Flexible Initiatives Trial

Early Childhood Education and Care Flexible Initiatives Trial Round 3

Early Childhood Education and Care Flexible Initiatives Trial Round 3
This program aims to support early childhood education and care providers to provide new or adapted, flexible operating models to offer increased availability of education and care.

Key information

  • Status: Closed
  • Grant amount: Variable from a total pool of $20 million
  • Application opened: 3 September 2025
  • Application closed: 15 October 2025, 7:00 pm

Program objective

The Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Flexible Initiatives Trial is the first grant program available under the Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund. 

The ECEC Flexible Initiatives Trial aims to make early childhood education and care services more accessible and flexible for families in NSW. 

The trial will support ECEC services to trial new or adapted flexible operating models that meet the local needs of children and families, thereby increasing accessibility to available ECEC places. 

The trial also focuses on supporting ECEC educators and gathering evidence for future improvements. 

The objectives are to: 

  • increase accessibility of ECEC for families who need more flexible options, including an increase in the number of available places. 
  • increase participation, particularly of women, in work and/or study, which is enabled by increased access to ECEC services. 
  • increase service providers’ knowledge of local flexibility needs and their capacity to meet those needs. 
  • provide appropriate support and working conditions for educators delivering flexible models. But 
  • develop an evidence base for successful flexible models to inform future program development. 

Refer to the program guidelines. (update link) 

This program is funded by the Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund. 

This program is administered by Department of Education.

This program is administered by Department of Education.

Eligibility

Who can apply

To be eligible for the ECEC Flexible Initiatives Trial, an applicant must meet the following criteria: 

Stream 1:  

  • The applicant must be an approved ECEC service provider under the Children (Education and Care Services) National Law (NSW) No 104a of 2010 – (National Law) or Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions Act 2011   (excluding public preschools), that is, one of the following eligible ECEC service types: 
    • community preschool (centre-based) 
    • mobile preschool 
    • local government preschool 
    • ACCO operated preschool or long day care service 
    • not-for-profit preschools 
    • family day care services 
  • The applicant’s eligible ECEC service must operate in New South Wales. 
  • The applicant’s proposed initiative must provide education and care to children within the 0–6-year-old age group 
  • The applicant must be registered, or be willing to register, with the department’s Early Childhood Contract Management System (ECCMS) and/or any other systems implemented by the department for contract management. 
  • The applicant must accept and comply with the funding agreement Terms and Conditions of the ECEC Flexible Initiatives Trial.  
  • The applicant’s proposed initiative must be beyond the service’s normal, core, existing or ongoing activities. 
  • The applicant must hold a prescribed rating level under the National Law of at least ‘Meeting National Quality Standard’ for the relevant existing ECEC service.  
  • Approved providers seeking to establish a new family day care service, must hold a prescribed rating level under the National Law of at least ‘Meeting National Quality Standard’ for an existing ECEC service in NSW. 
  • Approved providers seeking to establish a new family day care service must ensure that the service is established in inner regional, outer regional, remote, or very remote areas (as classified by ARIA+). 

Stream 2:  

  • The applicant must be an approved ECEC service provider under the Children (Education and Care Services) National Law (NSW) No 104a of 2010 – (National Law) or Children (Education and Care Services) Supplementary Provisions Act 2011   (excluding public preschools), that is, one of the following eligible ECEC service types: 
  • The applicant’s eligible ECEC service must operate in New South Wales. 
  • The proposed initiative must include education and care for children in the year before school, with the option to extend to children up to 12 years of age. 
  • The applicant must be registered, or be willing to register, with the department’s Early Childhood Contract Management System (ECCMS), and/or any other systems implemented by the department for contract management 
  • Applicants who are eligible to apply for approval as an ‘approved child care service’ under the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth)—to be approved by the Australian Government to operate a service and administer the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) on behalf of eligible families—must apply for this approval.  Any CCS funding received for children enrolled in the program must be utilised to support their initiative in conjunction with the FIT grant. 
  • The applicant must accept and comply with the funding agreement Terms and Conditions of the ECEC Flexible Initiatives Trial. 
  • The applicant’s proposed initiative must be beyond the service’s normal, core, existing or ongoing activities. 
  • The applicant must hold a prescribed rating level under the National Law of at least ‘Meeting National Quality Standard’ for the relevant existing ECEC service.  
  • Approved providers seeking to establish a new Out of School Hours care service must hold a prescribed rating level under the National Law of at least ‘Meeting National Quality Standard' for an existing ECEC service in NSW. 
  • The service must: 
    • be co-located with a public preschool on a public school site, or  
    • be located within a short distance of a public preschool, such that children can be safely transported on foot between the service and the preschool. 

