Start Strong Pathways
Overview
The Start Strong Pathways program (Pathways program) first commenced in 2018 and is delivered by the department. The 2026 Pathways program has a specific focus on encouraging participation of children aged 0-3 years old to engage with and transition into early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings.
The program enables a variety of place-based initiatives to provide early educational supports for children prior to preschool enrolment and helps promote the importance of ECEC to families.
Key information
The 2026 Pathways program provides financial assistance through a closed, non-competitive grant to not-for-profit providers to support the early learning needs of young children (aged 0-3 years old), offering families a pathway into more formal ECEC. These services help expand children’s social horizons beyond family and home-based interactions.
Key dates
| Activity | Date |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 18 November 2025 |
| Closing date | 14 January 2026 |
| Application outcome date | Week of 15 December (for applications submitted before 2 December 2025) Week of 3 February 2026 (for applications submitted between 2 December 2025 and 14 January 2026) |
| Project delivery timeframe (for successful applications) | 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026 |
Eligibility
To be eligible for the 2026 Pathways program, service providers must meet the following criteria:
agree to comply with the funding agreement (see Section 2.1 Eligibility criteria of program guidelines for details).
More information
To learn more, read the 2026 Start Strong Pathways program guidelines.
Contact
Please contact us at ecec.funding@det.nsw.edu.au if you have any questions.