yet to be started, items yet to be purchased.

EQA funding cannot be used for the same items and activities funded through another program, and that includes a different Australian Government or NSW grant program.

The EQA funding cannot be used for capital works that are not essential to transition to a long day care service, such as cosmetic works, nor can it be used for repairs and maintenance of existing structures.

I'll move on now to the additional 15% loading for priority areas.

Under the Expanding Quality Access program this additional 15% loading is on top of the total funding allocation applied for the transition service if the service is in one of 54 priority areas which you can see on the map.

The additional loading is to support access to quality early childhood education care in known undersupplied areas across NSW.

The boundaries of the priority areas are based on the ABS's 2021 Australian Statistical Geography Standard Statistical Area Level 3, also known as SA3s.

The priority area boundaries are also where there is an identified undersupply of ECEC places for non school age children using the department's supply and demand data informed by IPART's Independent Market Monitoring Review.

To be eligible for the priority area loading, the transition must be in one of these 50 transition service...

Sorry.

To be eligible for the priority loading, the transition service must be in one of these 54 listed priority areas and then the 15% loading will be automatically applied.

The full list of areas is in the program guidelines, or you can email us to confirm whether your service is in one of these priority areas.

I'm going to hand back now to Lara to explain more about how to apply for funding and support.

Thank you, Natalie.

So after all that, how can you apply for Expanding Quality Access?

Applications for Expanding Quality Access can be completed in SmartyGrants.

Please do seek to address every question and provide whatever evidence you have to support your application.

We understand that you may not have all the detailed steps mapped out and an itemised budget for every activity an item needed in your transition just yet.

That's fine, just provide what you have.

A separate application will be needed for each proposed service to transition to a long day care model.

How much funding can I get under Expanding Quality Access?

There is a total investment of $100 million from the NSW Childcare Economic and Opportunity Fund, which has been made available for the Expanding Quality Access program for up to two years.

This includes the grant funding, program administration and program evaluation costs.

Funding allocations per transition service will be informed by a range of factors.

This includes the value and duration of the approved activities, the amount requested in an application, evidence provided in the application, department data or evidence for similar activities or projects to help benchmark costs, department data on supply and demand, department data on current funding to the service, cost and pricing data for market comparison also available childcare subsidy data or information from the Australian Government and funding available under the Expanding Quality Access program.

So while applicants may be able to apply for specific amounts of funding, funding allocations and payments will be determined by the NSW Childcare Economic and Opportunity Fund Board.

The board may award partial funding or conditional funding as well.

Applications are assessed by an assessment panel.

The assessment panel checks applications for completeness and will assess the applications against the selection criteria at Section 2 of the program guidelines.

The panel consolidates shortlisted applications based on the order the applications were submitted.

This is because Expanding Quality Access is a demand driven grants program that means first in first served.

The panel recommends EQA recipients to be approved for funding by the CEO Fund Board.

This is who will award recipients under the program.

Applicants will be advised of their outcome for funding in writing.

Next slide.

Thanks.

So how are applications assessed in more detail?

So applications, as mentioned, will be assessed by a panel.

They will consider the program assessment criteria and they will determine whether or not the application demonstrates or does not demonstrate each criteria under the three categories of the assessment criteria, including service, financial and community.

Applications will also be assessed to see if they demonstrate readiness, capacity and capability to achieve the program outcomes.

The service, financial and community assessment criteria apply to all funding streams and all the different long day care models that you can apply for under the program.

Where a funding stream or a long day care model is specified in the assessment criteria sections of the guidelines, that particular criteria may only apply to that stream and model.

For example, some criteria may only be relevant to catering to children from birth to two years old, and they may not need to be demonstrated in applications for preschool age children only.

Applications need to demonstrate all criteria relevant to the model and funding stream applied for to be recommended for funding.

We've covered so much on EQA today and it's easy to lose track of some of the smaller details, such as the dates for the Expanding Quality Access program.

