1. Program Guidelines purpose

The Start Strong for Community Preschool program Guidelines inform eligible providers of key responsibilities for delivering affordable preschool services under the 2026 Start Strong for Community Preschool program.

This document forms part of the 2026 Funding Agreement with Approved Funded Providers (providers) and may be amended or replaced by the department from time to time. Providers must comply with the current version of the program guidelines, available on the department’s website.

The department is the primary agency responsible for administering the 2026 Start Strong for Community Preschools program and is the source agency.

2. Program objective and key dates

The Start Strong for Community Preschools program’s objective is to improve the affordability, quality, and accessibility of preschool education for children in the years before school.

The program funds providers of community and mobile preschools to reduce fees, support quality uplift, incentivise increased enrolment and attendance, and drive improved outcomes for children.

The program operates on a calendar year, from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026.

Funding is designed to support quality uplift in preschool education and drive outcomes for children aged 3-5 in the developmentally significant years before school. Funding objectives are closely linked with ensuring equitable access for eligible children:

• Children from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background
• Children from low-income families
• Children with disability and/or additional needs
• Children attending services in SEIFA Decile 1 and 2 areas
• Children living in regional or remote areas of NSW
• Children with English language needs
• Children who are at risk of significant harm (from a child protection perspective).

Appendix 1: Calculation and payment of funding and Appendix 3: Glossary of terms provides further details on funding for eligible children.

Providers are required to undertake compliance and financial accountability tasks to ensure that the funding provided is being used for intended purposes. See Section 7.6 Financial accountabilities and funding compliance for further details.

2.1. Program key dates

Applications for Start Strong for Community Preschools are open from the date of publication of these guidelines in 2025 until 31 December 2026. Please note that funding is not guaranteed until the application process is completed. For more information, please see Section 3.2 Applying for 2026 Start Strong for Community Preschools funding.

The below dates are indicative only and are provided to assist providers and applicants with their planning. These dates may be subject to change. Any changes will be communicated to providers and applicants.

Approximate timeline for funding payments:

1. December 2025 (Quarter 1) for period January 2026 – March 2026
2. April 2026 (Quarter 2) for period April 2026– June 2026
3. July 2026 (Quarter 3) for period July 2026 – September 2026
4. October 2026 (Quarter 4) for period October 2026 – December 2026

Fee Relief Payments will follow Program Payments.

Payments of funding will be communicated to providers by email.

Other key dates:

• November 2025: Applicable Terms and Conditions released in the ECEC Digital Hub (Digital Hub).
• August 2026: Annual Preschool Census in the Digital Hub or the Early Childhood Contract Management System (ECCMS).

Payment type overview

Payments are made on a quarterly basis to providers, across the preschool delivery year (see key dates above).

Funding for eligible services is calculated using the Annual Preschool Census data from 2025.

3. Program eligibility

3.1. Service eligibility criteria

To be eligible for current funding as a community or mobile preschool, providers must ensure each service meets all the following criteria:

• be a not-for-profit community preschool or mobile preschool service;
• be an approved early childhood education and care service under the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010 (National Law) and Education and Care Services National Regulations;
• deliver a quality early childhood education program by a qualified early childhood teacher in accordance with the requirements under the National Quality Framework, including using the Early Years Learning Framework;
• accept and comply with the Early Childhood Outcomes Programs – Funding Agreement – Terms and Conditions – 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026 (Terms and Conditions); and
• take reasonable steps to deliver 600 hours of quality preschool to all children enrolled at the service.

The department will not provide funding for enrolled hours in a service that are Child Care Subsidy approved.

The program is an open non-competitive grants program. The department will complete checks to confirm a provider’s eligibility for the program.

The department reviews eligibility of funded services annually (or more often where required) and will consider information from the Census, any other details provided by the provider, the NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Regulatory Authority, or other parts of the department and information from previous years.

Mobile preschool services eligibility

Mobile preschools regulated under the Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions Act 2011 (NSW) and Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions Regulation 2019 (NSW) can receive funding under the Start Strong for Community Preschools program, subject to Start Strong eligibility being met.

Mobile preschools funded through the Mobile Preschool Funding Program are not eligible for Start Strong for Community Preschools funding.

3.2. New applications for 2026 Start Strong for Community Preschools funding

Providers of new services can apply for funding at any stage throughout 2026. Interested organisations who would like to apply for funding through the program should review the eligibility criteria and write to the department at ecec.funding@det.nsw.edu.au to receive a link to the online application or access the online application through the NSW Grants and Funding Finder.

Providers of existing services wishing to extend or change service types to include Community Preschool should first review the eligibility criteria and write to the department at ecec.funding@det.nsw.edu.au prior to making any changes to their service model.

Organisations will need to demonstrate their eligibility for funding during the application process (See section 3.1 service eligibility criteria), as well as at least one of the following two points:

• demonstrated local need and demand for community preschool: providers must be able to demonstrate that there is a local need for a community preschool service to deliver early childhood education in the area. This may be demonstrated through a lack of existing provision, changes or closures to existing preschool services in the community, or through demonstrating unviability of other models of preschool delivery.
• existing approved Department grant to deliver community preschool: providers must provide evidence of an existing approved grant to deliver community preschool, such as an approved Start Strong Capital Works or Flexible Initiatives Trial grant.

Organisations will also need to demonstrate both of the below points during the application process:

• proposed number of preschool places to be created: providers are to outline the maximum number of places and how many children the service is expected to enrol.
• capability to provide affordable early education for families: providers must include a fee structure for children enrolled at the preschool service that is compliant with the Section 5 Fee guidelines and provide documentation to demonstrate the service’s financial viability (e.g. through financial statements, forecast budgets or similar). Whilst the department recognises that fee decisions are at the discretion of services, the department considers affordability for families when reviewing applications for funding. New services are encouraged to set fee structures that do not impact negatively on preschool participation in their community.
• value for money: providers are to demonstrate that funds will be used in the most efficient and innovative means that improve the affordability, quality, and accessibility of preschool education for children in the years before school and in accordance with program guidelines.

