Start Strong Grants and Funded Program – 2026 

The Start Strong for Community Preschools program provides funding to deliver affordable quality preschool education for 3 to 5-year-old children enrolled in eligible community and mobile preschools in NSW. This funding is designed to significantly reduce preschool fees, making 600 hours of early childhood education more affordable for families. 

The NSW Government is providing fee relief to families through the 2025 Start Strong for Community Preschools program guidelines (nsw.gov.au) initiative as part of the Early Years Commitment.  Families with eligible children who are enrolled in a community or mobile preschool service may save up to $4,347 each year. The funding for your child’s fee relief will be provided to our service, directly from the NSW Government, and we will pass this fee relief on to you as a reduction on your fees.  You cannot receive fee relief at more than one early childhood education service. 

Please also note that: 

• You cannot receive fee relief at more than one early childhood education service. 
• The fee relief will be evenly allocated to you across the calendar year. 
• A fee relief declaration form must be completed by the parent to be eligible for start strong funding. 
• If your child will be attending another service that offers fee relief (for example, at another community preschool or a long day care service), you will need to choose which service you would like to receive your government fee relief from. 

Fee relief will not be provided to families of eligible children where: 

• consent has not been obtained through completed declaration and consent forms 
• The completed declaration form states that the family is receiving fee relief at another service. 

Consent forms are used to allow funding and other support to be provided to deliver an early childhood education program, and for the exercise of the department’s governmental functions. 

Our service will seek a renewal of the consent form every year a child attends and/or if any of the details in the original consent form requires updating or adjustments. 

Outstanding fees/debts 

Parents/guardians with overdue fees will be encouraged by the Preschool Director/Service Committee to discuss any difficulties they may have in meeting payments and make suitable arrangements to pay, including the option of a payment plan. 

If this is not done, or the agreed arrangements are not kept, the matter may be referred to a debt collector and/or cancellation of the child’s booking may occur 

The parent/guardian must agree that all expenses, costs and disbursements incurred in recovering any outstanding money, including costs involved in debt collection by the recommended agent along with solicitors’ costs on an indemnity basis, will be paid by the parent/guardian as determined by the parent signing the child’s enrolment form 

Late collection charge 

Our service reserves the right to implement a late collection charge when parents/ guardians have not collected their child/ren from the service before closing time. This charge will be set at a level determined by the Service Committee of Management and based on the service’s need to recoup expenses incurred on employee overtime wages.