I will just remind everyone that applications are now open to the 13th of April.

Leading up to the closing date you will be able to prepare your applications in SmartyGrants and have a look at the program guidelines online.

We will note that the applications will be assessed in April after applications close with the outcomes from the 30th of May.

Next slide, please.

So as mentioned, applications are currently open.

So if you're starting to think after all of this that Expanding Quality Access might be right for your service, but perhaps you're feeling unsure or if it feels like a lot to consider, there are a few practical steps we recommend working through before applying.

The first step is to consider what change could realistically work for your service and that's thinking about your community, your workforce, your building, your finances and how much change you can manage over time while maintaining quality.

And it's also to consider seeking advice and support early. The department, are really pleased to have two experienced independent organisations ready to advise you, Community Early Learning Australia and Shakeup Architecture.

Both organisations are well placed to help you consider creative pathways to transition, assess risks and benefits, clarify requirements and understand what's involved before you commit to an application.

You can access their support by registering for the EQA support via scanning the QR code on the screen.

Finally, please take the time to read the program guidelines carefully as previously stated and start preparing your application.

The strongest applications are those that clearly link community need service readiness in their transition plan.

You can access the Expanding Quality Access guidelines via the QR code on the screen.

The important message today is this, you do not need to figure this out by yourself.

There are different types of support depending on what you need help with.

There is Community Early Learning Australia who can give tailored one to one advice and support to potential program applicants.

This includes advice on evaluating whether to apply for Expanding Quality Access, scoping the funding supports needed to transition to a long day care service and planning and implementing a successful transition in response to local demand.

Community Early Learning Australia will be engaging the sector to offer tailored 1 to 1 guidance and support to providers considering up taking this new funding opportunity and transitioning to a long day care service by extending weeks or hours of care and or welcoming younger children while continuing to deliver high quality early learning for preschool age children.

Given their extensive experience and expertise in early childhood education and care, Community Early Learning Australia are well placed to advise on whether and how to transition to a long day care service model, including changes to operations, workforce, regulatory compliance, financial management and governance.

Community Early Learning Australia aims to equip providers with the knowledge and tools to confidently apply for Expanding Quality Access and they can also support successful recipients under the program to plan and implement their transition.

Shakeup Architecture are available for up to 10 hours of registered tailored 1 to 1 guidance and support to providers applying for Expanding Quality Access or those who awarded capital works funding under Expanding Quality Access to transition their service.

Given Shakeup Architecture's extensive experience and expertise in capital works and or infrastructure projects, Shakeup Architecture are well placed to advise on whether and how to transition to a long day care service model, including on changes to your facilities and or infrastructure.

Shakeup Architecture aims to equip providers with the knowledge and tools to confidently deliver the capital works projects under Expanding Quality Access.

So how can you register for Expanding Quality Access support?

You can register for Expanding Quality Access support online via a SmartyGrants form.

To start this optional process, you can scan the QR code on the screen. Before you begin, please familiarise yourself with the following; the Expanding Quality Access program guidelines, the Expanding Quality Access program support terms of use and procedure which is available online at the department, also accessible via the QR code on the screen and also the Expanding Quality Access application form, which you can link to from the program guidelines.

If you have any questions about the Expanding Quality Access support, you can email the department team at ecec.eqa@det.nsw.edu.au.

So I will now hand over to Natalie to deliver the question and answers section of the session.

Thanks, Lara.

So we've come to our final section of the session today and I hope the information that Lara and I have shared with you has helped you to better understand the Expanding Quality Access program, how to apply and even how to get advice on to consider whether to apply.

We've been engaging with the sector about this program for some time and we'd now like to share with you some of the questions we've received about the program and our responses.

But let me first start with the four questions submitted from attendees of today's session as part of their registration process.

Thank you very much for those who submitted these questions as part of your registration.

So the first question next slide, please.

Here we go.

