This grant helps early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in areas experiencing disadvantage and vulnerability to stay open. It is part of the Community Child Care Fund (CCCF).
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This opportunity is open at specific times. It is currently closed.
About the grant
The sustainability and capital support grant provides funding to help early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in areas experiencing disadvantage or vulnerability stay open.
The grant is part of the Community Child Care Fund which helps services address barriers to ECEC participation. The Community Grants Hub manages the grant on our behalf.
This grant is open at specific times and has opened previously in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024 and 2026.
Who is the grant for?
The grant is for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approved providers.
To be eligible for grant Round 5, providers are required to:
- operate in, or service families from, an identified priority area
- operate in, or service families from, a regional, remote or very remote area, or
- provide specialised care to communities experiencing disadvantage or vulnerability.
The grant is available for all service types. Both for-profit and not-for-profit providers could apply, but preference will be given to not-for-profit organisations.
Priority areas
Priority areas are communities identified as experiencing particularly high levels of disadvantage compared to most other areas. For Round 5, these areas were determined using a combination of national data sets, including:
- Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) results
- Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) disadvantage data.
We used the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) to define these locations.
See the priority areas for grant Round 5
What the grant funds
Round 5 included 2 funding streams.
Sustainability support grants help improve the service’s financial viability. Example activities include:
- adjusting business practices for long-term financial sustainability and viability
- implementing changes relating to child safety and quality compliance (not fully funded by another government program)
- meeting standard operating costs during a transition to a sustainable model
- supporting service delivery in under-served or unserved markets
- upskilling staff (including backfilling costs while staff attend training)
- building partnerships to address community-level barriers to participation
- engaging families not currently using ECEC
- providing transport assistance for isolated families
- developing workforce and community engagement plans.
Capital support grants help improve existing ECEC facilities through minor works. Example activities include:
- repairing, modifying, or renovating current ECEC facilities (including Family Day Care premises)
- extending or modifying community buildings used for ECEC
- capital works relating to child safety and quality compliance requirements
- landscape works, fencing, and outdoor play areas
- child safety and quality compliance works.
What we don’t fund
Round 5 grant funding cannot be used for:
- profit generation for an approved provider or service
- routine operating costs (rent, insurance, maintenance, salaries) unless part of a transition to sustainability or the service is the sole provider in an under-served/unserved market
- buying land
- projects where capital works have already started or are fully committed
- application preparation costs
- activities fully funded elsewhere
- activities that have already occurred or simply re-produce existing resources
- buying or leasing vehicles not directly linked to transporting children to and from an approved service
- activities not directly related to ECEC delivery or not identified as eligible for your service
- environmental sustainability activities, unless they support ECEC delivery.
Funding amounts
For Round 5, the government has committed up to $106.9 million (GST exclusive) over 3 years. This includes:
- $37 million in 2026–27
- $35.4 million in 2027–28
- $34.5 million in 2028–29.
Grant amounts will be determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on circumstances. The following minimum and maximum amounts per application will be applied:
| Funding stream | Per financial year | Maximum over 3 years |
|---|---|---|
| Sustainability support | $5,000 to $200,000 | $600,000 |
| Capital support | $5,000 to $50,000 | $150,000 |
How to apply
Applications for Round 5 closed on 25 February 2026.
Any future grant rounds will be published on GrantConnect.
Round 5 outcomes
We will notify all applicants of their outcomes in July 2026.
Successful applicants will then move to grant agreement negotiations, expected to start in September 2026.
Successful grants will then be published on GrantConnect.
Support and more information
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Previous rounds
Since 2018, the Australian Government has provided over $229 million to around 1,120 services under this grant. All CCCF grant recipients are listed on GrantConnect.
Round 1 outcomes were announced in April 2018
Round 2 outcomes were announced in August 2019