A provider’s application for funding under the Start Strong for Community Preschools program will be assessed against eligibility criteria and the objectives of the program. Applications are reviewed and recommendations are made by Department of Education employees within Early Childhood Outcomes division, equivalent to Grade 7/8 Program or Project Officer or above. Final funding decisions are made by the appropriate financial delegate within the department, Early Childhood Outcomes division, at director level or above. Officers from the department may contact the applicant during the application process if further information is required.

The department seeks to finalise applications in a timely manner. The application outcome may take between 12 to 16 weeks from the date an approved provider submits the application. The length of time can depend on various factors, including the completeness and accuracy of information submitted. Applications for services that are not yet operational at the time of the initial application may experience a longer timeframe between applying and receiving the application outcome.

If you are currently approved for Start Strong for Community Preschool program funding:

Providers of services which have been approved for funding under the Start Strong for Community Preschools program in earlier years generally do not need to re-complete the application form.

In limited circumstances, the department may ask providers to re-complete the application form for funding where significant provider or service changes have occurred, including, but not limited to:

• service delivery changes, such as adding additional services or reducing the community preschool service.
• relocation of the preschool with a significant change to the service being provided.

3.3. Child eligibility criteria

For a provider to be eligible for Program Payment and Fee Relief Payment funding under the 2026 program, for a child, that child must:

• be at least 3 years old on or before 31 July 2026 (the child must have a birth date on, or before, 31 July 2023);
• be attending an eligible early childhood education program; and
• not be in compulsory schooling, including homeschooling. See the NSW Education Enrolment Policy for further information about school enrolment.

Although all children 3 years old and above (age on or before the 31 July 2026) are eligible for funding, services need to follow the priority of access guidelines when making enrolment decisions. See Section 3.4. Priority of access for further information.

The department does not take citizenship and residency status into consideration to determine eligibility of children for funding under Start Strong for Community Preschools.

Children who are 6 years old or above may be eligible for funding. Where required, a Certificate of Exemption as per the Exemption from School Procedures policy from compulsory schooling must be in place.

Exemptions from compulsory schooling

Exemptions from compulsory schooling are required where a child has reached compulsory school age.

These exemptions are arranged between families and schools.

For children who will be attending school in a state other than NSW, adherence to the relevant State’s legislation and processes for school exemption documentation is required.

3.4. Priority of access

Services are required to give equal priority of access to:

• children who are at least 4 years old on or before 31 July in that preschool year and not enrolled or registered at a school
• children who are at least 3 years old on or before 31 July in that preschool year and are eligible for equity loading:
  • children from low-income families
  • children with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background
  • o children with disability and/or additional needs
• children with English language needs
• children who are at risk of significant harm (from a child protection perspective).

There is no order of priority assigned to the list of above, however each service is responsible for managing their enrolments in line with priority of access requirements, own service enrolment policy and community needs.

Services with an approved provider that is a non-government school must comply with section 83C of the Education Act (1990). They must exercise best efforts to give equal priority of access to the groups outlined above before any other groups, including 3-year-olds not eligible for equity loading. If the service cannot give priority of access, the approved provider must retain evidence to demonstrate best efforts were exercised.

The department encourages services to maximise the number of children enrolled for 600 hours. Services should therefore consider the hours children are enrolled at other funded services when making enrolment decisions.

The department will compare data collected from the 2026 Annual Preschool Census to the service’s reported enrolments in the 2025 Annual Preschool Census to review priority of access. The department periodically conducts reviews of preschool services and may request a funding compliance review in these or other circumstances.

3.5. Variations to scope of Start Strong for Community Preschools program

The department will not accept any requests to change the scope of the Start Strong to Community Preschools program.

4. Supporting quality uplift

A key objective of Start Strong is to support quality uplift and ensure children have access to high quality early childhood education programs that drive improved outcomes.

Over the course of the program, the department may work with services and/or approved providers of services rated as Working Towards NQS or lower in any of the 7 Quality Areas (QAs). This may involve support such as resources (ECEC Resource Library and Sector Strengthening Partnership), professional learning (ECEC Professional Learning program and Early childhood careers hub), or mandatory participation by a service and/or provider in quality uplift activities or in the department’s Quality Support Program or any other program, to lift ratings to ‘Meeting’ or above, as directed.

Whether or not a service utilises any of the supports above, the department reserves the right to pause or cease funding to any service if quality ratings in any of 7 QAs of the NQS do not lift to ‘Meeting’ or above, within an appropriate timeframe, as determined by the department.

There are many resources in the ECEC Resource Library which may be helpful including webpages on regulatory guidance to uplift quality practice across all QAs, or read more information about Quality Areas (QA).

5. Spending rules and activities

To align with the 7 Quality Areas of National Quality Standards (NQS), all program spending should directly support the delivery of high-quality early childhood education and care, ensuring that every expenditure contributes to ongoing service improvement and positive outcomes for children.

For funding calculation details, please refer to Appendix 1: Calculation and payment of funding.

5.1. Program Payment spending rules

The Program Payment is to be used for operating expenses of the service, for example:

• Salary and wages: this covers payments made to employees by the provider, including ongoing salaries and compensations for full-time, part-time, and casual staff.
• Educational resources and opportunities: selected to support children’s learning informed by service context, philosophy, the Early Years Learning Framework, Quality Improvement Plan, the National Quality Standards, or contributions from the local community. This may include cultural responsiveness awareness activities, such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural education.
• Other operating costs: these are expenses that go beyond staff salaries and educational resources. They can include rental and license costs, maintenance, utilities, upgrades to and cleaning of the facility. Other operational costs may include fees incurred from professional development and training, technology, software, accounting and audit expenses, and/or other costs associated with improving or maintaining the service’s quality rating to Meeting or Exceeding the National Quality Standards and reducing non-fee related barriers for families.

