Overview
The early years are a critical period for brain development. Learning patterns are established at a young age and many students who start school behind, stay behind.
Each year one in five Australian children start school developmentally vulnerable. For children who do not receive early childhood education and care it’s two in five.
The Early Childhood Development program seeks to improve learning and development outcomes for children through innovative programs and sector initiatives in early childhood (0–8 years old), in particular, programs that recognise and foster parental engagement in their children’s learning and development.
Objectives:
- To support innovative projects that target vulnerable communities that seek to improve child development outcomes and have potential for scale.
- To scale and consolidate successful evidence programs to a point of sustainability.
- To support initiatives that seek to better integrate fractured services/systems in early childhood, improve access to and quality of ECEC and/or strengthen the ECEC workforce.
- To develop shared measurement tools and or resources for the early childhood sector.
- To evaluate large scale interventions (particularly randomised control trials) that contribute to enhancing the evidence base for early years intervention.
There is a particular interest in programs that recognise and foster parental engagement in their children’s learning and development and prioritise support for programs that engage with or target parents.
Round Information
Important Dates
Expressions of Interest
Open Tuesday 9 March 2027
Close Thursday 8 April 2027, 5PM AEST
Applications
Close Thursday 10 June 2027, 5PM AEST
Grants Announced
Late September 2027
Information Session
Date: Tuesday, 2 February 2027
Time: 12.30-1.30 PM (AEDT)
The next Early Childhood Development information session will be held in February 2027.
During this online webinar, the program manager will discuss the Early Childhood Development funding objectives and lead a Q&A session to help grantseekers determine whether to proceed to an Expression of Interest (EOI).
A recording of this webinar will be available here after the event.
Contact Details
Phone: 03 9650 3188