2025 Start Strong for Long Day Care - Intention to Backpay Families (New Services)

Applicants are approved providers with services that opened and provided education to enrolled and attending children and may be eligible for funding under the 2025 Start Strong for Long Day Care program. To be eligible, a provider must have service approval to operate under the relevant education and care legislation as a centre-based service with long day care nature of care, or be an eligible Multifunctional Aboriginal Children’s Service, Occasional education and care service, or Mobile education and care service. Providers must be approved to operate a service and administer the Child Care Subsidy under Family Assistance Law and be operating and reporting as a Centre Based Day Care approval through the Child Care Subsidy System. Services must deliver a quality early childhood education program to children aged 3 and above, delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher in accordance with the National Quality Framework and using the Early Years Framework, with a note that for 3-year-old children the program need only be developed by a qualified ECT. Providers must accept and comply with the Early Childhood Outcomes Programs and Local Operations Funding Agreement Terms and Conditions for 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, and services must take reasonable steps to deliver 600 hours of quality preschool to children in the two years before school. Mobile education and care services already funded through the Mobile Preschool Funding Program or Start Strong for Community Preschools program are not eligible. Applicants must provide required Child Care Subsidy System and childcare management software reports and, if requested, evidence of backpayment to families.