Providers need to spend funds during the 2026 calendar year, unless otherwise agreed to by the department. For more information on surplus and refunds, refer to section 7.6. Financial accountabilities and funding compliance.

5.2. Fee Relief Payment spending rules

The Fee Relief Payment aims to reduce the cost of early childhood education and care to families in the form of fee pass-through. The funding is provided for the purposes detailed below.

Providers must expend the Fee Relief Payment in the following order:

1. Providers must use all of the fee relief payment per child to reduce the daily fees as much as possible for 600 hours per year of enrolment for all eligible children accessing fee relief at the service.
   Where there are fee relief funds remaining following the reduction of daily fees for 600 hours per year of preschool education to eligible children to $0, these remaining funds are considered unspent funds. These funds can then be used in the following order:
2. Use unspent funds in the first instance to reduce the cost of additional charges to families accessing fee relief at the service. Additional charges may include, but are not limited to, charges for enrolment/administration, resources, excursions/incursions, and building/garden maintenance.
3. If any funds remain after all fees and/or charges are reduced to zero for families accessing fee relief, providers may then choose to allocate any remaining fee relief funds to:
   1. If applicable, provide additional fee relief for children not eligible for the maximum rate of fee relief funding; or
   2. reduce the cost of enrolment above 600 hours per year (for instance 'third day' fees); or
   3. reduce the daily fee for 600 hours per year of enrolment for children 3 years and older not accessing fee relief at the service, for example children of families with greatest need.

Providers should distribute the Fee Relief Payment to families across the preschool year in line with funding payments or invoicing (e.g. quarterly, per term).

Reserved fee relief will no longer be a component of the Start Strong for Community Preschools program. Fee relief funds that are not currently being applied to a child’s enrolment fees will be considered unspent fee relief funds.

Unspent funds become surplus at the end of the reporting year. For information on surplus funds see section 7.6 Financial accountabilities and funding compliance.

Services are encouraged to retain a portion of fee relief funds for instances of enrolment changes across the program year.

6. Fee guidelines

Start Strong for Community Preschools provides additional funding to achieve equitable outcomes for eligible children (see Appendix 1.1 Program Payment). Children eligible for equity loading must have access to lower daily fees than children not eligible for equity loading.

When determining a service’s enrolment fee structure, providers should consider the full cost of delivering early childhood education and determine the fees necessary to support this service delivery before the application of Start Strong for Community Preschools program and Fee Relief Payment.

Fees must be maintained at fee levels of the previous years where fees were charged to families, adjusted for CPI across this time period. In circumstances where it is necessary to adjust fees above CPI, such as due to reasonable increases in operating costs or decrease in fee relief rates, providers must retain evidence to support the fee increase.

The department monitors daily fees and additional charges through the Annual Preschool Census, annual reporting, and compliance processes, see section 7.6 Financial accountabilities and funding compliance.

The list below outlines the fee guidelines by cohort.

Fee guidelines by cohort – before applying fee relief

• Children eligible for equity loading
  Fee must be lower than children not eligible for equity loading, irrespective of age.
• Children in the year before school not eligible for equity loading
  Fee must be the same as or lower than the fee for 3-year-old children not eligible for equity loading.
  Fee must be higher than the fee for children eligible for equity loading.
• 3-year-old children not eligible for equity loading
  Fee must be the same as or higher than the fee for children in year before school.
  Fee must be higher than fee for children eligible for equity loading.

In line with the affordability objectives of the program:

• Providers are not permitted to increase their service's fees to offset the benefit of the Fee Relief Payment.
• The fee for children in the same cohort must be the same irrespective of eligibility for fee relief at the service. For example, before fee relief is applied, the fees for a 4-year-old child receiving fee relief must be the same as a 4-year-old child not receiving fee relief.

If a provider does not comply with either of the conditions listed above, this may be considered to be an Event of Default under the Terms and Conditions.

7. Reporting and data collection

7.1. Fee relief declaration form

Providers are required to collect a completed fee relief declaration form for all enrolled children that are eligible for fee relief each year.

The 2026 fee relief declaration form (PDF 514KB) is available for download. This form declares whether the child is enrolled at another service, and whether the family will be claiming fee relief from the service or from another community preschool or long day care service. Families can access this information on the Start Strong for families page.

The department will conduct compliance checks as part of its auditing process. Providers are required to retain fee relief declaration forms for this purpose as per Section 7.6. Financial accountabilities and funding compliance.

To assist services to communicate the fee relief declaration form to families, a template letter (DOCX 46 KB) that services can download and place on their letterhead is available. This letter explains the process to access fee relief and how and why the declaration form must be filled out.

Fee relief cannot be provided to families of eligible children where:

• consent has not been obtained through completed declaration and consent forms
• the completed declaration form states that the family is receiving fee relief at another service.

In the above circumstances, providers must retain the Fee Relief Payment for the enrolment places filled by these children as unspent fee relief funds in accordance with Section 5.2 Fee Relief Payment spending rules.

Children enrolled at multiple services

If a child is enrolled in more than one service (e.g. at another preschool or long day care service), they can only access the Fee Relief Payment from one service at a time.

Where a service receives fee relief funding under Start Strong for Long Day Care and Start Strong for Community Preschools, children can only access the Fee Relief Payment from one funding program.

7.2. Consent forms

Providers are required to collect completed consent forms from each staff member at the commencement of employment, and for each child upon commencement of enrolment.

Providers must arrange for parents/carers and staff to complete the consent form each year, as consent forms may be updated on a yearly basis. Providers should also have families complete a new form if any of the details in the original consent form require update or adjustment.

Each form consents to the use and disclosure of personal information and health information by the department to allow funding and other support to be provided for delivering an early childhood education program, and for the exercise of the department’s governmental functions. Those functions include monitoring funding programs and reporting purposes.

Consent forms are available for download:

• Consent Form - Child (PDF 716.68KB)
• Consent Form - Personnel (PDF 683.72KB).