Types of projects funded under this grant

Funding is offered in the following streams: 

Steam 1: Flexible service delivery 

Stream 1A - expansion of an existing community preschool, local government preschool, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO) operated preschools, ACCO long day care, and not-for-profit preschools to provide extended-hours care (excluding Public Preschools) 

Stream 1B- establishment of new Family Day Care services in inner regional, outer regional, remote or very remote areas (according to ARIA+ classification), facilitated by a qualified educator under an existing approved ECEC service provider 

Steam 2: Blended Service delivery 

Stream 2- establishment or expansion of delivery of, extended hours (Out of School Hours provision) of care to children attending a public preschool on a public school site.

Applicants may apply for funding for more than one proposed initiative.  

Applicants will be responsible for seeking any regulatory and/or council approvals required to undertake the proposed initiative. Applying for the ECEC Flexible Initiatives Trial does not guarantee any approvals from the regulatory authority and/or the local council. 

As the Flexible Initiatives Trial is a test and trial program, funding will be provided for a 12-month period, or as otherwise specified in individual Funding Agreement. 

For further information, see the program guidelines. 

Types of projects not funded under this grant

ECEC Flexible Initiatives Trial funding cannot be used for: 

  • services located outside NSW 
  • activities that do not align with the program objectives 
  • activities that do not meet the requirements outlined in the program guidelines 
  • activities that do not meet the assessment criteria 
  • initiatives that have, at the time of assessment of the application, been completed (that is, retrospective funding) 
  • activities already funded through another source (that is, where another grant is funding the same elements) 
  • any activities in contravention of the funding agreement (which will be signed by successful services). 

Review the program guidelines for what can or cannot be funded. 

Example projects

Stream 1A - Flexible service delivery 

Eligible initiatives include smaller-scale adjustments to an existing service’s operating model such as: 

  • extending hours of operation beyond current operating hours (including days and vacation care) 
  • providing flexible pick-up and drop-off times 
  • or any other initiatives that meet the guidelines. 

Stream 1B - Establishing a new family day care 

Establishment of new family day care service in inner regional, outer regional, remote or very remote areas (ARIA+ classification), facilitated by a qualified educator under an existing approved provider.  

Stream 2 – Blended service delivery   

A partnership between an ECEC service (including OOSH) and a public preschool, where two different service types collaborate to provide extended or wraparound care for public preschool children outside of standard ECEC hours. 

Examples of what may be funded include: 

  • Staffing and recruitment costs 
  • Operating expenses  
  • Regulatory authority or local council fees 
  • Minor capital works (limits apply) 

Refer to what can or cannot be funded in the program guidelines (add link) for further information. 

Most recent recipients

All recipients (25)

What your application needs to include

1

Prepare your application with this checklist

Download the 'Application Checklist' (add link) prepare and confirm you have all the required information to fill the application form in SmartyGrants and follow the ‘Steps to Apply’ (link to section) in the program guidelines. 

  • Read through the checklist to learn more about the questions you will need to answer in the application from. Prepare your responses in a Word document so you can easily edit before copy-pasting into the application form in SmartyGrants.  
  • The word count in the application form is a guide to help you prepare your responses. 
  • Gather all your evidence in a separate folder or location on your computer, so you can access it easily when uploading to the application form in SmartyGrants.  
2

Address the eligibility criteria

Each applicant, as part of an application response, must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria.

Applicants that do not address the eligibility criteria in full may be excluded from the application process at the department's discretion.

3

Address the assessment criteria

Eligible applications will be evaluated by the assessment panel against the following weighted criteria: 

  • Alignment with one or more objectives of the ECEC Flexible Initiatives Trial. Proposals that are aligned with more objectives will receive a higher score in the assessment process. 
  • Provision of quantitative and/or qualitative evidence of a local need for more flexible ECEC, and a clear explanation of how the proposed activities will meet this need. 
  • Demonstration that the needs, wellbeing and safety of all children, maintenance of high- quality care, and staff wellbeing have been considered in delivery of proposed activities. 
  • Demonstration that the proposed initiative is innovative in testing and trialling a flexible model of delivering an ECEC service.  
  • Clear explanation as to how services will prepare for the funding period’s end and sustain their program activities if successful, considering the needs of participating children and families. 
  • The extent to which the application demonstrates that the proposed activities will be accessible to all children and families of the service’s local community 
  • Demonstration that the proposed initiative represents value for money, including reasonable costs to families. Allowances will be made for the greater costs incurred by services located in rural and remote areas 
  • Clear explanation of how services will evaluate or determine the success of their proposed initiative. 

