This is a summary of what you will be required to provide to complete your application.

• To complete the application, you must be one of the below
  • approved provider
  • the SP-Admin accountholder of the service’s ECCMS account
  • or an approved delegate of the approve provider

Note: your service must have an ECCMs account to receive this funding.

• You will be required to provide the following identification information:
  • your Approved Provider ID and Service Approval ID numbers (PR-ID and SE-ID)
  • the legal entity name of the approved provider and the service, as they appear in ECCMS
  • the approved provider ABN.
• You will be required to provide the following demographic information:
  • total number of children enrolments in 2026
  • projected number of 4 year-old children enrolled in 2027
  • number of children enrolled that identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
  • number of children enrolled that identify as Language Background Other Than English (LBOTE)
  • SEIFA quintile and Remoteness classification (there is further guidance on how to find these in the application form).

If you have any questions regarding the application, contact EarlyChildhoodDevelopment@det.nsw.edu.au.

Alicia: OK. I can see we've got just on eighty-five people joining and I think the rate of people joining has started to slow down. So we might kick off. Thank you to everybody for joining us on our webinar this morning to talk about the Health and Development Participation Grant.

I'm Alicia and I am the manager of the Health and Development Check program in the Department of Education.

OK, I'd like to start our meeting today by acknowledging that wherever we're joining from today, we're joining from Aboriginal land. I'm on the land of the Darug people, and I'd like to pay my respects to the traditional custodians of the lands that I'm on, but also extend that respect to all the lands that you're joining from today as well.

I'd like to pay my respects to elders past, present, and to those of the future. I'd also really like to extend my respects and my gratitude to all of our Aboriginal colleagues that are joining us today. I'd like to express my gratitude for the the many colleagues who have shared their wisdom, their knowledge, and their experiences so that together we can create a program around health and development checks where Aboriginal children and their families feel safe, respected and heard.

Thank you all for joining us today. It's wonderful to see so many people online and I can see that number is still slowly creeping up. So really excited to share information about our 2026 Health and Development Participation Grant with you all.

OK, so a little bit of housekeeping before we get into the reason you've all joined today. We're gonna be recording this session and that will then be online on our website for you to access and hopefully that will help you and all the other people in the sector to facilitate their application for the grant this year. As we move through our content this morning, we have the Q&A function open, so please feel free to drop any questions you have into that. My wonderful team are here today and they're gonna answer the questions as we go through.

But don't fear if you don't get to answer, sorry, if you don't get to ask your question today, our e-mail address will be up at the end of the session. Please feel free to e-mail us if something comes up and you think about a question later on today. Again, please feel free to e-mail us. We're really responsive and we will get back to you.

OK. So before we get into the grant, we wanted to give you a quick overview of the Health and Development Check program. So I know that a lot of people have heard a lot about our program. We've now been up and running for a couple of years.

But we thought it'd be good just to give a quick overview. If you want more information though, please feel free to visit our website and you'll be able to find more information there.

OK, so the Health and Development Check in Early Childhood Education and Care program is a partnership between the Department of Education and NSW Health. Our program provides free health and development checks to four-year-olds at participating services.

The Health and Development Check in Early Childhood Education and Care program builds on existing services where parents and carers can access their child's health and development checks through their local doctor, their local child and family health nurse clinic, or their local Aboriginal medical service.
However, we know that many children are still not getting their four-year-old health and development check through these avenues, even though this offers information for families before they start school about their child's development
and the support they need to promote their child's health, growth and development, and to seek help where needed before the child starts school.
OK, so since we started rolling out in September 2023, our program has expanded and is now available in all 15 local health districts across the state. Health professionals from the local health districts complete the checks and they look at each child's development, including their listening and talking skills,
their gross and fine motor skills, their learning, thinking and problem solving skills and information about how their bodies are growing. So looking at things like their height, their weight and their teeth.

OK, that brings us to what we're all here to hear about today, the 2026 Health and Development Participation Grant. I'm gonna hand over to my colleague, Hannah. She has been leading this piece of work. It is her baby. So she's gonna take you all through the details of how to apply and who's eligible. Thanks Hannah.

Hannah: Thank you, Alicia. My name's Hannah. I am a policy officer in the Health and Development Checks team, and I'm really excited to be here today to share some information on the grants with you.

To start with, the purpose of the grants are to increase engagement with our Health and Development Checks program, which Alicia outlined for you just before, and also to increase the capability of teachers and educators to support children's health and development.