7.3. Data reporting, submission and Annual Preschool Census

The department undertakes data collections as part of the Start Strong program delivery. Data collections are typically used for reporting, funding calculation and/or compliance purposes.

Annual Preschool Census

All providers of community preschools and mobile preschools funded by the department must complete the Early Childhood Education Annual Preschool Census (the Census).

The purpose of the Census is to provide data for government reporting and to inform services’ funding levels for the next period. The Census is typically held in July and August each year and conducted via ECCMS or the Digital Hub.

The department calculates Program Payment and Fee Relief Payment amounts based on the data entered in the Census, including the number and hours of enrolment, and the number and characteristics of children enrolled. For this purpose, the data entered by providers via the Preschool Census is required to be correct, true and not misleading in any respect, and consent forms must be completed for each staff member and for each child enrolled. Refer to Section 7.2 Consent forms.

Funding for 2026 will be based on data entered during the 2025 Annual Preschool Census.

The department submits personal information and health information data collected in the Annual Preschool Census to the Australian Bureau of Statistics for inclusion in the publication Preschool Education, Australia. The department uses personal information for funding calculation purposes. The department may also use de-identified data for research and evaluation purposes. See the consent forms in Section 7.2 Consent Forms for further information about data collection and use.

Documenting fee relief

Providers must demonstrate and communicate the fee reduction to families through regular invoices or statements, which attribute the fee relief to the NSW Government. Where no invoice or statement is issued, providers or their services should provide fee reduction information through newsletters, website, or letters to families.

Providers must demonstrate the fee pass-through as part of the annual reporting process.

7.4. Transition to School Statement

Completing Transition to School Statements for children in the year before they start Kindergarten is a mandatory requirement of the Start Strong program.

The Transition to School Statement (the statement) provides a snapshot of a child’s strengths, interests, needs and approaches to learning to support their effective transition to Kindergarten. A positive transition from early childhood education and care to Kindergarten helps improve children’s educational and social outcomes.

The child’s early childhood teacher or educator must complete the Transition to School Statement and provide it to the child’s parents/carers and new school before the commencement of the 2027 school year. This is to facilitate learning continuity and to help link the Early Years Learning Framework to the Early Stage 1 Syllabus.

Teachers or educators can complete the Transition to School Digital Statement via the department’s digital platform as the preferred method. Where access is not possible, the PDF version can be completed. Copies of Transition to School Statements must be retained for auditing purposes.

Please note that parent or legal guardian consent must be obtained prior to starting a statement. The Transition to School Consent form (nsw.gov.au) can be uploaded onto the platform enabling the educator to then proceed with the completion of the Transition to School Digital Statement. Providers accessing Start Strong funding must retain evidence of consent or non-consent for funding compliance purposes.

More information on the importance of the Transition to School Statement and supporting resources are available on the Transition to School webpage.

7.5. Communication

Publication of funding information

The department will publish grant funding information, including program details, provider information and funds awarded to the provider, on the NSW Government Grants and Funding Finder in line with the Grants Administration Guide.

Provider responsibilities

In addition to documenting fee relief under Section 5.2. Fee Relief Payment spending rules, the provider is encouraged to publicly acknowledge the funding received through Start Strong and fee relief provided to the families of eligible children with the following statement:

“This service is a recipient of funding under the NSW Department of Education’s Start Strong for Community Preschools program and fee relief is available for families of eligible children.”

Such acknowledgement may be included in a regular newsletter or an annual report.

To receive all program related communication, the provider must maintain up-to-date contact details in ECCMS and the Digital Hub. The changes in ECCMS can be completed in the Main Service Provider page. Providers should ensure service and other details are up to date. This includes details on the Main Details, Contacts and Address tabs. Make changes to service details in the Digital Hub through the Contacts menu.

7.6. Financial accountabilities and funding compliance

In accordance with the Terms and Conditions, providers must submit a financial accountability statement for each funded individual service. Submitting financial accountability statements helps to provide assurance that public funds have been expended for their intended purpose.

Financial accountability statements are completed through ECCMS. The department will advise providers of due dates and the submission process through ECCMS prior to release. Further information is available in the Financial Accountability Return Guide and on the Financial Accountability - Information for Services page.

Providers complete their financial accountability statements either on a calendar or financial year basis. This is usually determined by the provider’s operating and reporting period.

Surplus (unspent) funds and refunds

Providers are required to spend annual Start Strong funding in accordance with the spending rules (see Sections 5.1. and 5.2. for spending rules) during the relevant program period.

The department recognises that some providers may have surplus (i.e. unspent) funds at the end of their reporting period. Any surplus funds are documented through the financial accountability statements and must follow the below surplus management process.

Surplus management

Surplus Fund Thresholds and Options:

For Surplus up to 10% or $30,000 (whichever is higher) providers can choose one of the following options:

• Carry the surplus over to the next reporting period and use it in accordance with the spending rules, or
• return the surplus to the department.

For Surplus above 10% or $30,000 (whichever is higher) providers are required to return the surplus funds above this threshold to the department. Providers may:

• Return all surplus funds to the department.
• Return surplus funds above 10% or $30,000 threshold
• Request to retain surplus funds above 10% or $30,000 threshold

Where a provider can show an operational need to retain the surplus above the 10% or $30,000 threshold, providers may submit a request form to the department outlining their need. Providers can contact the department for the form. Requests will be assessed and providers notified of the outcome.

Steps for requesting retention of Surplus Funds:

1. Providers must complete their annual financial accountability statement before making any request to retain surplus funds.
2. If a provider requests to retain surplus funds to remain operationally viable, they must outline how the surplus will be spent in alignment with the program objectives and spending rules (Sections 5.1 and 5.2). The department will then consider the request and inform the provider of the outcome.

Options for returning surplus (unspent) funds

Providers may:

• Return funds directly within 20 business days (repayment plans available), or
• Request to offset surplus against future Program Payments. Providers are encouraged to discuss this option with their accountant or bookkeeper.

