Tehan announces help to access ECEC for those impacted by drought

Families affected by drought will be supported to continue accessing education, Federal Minister for Education Dan Tehan has vowed, with the Australian Government providing an additional $15 million to schools and early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres attended by children from drought-affected areas.

Mr Tehan outlined that $10 million would be allocated to drought-affected schools through the Special Circumstances program, and $5 million to support childcare centres experiencing decreased demand and financial pressure as a result of drought.

Noting that many education settings are “taking money out of their own pockets to waive fees and subsidise fees to ensure that families can continue to send their children to school,” Mr Tehan said the Government was committed to “helping to keep doors open to help families affected by drought to continue to access education”.

The program has been previously successful in Queensland, where it was rolled out to support families affected by the North Queensland floods, and compliments a range of initiatives in the Step Up In Drought Budget Support package, announced by the Federal Government for drought affected farmers, small businesses and rural towns. 

The CCCF special circumstances drought support funding round will open on Tuesday 12 November 2019, with grants of $10,000 available. The grant opportunity guidelines, application form and fact sheet will be available then.

For more information, please contact the CCCF team via email: [email protected]