The draft Community Child Care Fund program guidelines

This consultation has now closed.

The Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) was announced as part of the Jobs for Families Child Care Package (the Package), which is designed to make the child care system more affordable, more accessible, more flexible and targeted to those who need it most.

Under the CCCF, eligible child care services will be able to apply for supplementary funding through a grants program to:

• reduce the barriers in accessing child care, in particular for disadvantaged or vulnerable families and communities
• provide sustainability support for child care services experiencing viability issues
• provide capital support to increase the supply of child care places in areas of high unmet demand.

The Department of Education and Training sought comments on whether the draft guidelines are clear, consistent and instructional for child care providers, peak bodies and other relevant stakeholders who are applying for funding under the CCCF. The department will consider feedback received when finalising the guidelines.

There will be two grant opportunities within the CCCF:

1. Open competitive grant opportunity – to be eligible to apply under this grant opportunity you must be:
   • an approved provider of an approved child care service;  AND
   • a not-for-profit organisation which is either:
     1. seeking funding for an approved child care service operating in a priority area, see (List of CCCF Priority Areas / Maps of CCCF Priority Areas);
        OR
     2. seeking funding for an approved child care service currently in receipt of funding under the department’s Community Support Program.
2. Restricted non-competitive grant opportunity – this will be available to specified services only, in particular services funded under the Budget Based Funded program that currently deliver, or intend to deliver, child care and will be transitioning to the Jobs for Families Child Care Package.