The department may change options available based on sector feedback, administrative requirements or other reasons. The department will inform providers if this occurs.

7.7. Record keeping

The department periodically conducts reviews of preschool services and funding distributed to providers. Providers must retain and if requested by the department, supply records that show appropriate use of funding. These include:

• Financial records showing expenditure
• Fee reduction communications
• Enrolment, Fee relief Declaration and consent forms
• Individual Learning Plans (ILPs)
• Transition to School Statements
• Certificates of Exemption (for 6-year-olds)
• Other documentation related to fee relief or surplus use

7.8. Service changes

Providers must immediately notify the department in writing of any service changes, in line with the Terms and Conditions. For example, relocation, temporary or permanent closure, or transfer of ownership/operations. Service changes may impact funding under the program, and failure to advise the department may result in withdrawal of funding or termination of the funding agreement. Requirements relating to the transfer or closure of a service are outlined in Appendix 2. Service changes.

7.9. Funding review

Under certain circumstances, a provider may be able to request a funding review during the preschool year. For further details, categories and eligibility criteria, refer to the funding review guidelines.

8. Policy context

Start Strong for Community Preschools is a program through which the Preschool Reform Agreement and preschool fee-relief is delivered. The program value is approximately $480 million to $550 million.

In December 2021, NSW became the first signatory to the National Preschool Reform Agreement (2022-2025) which commits Australian Government funding for early childhood education until the end of 2025. The Agreement is focused on children in the year before school, supporting universal access to early childhood education, regardless of service setting.

The Agreement is significant for NSW and the early childhood education sector, providing four years of funding certainty while supporting increased participation and quality.

The Agreement will also support important reforms for the preschool sector, including boosting enrolment, attendance and trialling new outcomes measures for preschool. The department will work closely with the sector and provide further information on this as it becomes available. Funding rates for Start Strong for Community Preschool are subject to the National Preschool Reform Agreement being finalised by the Australian Government for 2026.

8.1. Target groups

The target group for the Start Strong for Community Preschools program funding and fee relief is all children who are at least 3 years old on, or before, 31 July 2026 and attending an early childhood education program in a community or mobile preschool. Providers are required to follow the priority of access guidelines as outlined Section 3.4. Priority of access.

Start Strong promotes universal access and priority of access by providing:

• higher program funding rates for preschools which operate within the lower range of Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) score of relative socio-economic disadvantage;
• additional funding for children 3 years old and above from low-income families, children with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, and children with disability or additional needs;
• loadings for preschools that operate in outer regional, remote and very remote areas;
• further loadings and subsidies as outlined in Appendix 1: Calculation and payment of funding.

The program’s fee relief funding (Fee Relief Payment) provides community and mobile preschools with sustainable long-term funding to deliver up to 600 hours of low, or no cost preschool to eligible children (see Appendix 1.2 Fee Relief Payment).

Eligible children may be entitled to different funding when comparing Program Payments and Fee Relief Payments. Please consult the tables in Appendix 1.1 Program Payment calculations and Appendix 1.2 Fee Relief Payment calculations.

9. Review and evaluation

The 2026 Start Strong for Community Preschools program guidelines may be updated or amended at any time. This will be in response to continuous program improvement or where further clarity is required. Changes to the guidelines may be made in consultation with the sector but remain at the discretion of the department. Any changes will be communicated to the sector.

The department may undertake an evaluation to understand the effectiveness of Start Strong. Providers may be required to participate in an evaluation of the program through the provision of data and participation in other evaluation activities.

Monitoring the overall performance of Start Strong determines whether the program is appropriately targeted, , if program outputs and outcomes are being achieved, and ensures that any work with providers to enhance early childhood education programs aligns with high quality expectations outlined under the National Quality Framework (NQF).

Appendix 1. Calculation and payment of funding

The department calculates Program Payment and Fee Relief Payment based on the data entered in the 2025 Annual Preschool Census (see Section 7.3. Data reporting, submission and Annual Preschool Census). Providers may wish to use the 2026 Start Strong for Community Preschools funding planning tool (XLSX 123 KB) to estimate their funding.

The funding allocations are calculated on a per-child basis per service and relate to the full calendar year.

All funding rates in these guidelines are subject to change and are at the discretion of the department. The funding rates outlined in the guidelines do not include GST. If the provider is GST registered, it will receive funding payments that include GST. If the provider is not GST registered, it will receive payments that do not include GST.

Appendix 1.1. Program Payment

Program Payment funding includes the following elements:

• Base funding rates: applied to all enrolments which is determined by the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) decile of the service’s address (see further details on SEIFA below). These rates are scaled per annual hours of enrolment and by SEIFA deciles.
  • For enrolments of 4-year-old children and above the base rates range from $5,469 to $8,480 for 600-hour enrolments.
  • For enrolments of 3-year-old children the base rates range from $2,735 to $4,240 for 600-hour enrolments. This is 50% of the rate for 4-year-old children.

Tables 2 and 3 below outline the funding rates by SEIFA deciles and annual hours of enrolment.

• Equity loadings: additional funding for eligible children:
  • children with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background;
  • children from low-income families;
  • children with disability or additional needs.

Equity loadings top up the base rate of these enrolments to the highest base rate ($8,480) regardless of the service’s SEIFA decile. Funding is scaled by annual hours of enrolment, although exceptions may apply for children with a disability or additional needs (see Appendix 1.1.3 Equity loading).

• Regional loading: services in outer regional, remote and very remote as per the ARIA+ (2011) Remoteness Classifications receive an additional loading per funded child (see Appendix 1.1.4 Equity loading).
• English language loading: children with English language needs will receive an additional language loading of $531 across all locations (see Appendix 1.1.5 Equity loading).
• Higher Order Multiple base rates: the Higher Order Multiple base rate is $8,480 for each child from the third child in the multiple onwards (i.e. not for the first 2 children) and is not dependent on 600-hour enrolments or equity loading eligibility (see Appendix 1.1.6 Equity loading).
• Service Safety Net: provides a Program Payment allocation of $169,600 per annum to services that meet all of the eligibility criteria outlined below (see Appendix 1.3 Service Safety Net).

