Early Childhood Education and Care Flexible Initiatives Trial Round 3 — NSW

• Applicant must be an approved early childhood education and care service provider under the relevant New South Wales legislation, excluding public preschools. • Eligible service must operate in New South Wales. • Stream 1 eligible service types include community preschool, mobile preschool, local government preschool, ACCO-operated preschool or long day care service, not-for-profit preschool, and family day care service. • Stream 1 proposed initiative must provide education and care to children aged 0–6 years. • Stream 2 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. • Applicant must be registered, or willing to register, with the Early Childhood Contract Management System and any other required departmental systems. • Applicant must accept and comply with the funding agreement terms and conditions. • Proposed initiative must be beyond the service's normal, core, existing or ongoing activities. • Applicant must hold at least a 'Meeting National Quality Standard' rating for the relevant existing service. • Approved providers establishing a new family day care service must hold at least a 'Meeting National Quality Standard' rating for an existing New South Wales service. • New family day care services must be established in inner regional, outer regional, remote, or very remote areas. • Applicants eligible to seek Australian Government child care service approval for Child Care Subsidy purposes must apply for that approval, and any CCS funding received must support the initiative. • Approved providers establishing a new out of school hours care service must hold at least a 'Meeting National Quality Standard' rating for an existing New South Wales service. • Stream 2 service must be co-located with a public preschool on a public school site, or located within a short distance so children can be safely transported on foot. • Funding is not available for services outside New South Wales, retrospective activities, activities already funded elsewhere, or activities that do not align with program objectives, guidelines, assessment criteria, or funding agreement requirements.