The first question is about whether you can apply for EQA funding without increasing to 48 weeks of operation per year.

So this is the exact question submitted.

Could you please clarify whether eligibility for the Expanding Quality Access program requires services to operate beyond the standard 40 weeks per year typical of a community preschool model?

Would a service qualify for funding if it expands enrolments to include younger children, even if the annual weeks of operation remain at 40?

Would extending daily operation hours while remaining within a 40 week annual calendar meet the program requirements?

This is an excellent question and thank you very much for whoever submitted this one.

It's a very simple question, very simple answer, and the answer is no.

Participating services are required to transition to the minimum operating period of at least 48 weeks each year by the 30th of June 2028.

That's a requirement for any funding under the Expanding Quality Access program.

So enrolling younger children and opening longer hours are both changes that are supported under the program.

But making these changes does not exempt services from the requirement to open at least 48 weeks per year.

Section 1.3 of the program guidelines has a little more information on this.

The next question submitted in the registration process was about EQA funding for OOSH.

If community preschools are already offering after preschool care service each day in addition to core preschool session, will this be able to be funded under the program?

No, the Expanding Quality Access program does not provide funding support for community preschools to operate out of school hours care, OOSH, it supports the entire community preschool service transitioning to a centre based long day care service model.

So it's that transition which gives rise to the ability to fund.

Please refer to section 8.3 of the program guidelines for a little bit more.

I think there was also a question submitted in the Q&A function during the session which this answer addresses as well.

The next question submitted in registration was about funding allocation limits.

Is there a limit for the funding available?

Yes, there is a limit.

There is a limit on the total grant funding available under the program, but for each service, the funding allocation across all three streams of funding will be informed by the information and evidence submitted in the application and determined by the NSW Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund Board.

So there's not a limit or cap per se per service.

There are under those 3 streams of funding that we spoke to.

There is only one of those 3 streams which is capped, and that's the transition support funding.

That stream of funding is capped at $151,250 per transition service, whereas the other two funding streams, operational funding and capital funding, are uncapped.

See section 6 of the program guidelines for more.

And the next question is about whether you can get EQA without extending hours.

Can you apply for capital works to improve grounds, e.g. softfall, without having to extend operational hours?

A service may apply for EQA funding for softfall where that is necessary to transition to a long day care service operating at least 48 weeks per year.

So to be approved for any funding under EQA, services must commit to transitioning to a long day care service operating at least 48 weeks per year by the 30th of June 2028.

And then once that commitment is made, a range of activities and items become eligible for funding.

The next slide, is there one more question from the pre registration?

Next slide, please.

These are now questions that we have gleaned from engagements and questions that we've received from the sector to date about the program.

I'll hand to Lara for this section of the questions.

Thank you, Nat.

So the question we have here is, are new build projects eligible for funding under Expanding Quality Access?

Simple answer is yes, new builds can be funded under Expanding Quality Access and here is the condition, where an existing community preschool needs a new build in order to transition to a long day care model.

The reason for this is for growth and sustainability.

OK.

This was a another frequently asked question that we've been getting through some of the inquiries and calls that we've got from services.

Can we transition only a portion of our licenced places to long day care places?

No, the Expanded Quality Access program does not provide funding support for community preschools to fund a portion of their licence places.

Expanding Quality Access funds the entire service to transition to a centre based long day care service model.

This is also in section 8.6 of the program guidelines.

This question here relates to receiving different types of funding perhaps from the Australian Government, such as the Building Early Education Fund capital grant.

The question is, I plan to apply for Expanding Quality Access and an Australian Government Building Early Education Fund capital grant.

Is that OK?

Absolutely.

You can apply for both under for Growth grants.

However, you will need to let us know because Expanding Quality Access funding cannot be used for activities and or items which are funded by another program.

You can find more information in section 5.4 of the program guidelines.

This question relates to the time frames for applications to be submitted.