Funding to services per child is calculated based on the following details and tables.

Scaling by hours of enrolment

Children enrolled for 600 hours or more will receive the maximum rate. Children enrolled for less than 600 hours attract a pro-rata amount according to Table 1.

Table 1: Program Payment - calculation for hours of enrolment

SEIFA deciles

Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) is a measure derived from information provided in the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of population and housing. It consists of four indexes, each summarising different aspects of socio-economic conditions in an area. The department uses the 2021 SEIFA Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD) to calculate and deliver funding to the community and mobile preschools sector in an equitable manner.

The service’s base funding rates are determined by the service’s 2021 SEIFA IRSD decile, based on Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) ranked within NSW. Each service’s SEIFA decile is identified by:

1. Identifying the corresponding geographic area (SA2) of the service’s address recorded in ECCMS from 2024.
   1. SA2 is used as this geographic area is representative of the surrounding community that interacts together socially and economically.
   2. The department will confirm the service address in ECCMS against the address recorded in National Quality Agenda Information Technology System (NQA ITS) and amend the ECCMS records accordingly where required.
2. Using the ABS SA2 SEIFA lookup table to identify the service location’s corresponding 2021 SEIFA IRSD decile, as compared to geographies across NSW.

Table 2: Program Payment - calculation per SEIFA decile

Children 3 years old and above who are eligible for equity loading and children 4 years old and above who are not eligible for equity loading.

Table 3: Program Payment per SEIFA decile for 3-year-old children who are not eligible for equity loadings

Subsidies for 3-year-old children who are not eligible for equity loadings are set at 50% of the equivalent year before school base rate. Funding to these enrolments is calculated based on the proportions of base rates.

Equity loading

The program provides additional funding to achieve equitable outcomes for eligible children:

• children with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background
• children from low-income families
• children with disability or additional needs.

Children who meet more than one criterion of equity loading will only be eligible for one amount of equity loading per child.

Services may use their equity loading funds to ensure adequate supports are in place to support equitable preschool participation. This could include, though is not limited to, acquiring culturally sensitive resources, lowering fees further, translating centre materials into multiple languages, purchasing learning aids, or relevant staff training sessions.

The list below outlines the Program Payment per eligible child 3 years old and above, inclusive of the equity loading. Start Strong for Community Preschools equity loading is applied for children as per the list below. Only children who meet the criteria of will be considered eligible for equity loading for the purposes of funding calculations. Funding for eligible children is proportionate to hours of enrolment, as outlined in Table 1.

In recognition that 600 hours per year is not always possible for children with disability or additional needs, the maximum rate for the Program Payment and Fee Relief Payment will be made available to children with disability or additional needs who are enrolled for a minimum of 300 hours per year.

For this exception to be granted, the service must indicate that they will ensure the child’s Individual Learning Plan (ILP) includes a progressive plan to increase towards 600 hours per year prior to school commencement.

Program Payment loading for eligible children

Children with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds

Rate per child: $8,480

Children from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds receive the highest base rate funding across all locations.

Services must record that the child identifies as being from an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background on the child’s enrolment form.

No other form of documentation is required. The information on the enrolment form may have been obtained verbally from the child’s parent or guardian.

Children from low-income backgrounds

Rate per child: $8,480

Children from a family holding a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card (where the child is a named dependent on the card), or a Veteran Card, issued by the Australian Government receive the highest base rate funding across all locations. The Australian Government has confirmed that Health Care Cards issued in the child's name only are not means tested. Therefore, children with their own Health Care Card will not be eligible. This includes Foster Care Health Care Cards and Health Care Cards for children with disability. Services must keep a copy of the relevant card to show proof that it was valid at the time of the Preschool Census, or for a prior period during that same preschool year, for example, at the time of enrolment.

Where the relevant card expired during the preschool year, the service should engage with the family to obtain a copy of the new card, if available.

Where the relevant card expired and has not been replaced, it is at the discretion of the service to determine the fee structure for families. The daily equity fee (see Section 6. Fee guidelines) must be charged where a child is recorded as low income in the Census and therefore receives the highest base rate funding.

Children with disability or additional needs

Rate per child: $8,480

Children with a disability or additional needs receive the highest base rate funding across all locations. At least one of the following must be kept on record as evidence of the child’s disability or additional needs:

• the child’s NDIS reference number, or
• a copy of the most recent and relevant report, assessment or letter that outlines the child’s disability or additional needs from a relevant professional. Documentation must be on letterhead and signed by the relevant professional (see additional notes below), or
• a High Learning Support Needs (HSLN) application number of an eligible HLSN funding application approved under the Disability and Inclusion Program in the current preschool year.

Services must keep a copy of this documentation on the child’s preschool file to show proof that they were valid at the time of the preschool Census or for a prior period during that preschool year.

Relevant professionals are:

• a General Practitioner (GP)
• an early childhood teacher or primary teacher with an additional qualification in Special Education who is not employed by the preschool which the child attends
• an audiologist, registered psychologist, paediatrician, psychiatrist, speech pathologist, occupational therapist, a professional qualified to administer psychometric assessments, or other relevant medical specialist.

Regional loading based on ARIA Remoteness Classification

Services receive an additional loading per funded child based on the ARIA+ (2011) Remoteness Classifications. The loading is not dependent on 600-hour enrolments or equity loading eligibility. On top of the base rate funding:

• Preschools in ARIA+ remote and very remote areas will receive an additional loading of $1,650 per eligible child per annum.
• Preschools in ARIA+ outer regional areas will receive an additional loading of $1,122 per eligible child per annum.

