NSW Start Strong funding changes to drive quality standards as part of record early-childhood investment

The Start Strong program, part of the NSW Department of Education’s early-learning funding framework is set to undergo major reform under the Chris Minns Government, aligning funding more closely with quality standards and directing investment to areas of highest need. 

The reforms form part of a broader $2 billion investment in early childhood education and care (ECEC) by the NSW Government. From 2026, services participating in the Start Strong program that do not meet the National Quality Standard (NQS) will be required to improve their ratings or face potential loss of funding. At the same time, funding will be weighted toward regional, remote and undersupplied communities. 

Services must be rated against the NQS and improve if their current rating is unsatisfactory. If not, funding may be reduced or suspended. 

Funding will be preferentially directed to geographic areas with low access to quality preschool, particularly regional and remote locations. 

Additional targeted funding streams include:

• More than $60 million to support children with high learning support needs. 
• Up to $15 million for the Start Strong Pathways program, to engage families and prepare children ahead of preschool.
• $100 million for the Expanding Quality Access Program enabling community preschools to expand hours and capacity.
• More than $7.5 million to increase participation in the Health and Development Check in Early Childhood Education and Care program.
• Up to $7 million in additional equity funding for community and mobile preschools.
• $20 million for the Building Early Learning Places program assisting not-for-profit providers to create more children’s spaces.

Workforce investment: up to $27 million for scholarships, $7 million for diploma-to-degree conversion and $10 million for fee-free training for more than 4,000 ECEC professionals.

For Approved Providers, Nominated Supervisors and Educational Leaders, this announcement signals a sharpening of the regulatory and funding environment. Specifically:

• Providers will need to review their NQS rating status, identify any gaps and have improvement plans in place to safeguard their Start Strong funding eligibility.
• Services in undersupplied or regional areas should explore opportunities to access the expanded funding pools, for capacity, extended hours or targeted support.
• Workforce development is clearly prioritised: providers may benefit from linking staff training paths to the newly funded scholarship and conversion programs.
• The increasing conditionality of funding on quality standards means that governance, quality improvement and compliance will remain front of mind for service leaders.

Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning Courtney Houssos said the reforms were designed to ensure early-learning services provided the highest standard of care, and that funding directly supported families and children in need.

“While most early learning services provide excellent care, providers who are under-performing will be required to take swift action to lift their quality standards, or risk losing their funding.

Why this matters

• With the early-learning sector under increasing public and regulatory scrutiny, linking funding to quality ratings reinforces accountability and transparency.
• Investment in areas of greatest need helps address equity,  ensuring children in regional, remote or underserved areas benefit from quality preschool access.
• Workforce training and up-skilling are integral to improving sector capability and responding to the long-term supply challenge in ECEC.
• For services that already meet high standards, the reforms present opportunities to strengthen their offering, access additional funding and lead in sector improvement.

Read the Ministerial announcement here.