So you may recall the timeline we shared earlier in this presentation, which included the applications are open from the 16th of February to the 13th of April.

Can time frames for applications be extended to provide additional time to gather the information requested?

The application period

16th of Feb to the 13th of April is final.

Applicants are encouraged to provide as much detail and evidence as you can to support your application.

The details and evidence in your application, as mentioned earlier in this session, will be assessed against the selection criteria and it will be based on what's submitted at the close the 13th of April.

You may be asked to make minor clarifications or the department may contact you if there were also some admissions, these will need to be addressed for funding to be awarded.

In some instances, as earlier mentioned, there could be conditional or partial funding awarded.

Such funding would be subject to further information or activities being undertaken and this is our final frequently asked question.

This is also listed in section 8.6 of the program guidelines.

The question is, can I continue to receive Start Strong for Community Preschools at the service while the service is funded under the Expanding Quality Access program?

Yes, you can.

Services being supported under the Expanding Quality Access program remain eligible for Start Strong Community Preschools until they are approved to operate as a long day care service that would be administering the childcare subsidy.

Once childcare subsidy funding is approved, services can no longer be eligible for the Start Strong for Community Preschools program, but they could become eligible for the Start Strong for Long Day Care program offered through the NSW department.

OK, that concludes our pre questions there.

I'll throw over to Nat.

Thanks, Lara.

We have received a couple of questions in the Q&A function.

So I'm going to answer those now while we've got some time.

We received a question.

What does it mean first in, first served, great question.

Sorry, I should be more specific when I use that term.

When I say first in first served, I mean that the Expanding Quality Access program has a total program value of $100 million.

That's a large pool of funding available.

This is round one, the first round of grants that are available.

There may or may not be future rounds.

That is subject to decision making of the Fund Board and of the NSW Government.

So I can't guarantee there will be further rounds.

And so when I say first in first served, I just mean.

Don't hope for or wait for a future round.

If you are seeking to transition to a long day care service and you would like to gain some support and funding to do so, apply in round one.

Don't wait for a future round because we will allocate that $100 million as we can round by round.

What I should be very important to point out is that it won't matter when you apply within the application opening window.

The department will not be assessing any applications until all applications are received and application window closes on the 13th of April.

So applying sooner, you know, in February or March won't necessarily mean a better outcome than applying later.

As long as your application is submitted by the 13th of April, we'll consider all of the round one applications at once for funding and support.

So you can apply it anytime before the 13th of April.

The other question we got in the Q&A function.

Thank you very much.
For the person who asked, is the operational support funding one off or ongoing?

So there are three streams of funding and I just want to clarify that the transition support funding is one off and capped.

The operational support funding is not one off and it's not ongoing either.

It's actually for the duration of the transition.

So for example, if you were applying to transition by the 30th of June 2028, then the operational funding would be available to you from the date that funding is allocated and awarded through till you transition and you are fully operational as a long day care approved service.

In which case for you that might be two years, for others it might be a faster transition and therefore the operational support funding would be for that shorter period.

It's for the duration of your transition.

Those are all of the questions that I have received.

Let me just do one last little check.

There aren't any further questions.

Yes, a couple of questions received about transitioning only part of the service.

So important to note that it's not.

Funding is not available under this program for a community preschool to make some of their places long day care places.

It's only available for the entire community preschool service to transition to long day care to the full transition of the service, all places within the two years.

Those are all the questions that we've received, but please do not hesitate to reach out to the program team if you have questions about the Expanding Quality Access program.

We're available at all times and we will be answering your questions via email, but also you can call the department.

We will put this recording of the session onto our website and we will also update the frequently asked questions to deal with some of the matters that we've talked about in this session.

I hope this has been a valuable session for you.

I hope you have been able to gain a little bit more understanding about the program and whether to apply and the supports that are available to consider whether to apply.

Thank you very much for your attendance and your participation.

Have a wonderful day.