English language loading

Children with English language needs will receive an additional language loading of $531 across all locations. The loading will apply when the service selects ‘English Language Assistance Required’ in the Annual Preschool Census and is not dependent on 600-hour enrolments or eligibility for equity loading.

This loading is provided where a child requires assistance with English language needs, such as:

• assistance from an interpreter
• support for using a sign language
• visual aids such as books or labels/picture cards
• programs such as Boardmaker or an iPad communication device or similar
• to create learning materials specifically for the child and others like him/her
• bicultural support to assist the child
• learning resources or support in using Braille or sign language (e.g. Auslan)

The loading is not provided to children with a Language Background Other than English where this assistance is not required.

If a child requires assistance with English language needs, such as an interpreter or any other language resource, this information must be recorded and available on file for compliance purposes.

Higher Order Multiple base rates

The Higher Order Multiple base rate is $8,480 for each child from the third child in the multiple onwards (i.e. not for the first 2 children) and is not dependent on 600-hour enrolments or equity loading eligibility.

The department applies Higher Order Multiple funding under the following circumstances:

• only for families with triplets or multiple children above triplets (i.e. quads, septuplets, etc) all enrolled at the same preschool
• only for children eligible for funding as outlined in Section 3.3. Child eligibility criteria.

Evidence of applicability will be based on Annual Preschool Census data that shows for the siblings:

• date of birth on the same day or sequential days (copy of Birth Certificate to be kept by the provider of the service enrolling the children)
• same address
• enrolled at the same preschool.

Table 4: Fee Relief Payment – children eligible for the maximum rate of fee relief

Table 5: Fee Relief Payment – all other children

Top-up payments

Providers will have the option to voluntarily submit data detailing their 2026 fee relief spending in early 2027. Providers indicating a deficit in their fee relief data may be eligible for a one-off top-up payment in 2027. The department will use the voluntarily submitted data along with information from the relevant Annual Preschool Census and, where applicable, funding reviews completed in 2025, to validate top-up eligibility and the accuracy of funding figures. Providers will be notified about the top-up payment collection process in early 2027.

Appendix 1.3. Service Safety Net

The Service Safety Net is designed to assist providers with the cost of delivering a preschool service in regional and remote areas, where enrolments may fluctuate year on year. The Service Safety Net provides an annual Program Payment funding of $169,600. Services must meet all eligibility criteria below to receive Service Safety Net funding. Eligibility is assessed annually through data captured via the Annual Preschool Census.

The service must have:

• a license capacity of 20 or fewer children under the Children (Education and Care Services National Law Application) Act 2010
• a minimum of 5 eligible funded children each enrolled for 600 hours or more per annum. If a service does not meet this criterion in a given program year, the service will be eligible to continue to receive Service Safety Net if the minimum enrolment criteria has been met over the immediately preceding 3 program years
• a maximum of 20 children aged 4 and above in the year before school and 3-year-old children eligible for equity loading each enrolled for 600 hours or more per annum. Enrolments of non-eligible children and 3-year-old children not eligible for equity loading are not counted for Service Safety Net purposes
• an ARIA+ classification of Inner Regional, Outer Regional, Remote or Very Remote
• daily fees of less than $55 per day (before pass-through of the Fee Relief Payment) for any eligible funded child attending the service (aged 4 and above in the year before school; and 3-year-old children eligible for equity loading)
• an annual Program Payment allocation without Service Safety Net of less than $169,600.

The department may consider exemptions for license capacity where a service is operating a community preschool, long day care and/or Outside Hours School Care under one service approval.

Appendix 1.4. Indexation

The department will make decisions on the application of indexation to funding rates on an annual basis. If indexation is applied, the department will be guided by NSW Treasury-determined rates. The department will communicate any changes to the funding rates arising from indexation via email to providers (e.g. via the funding notification letter).

Appendix 2. Service changes

Provider must notify the department of any changes to their service operations.

Appendix 2.1 Transferring service approval

The transferring approved provider may be eligible for instalment payments up until the transfer effective date. The receiving approved provider may be eligible for instalment payments after the transfer effective date. Instalment payments are not adjusted according to the effective transfer date. See the Guiding principles and policies website.

Approved providers must follow steps to comply with regulatory requirements under the National Law and Regulations, including submitting an application for service transfer to the NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Regulatory Authority.

Transferring Approved Provider

If a provider is transferring a community preschool service to another approved provider, then the transferring provider must do the following:

• Contact the department at ecec.funding@det.nsw.edu.au when the transfer has been initiated with the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).
• Immediately contact the department to confirm once the transfer has taken effect.
• Complete all outstanding financial accountability statements in ECCMS. The department will advise of any additional financial accountability statements that require completion by the transferring provider for the period up to the transfer effective date.
• Return any Unspent Funds to the department within the timeframe advised by the department. The transferring approved provider must not under any circumstances transfer any unspent funds to the receiving approved provider (e.g. as part of a sale of business), either by way of adjustment between the 2 parties or any means.
• Cease expending funding from the transfer effective date unless otherwise agreed in writing with the department.
• Comply with any direction by the department under the Terms and Conditions.

If an approved provider transfers a service to another approved provider, at its discretion the department may take actions and may withhold funding from the transferring approved provider of the service, after the transfer is initiated or after the transfer is effective in NQA ITS.

Receiving approved provider

There is no guarantee the receiving approved provider will receive any funding in 2026.

If a provider is receiving a service from another provider, then the receiving provider must do the following to be considered eligible to receive funding:

• Liaise with the department about this funding program.
• Immediately contact the department to confirm once the transfer has taken effect.
• Enter into the Terms and Conditions with the department with the amount of funding to be determined by the department in its absolute discretion. There is no guarantee the receiving provider will receive further funding.
• If there are Unspent Funds, in order to receive a transfer of those Unspent Funds the receiving provider must confirm in writing to the department that the Unspent Funds will be used in accordance with the Terms and Conditions. The department does not guarantee that any Unspent Funds may be transferred by the transferring provider and the department may require the return of Unspent Funds from the transferring provider.