These assessment criteria are listed in order of importance and reflective of the weighting applied by the assessment methodology. 

Applicants will receive additional weighting towards their application in the assessment process for: 

  • Services located in a geographic area (Statistical Area Level 1-2) with SEIFA Decile of 1 and 2 (ranking within NSW) on the Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage 2021. 
  • Services operating in outer regional, remote, and very remote areas according to ARIA+ classification. 
  • Multifunctional Aboriginal Children’s Services, Aboriginal Controlled Children’s Services, and Aboriginal Child and Family Centres operating a service listed in eligibility criteria. 

Start the application

Step 1: Read the program guidelines in detail 

Step 2: Review program criteria and funding conditions 

Check the eligibility criteria (add hyperlink)and the Assessment Criteria (add hyperlink). to review: 

  • Is the organisation eligible?  
  • Is the service type eligible? 
  • Is the proposed initiative/s suitable for this grant program and meet the eligibility criteria? 
  • Decide and select the stream; review what can or cannot be funded for each stream. 
  • Are you able to respond to each assessment criteria and provide the required evidence? 
  • Does the service hold regulatory and/or council approvals for the proposed activities, or will you require to obtain the approvals?  
  • If you need an endorsement from your board or committee to lodge a grant application, start organising the approval. 
  • Check the Funding Conditions to review: 
  • Ensure you are not seeking funding for completed activities i.e. retrospectively 
  • Ensure no other state or commonwealth funding has been allocated to the proposed activities  
  • Ensure quotes and funding amount requested exclude GST 

Note:  

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

 

Step 3: Prepare your application 

  • Prepare your application in advance. Plan to submit before the close of the round, refer to the Key Dates (add hyperlink to Key Dates). 
  • Use the PDF resources below to ensure you have all the critical required information. 

You are strongly encouraged to: 

  • Download the Application Checklist – download here (add hyperlink to PDF of checklist) 
  • Download the application form here (add hyperlink to PDF of Ass Criteria). This will give you a preview to the questions you will be required to answer and guidance on the recommended word count for each question.  
  • Download the Itemised Budget template to assist in outlining and planning the funding you need to request. 
  • Download the Staffing Budget estimate template (add hyperlink) to assist in outlining and planning the staffing related funding you need to request. 
  • Download the Projected Timeline template (add hyperlink) to evaluate whether the project can be completed within the 12-month funding period. 
  • Please email ecec.funding@det.nsw.edu.au or call the Early Childhood Education Information and Enquiries team on 1800 619 113 if you are unsure about any aspects of your application. 

Step 4: Fill and submit the application 

Applications must be submitted online, through SmartyGrants [insert the SG URL] to be considered for funding.  

You will need to register to use the SmartyGrants [insert the SG URL] 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 in your checklist 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 the sections are completed. 
  • Check that all the required evidence is uploaded. 
  • Submit the application.  

Note:  

  • Incomplete forms will not be considered for funding assessment  
  • Once you submit your application you will not be able to send further documentation (unless this is specifically requested). 

Your application must include:  

  • Evidence that you meet the eligibility criteria. 
  • Clear outline of what your flexible proposal is and how it will meet local community need. 
  • Responses to each assessment criteria. 
  • Baseline data relevant to the proposed initiative (may include enrolment numbers, session times, operating hours, fees charged). 
  • An itemised project budget and relevant evidence including quotes to support the application for funding. 
  • A projected timeline with milestones of your proposed initiative. 

Note: If you are a new applicant to SmartyGrants, you will need to register and create a password. If you are already registered, you can log in with your existing username and password.


Apply now

After the application is submitted

Successful applications will be decided by: Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund Board

Successful applications will be decided by the Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund Board 

Applications will be reviewed to ensure they meet eligibility criteria and comply with the program guidelines before being assessed by an assessment panel in the NSW Department of Education. 

During the assessment process, additional information may be requested from applicants and other NSW Government agencies or other third parties, such as probity advisors, to assist in assessing applications.  

Support and contact

For questions relating to the Flexible Initiative Trial program, contact: 

For advice relating to regulatory and/or compliance and/or service ratings, contact:  

  • Early Childhood Education Information and Enquiries team on 1800 619 113.  

For help with the online application system, contact: 

 

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