The first five years of life are the most critical period of brain development — laying the foundation for learning, health, and social development across a lifetime. Quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) produces some of the highest returns on social investment of any programme: children who attend quality early learning are more likely to succeed in school, employment, and health. Yet access to quality ECEC in Australia remains unequal — shaped by cost, geography, and family circumstance. Grant funding addresses the gaps that government funding doesn't reach.
The science
Access gaps in Australia
Department of Education
The Commonwealth funds ECEC through:
- Child Care Subsidy (CCS) — income-tested subsidy for formal childcare
- Child Care Subsidy Activity Test
- Preschool funding agreements with states
- Universal access to preschool (15 hours/week in final year before school)
State governments
States fund preschool:
- NSW Start Strong programme
- Victoria's Three-Year-Old Kindergarten
- Queensland's kindergarten funding
- WA Kindergarten Inclusion Support Programme
National Quality Framework (NQF)
The NQF sets quality standards for ECEC — compliance is a government requirement, not a grant programme, but quality improvement grants exist.
The Minderoo Foundation — Thrive by Five
Minderoo's Thrive by Five is Australia's largest philanthropic ECEC initiative:
- Quality improvement in remote ECEC
- ECEC workforce development
- Indigenous early childhood
- Policy advocacy for universal preschool
Paul Ramsay Foundation
Investing in breaking cycles of disadvantage — early childhood is central:
- First 1,000 Days
- Disadvantaged community early childhood
- First Nations early childhood
The Ian Potter Foundation
Some early childhood investment — particularly Indigenous early learning.
Smith Family
Early childhood literacy and learning support for disadvantaged families.
NAB Foundation
Workforce development, skills, and ECEC access for disadvantaged families.
Quality improvement
Lifting quality in ECEC services:
- Educator professional development
- Educational leadership
- National Quality Standard improvement support
- Documentation and assessment quality
Workforce development
The ECEC workforce crisis is real — shortage of qualified educators:
- Certificate III and Diploma training sponsorship
- Early childhood teaching degree support
- Workforce attraction campaigns
- Male engagement in ECEC
Access for disadvantaged families
Increasing access for families who most need early learning:
- Fee subsidies for low-income families
- Outreach to families not engaging with ECEC
- Home visiting programmes (Nurse-Family Partnership, Abecedarian)
- Community playgroups as bridge to formal ECEC
Indigenous early childhood
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have significantly lower ECEC access and participation:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ECEC services (ACCECOs)
- Culturally safe early learning
- First Nations language in early childhood
- Cultural connection in early learning
Children with disability
Inclusion in mainstream early learning:
- Specialist Inclusion Support (government-funded but gaps)
- Allied health in ECEC settings
- Autism and developmental delay early intervention
- NDIS Early Childhood approach
Transition to school
Supporting children's transition from preschool to primary school:
- School readiness programmes
- Transition statements and communication
- Kindergarten transition programmes
- Parent engagement in early schooling
Early literacy and language
Family and parent engagement
ECEC works best when families are engaged:
- Parent education about brain development
- Family literacy programmes
- Mother and child playgroups
- Father engagement
Evidence is strong
Early childhood intervention has some of the most compelling evidence of any social programme — the Perry Preschool, Abecedarian, and Nurse-Family Partnership programmes all show lifetime returns. Reference this evidence and position your programme within an evidence-based framework.
Equity focus
The children who benefit most from quality early learning are the children with least access to it. Show that your programme reaches children from disadvantaged families, remote communities, or Indigenous communities — where early learning investment has highest leverage.
Quality, not just access
Quality matters — low-quality ECEC produces fewer benefits than high quality. Show your quality framework (NQF ratings, educator qualifications, learning environment quality).
First 1,000 Days
The period from conception to age 2 is the most critical window — ante/post-natal, infant, and toddler investment during this window has especially high returns.
Workforce sustainability
ECEC programme sustainability depends on qualified, committed educators. Show your workforce strategy — training, supervision, compensation, and retention.
Tahua's grants management platform supports early childhood funders and ECEC organisations — with programme participant tracking, child development outcome measurement, family engagement data, and the reporting tools that help early childhood funders demonstrate their investment in Australia's youngest and most formative generation.