The receiving provider may be subject to an eligibility assessment before the transferring/transferred service can receive funding under Start Strong for Community Preschools.

Payment of department funds during transfer

The department may take actions, if a provider transfers a service to another provider, including:

• withholding funding for the transferring service from the receiving provider of the service, until the transfer is effective or indefinitely
• withholding funding for the transferred service from the transferring provider of the service, after the transfer is effective or when the department is notified of the transfer.

Note: Providers must follow steps to comply with regulatory requirements under the National Law and Regulations, including applying for service transfer to the NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Regulatory Authority. See the Approvals process webpage.

Appendix 2.2 Service ceasing to operate

If a service is to close/cease trading as a community preschool, before the date of closure the provider must:

• contact the department at ecec.funding@det.nsw.edu.au as soon as possible notifying the department of the intended closure
• log on to ECCMS and complete all outstanding financial accountabilities. The department will advise of any additional current year financial accountabilities that require completion by the closing service for the period up to the date of closure. The provider must complete the financial accountability within 20 days of the closure of the service, unless otherwise agreed with the department
• cease expending all funds from the date of closure
• return all unspent funds to the department by no later than 20 days of the date of the closure of the service or as agreed by the department
• comply with any direction by the department under the Terms and Conditions, specifically in relation to Notifying Problems, Retention of Records and Event of Default.

The department may take actions if a service has notified the department that it proposes to close/cease trading, including withholding funding for the service that is proposed to be closed/cease trading from the provider, where that funding relates to a period after the proposed date of closure.

No funding will be provided by the department for a service that has closed/ceased trading, in relation to the period after the date of closure.

For temporary closures for 5 weeks or more, the department may seek information from funded services to confirm ongoing provision of funding.

Note: providers must follow steps to comply with regulatory requirements under the National Law and Regulations, including notifying the NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Regulatory Authority within 7 days of ceasing to operate the education and care service (section 173(2)(d) of the National Law).

Appendix 3. Glossary of terms

Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia Plus (ARIA+)

Remoteness Areas are derived from the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia Plus (ARIA+) produced by the University of Adelaide.

Remoteness Areas divide Australia into 5 classes of remoteness based on a measure of relative access to services. The 5 remoteness classes are:

• Major Cities
• Inner Regional
• Outer Regional
• Remote
• Very Remote.

Children eligible for equity loading

The program provides additional funding to achieve equitable outcomes for eligible children:

• children with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background
• children from low-income families
• children with disability or additional needs.

Compulsory Schooling

The Education Act 1990 establishes a compulsory schooling obligation upon parents to ensure children of compulsory school age are enrolled and in attendance at a school.

A child is of compulsory school-age where they are of or above the age of 6 years and below the minimum school leaving age as defined by section 21B of the Education Act.

Children eligible for the maximum rate of fee relief payment

Eligible children will receive the maximum rate of fee relief scaled by hours of enrolment per year:

• Children enrolled in services in SEIFA Decile 1 and 2
• Children enrolled in services in ARIA+ Inner Regional, Outer Regional, remote or very remote (non-major cities)
• Children enrolled at services operated by Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs)
• Children eligible for equity loading (see Appendix 1.1.3 for details)

Priority of Access

Services are required to give equal priority of access to:

• children who are at least 4 years old on or before 31 July in that preschool year and not enrolled or registered at a school
• children who are at least 3 years old on or before 31 July in that preschool year and are eligible for equity loading:
  • children from low-income families
  • children with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background
  • children with disability and/or additional needs
  • children with English language needs
  • children who are at risk of significant harm (from a child protection perspective

Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA)

Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) is a product that enables the assessment of the welfare of Australian communities. The indexes are produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

What are deciles?

Area-based deciles are calculated by dividing the areas, ordered by disadvantage, into 10 equally sized groups. Decile 1 contains the top 10% most disadvantaged areas. The department has elected to use deciles based on ranking of socio-economic disadvantage within NSW only. Area-based deciles are easy to interpret as SEIFA is designed and constructed as an area-based measure.

What are Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s)?

The ABS developed the Main Structure of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) which is used to release and analyse social, demographic and economic statistics within a functional geographic area.

The structure has seven hierarchical levels, one which includes ‘Statistical Areas Level 2’ (SA2s). SA2s are medium-sized areas that represent a community that interacts together socially and economically.

Target groups

The target group for community and mobile preschool funding and fee relief is all children who are at least 3 years old on, or before, 31 July 2026 and attending an early childhood education program in a mobile preschool.

Unspent funds

Unspent funds are any amount of any funds which have been paid to the provider, but which have not spent or Legally Committed by the end date under these program guidelines and funding agreement between a provider and the department. This may include both surplus Program Payment and Fee Relief funds. Further information about unspent funds can be found in the Terms and Conditions.

Surplus funds

Any unspent funds that providers have at the end of their reporting period are deemed as surplus funds. Any surplus funds are documented through the financial accountability statements and must follow the below surplus management process.

Reserved fee relief

In previous years, reserved fee relief occurred when a service had fewer enrolments claiming fee relief compared to enrolments submitted in the Census. In 2026, fee relief funds that are not currently being applied to a child’s enrolment fees will be considered unspent funds (see above).

Appendix 4. Additional information and resources

The department will work with and provide support to community preschool services to understand the changes to funding rates and to support continued access to affordable, quality preschool across NSW. Where services experience viability concerns, the department will work with services to explore potential funding and support options.

A range of resources are available to support providers in implementing the requirements under the Start Strong for Community Preschools program, which may include FAQs, case studies and webinars. These are available on the Start Strong for Community Preschool webpage.

Download a list of the resources cited in these guidelines (PDF 105.4).

Contact information

For questions, feedback or complaints about Start Strong, please contact the department by:

• calling 1800 619 113
• emailing ecec.funding@det.nsw.edu.au.

An officer within Early Childhood Outcomes will consider and respond to your enquiry.