They're also about embedding support for children following the health and development check. To support you with your application, we're here today to walk you through the timelines, changes to the grants from previous funding years, the funding categories for 2026, the spending rules and the steps for applying that will help you to prepare a strong application. Let's dive in.

So, to design the 2026 grant, the team looked at learnings from both our 2024 and 2025 grant offerings. As per the purpose of the grant, the 2026 grant seeks to address 3 objectives: increasing engagement with the HDC program, especially amongst priority populations across NSW. Increasing capability of teachers and educators to support children's health and development, and embedding health and developmental support for children following the check.

So these objectives are reflected in our funding categories, eligibility criteria and our prioritisation hierarchy. I'll explain all of these in further detail as we move through the presentation today.

As you can see on the screen, applications are open now. We encourage all eligible services to apply. The applications will close on the 3rd of December 2025. We will then notify all services of the outcome of their application by the end of January 2026, and all funding will be distributed to services by the end of February. If at any point there are changes to these timeframes, we'll let you know. Important here as a reminder, the e-mail address you provide in your application will be the one that we will contact you with. So please make sure
that is the best contact point for your service.

As I mentioned in the last slide, we have really focused on leveraging our learnings from previous funding years to shape the 2026 grant.Two key changes are on the screen now. So firstly, we've expanded eligibility to include for-profit providers operating up to three services. Many for-profit providers operating up to three services are in low SEIFA areas or regional/remote locations across NSW.

We heard from the sector that a portion of these services would greatly benefit from the grant funding, so we are very pleased to extend this grant to this group of services in 2026. Secondly, we've also reconsidered the prioritisation hierarchy for applications.

This, however, will only be applied if the number of applicants exceeds the total amount of funding available. So based on data and analysis available, the funding will be prioritised for the cohorts described on the screen.

So we've got our ECEC services in areas of high developmental vulnerability, which is referring to our 2024 AEDC data, ACCOs, ECEC services with a higher proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, ECEC services in SEIFA quintile 1-2, ECEC services in regional and remote communities and ECEC services with a higher proportion of children with language background other than English.

So yeah, we've looked at the data to make sure that, only if needed or if the funding is exhausted, we'll ensure that these services receive the funding as a priority.

So now on to the funding categories and how they could be used in your service. So in 2026 we have two categories. Category one is $1500 to support participation in the HDC program.

And category two, which is $6000 to to support capability, uplift and educational resources. In your application, you may nominate for funding in either one, or two, or both categories.

Now we're going to look at each category in further detail.

Category one funding can be used to provide relief time, overtime payments or travel costs for educators and teachers to undertake administrative duties related to the checks, liaise with NSW health staff, support parents and carers to engage in the HDC program or support children on the day of the check. So across any of these uses, funding can be used to cover any overtime costs incurred by undertaking these activities.

Please note funding for category one cannot be used for activities unrelated to the HDC program. While it may be used to support the provision of assistance to children during the check, it cannot be used for ongoing one-on-one therapy or support beyond the program's scope.

So this might include increasing staff to child ratios to provide one-on-one support following the check or for relief time dedicated to other administrative tasks that aren't related to the HDC program.

And also worth noting that recipients of category one funding agree to participate in the Brighter Beginnings HDC program, so funds cannot be used for organising or supporting participation in any other health checks.
This might include the STEPS program or checks from private allied health providers. So checks that are are supported by category one will be carried out by the Brighter Beginnings team from your local health district.

If you're an ACCO, an ACFC, or a MACS, you're subject to different conditions, so I suggest looking at the program guidelines for that detail.
Let's now have a look at Category 2. So, eligible activities under Category 2 build capacity of educators and teachers to support children's health and development. They enable ECEC services to embed cohort-wide uplift and strategies to support children's health and development. Important to note here is that all children must be involved in these activities. So as you'll see on the screen, we've broken it down into A, B and C, or three subcategories. So we've got 2A: engagement of allied health professionals. 2B: Engagement with professional learning, training and workshops. Or 2C: Purchasing resources that support children's development.

I'm going to break each one down now, starting with 2A, that allied health component. So we know the incredible value that allied health professionals have in helping improve developmental outcomes for children. Category 2 funding can be used to engage allied health professionals to support children's health and development through cohort wide strategies and/or by providing educators and teachers with support to embed suitable strategies. So this covers planning of engagement with allied health professionals, the development of strategies, and engaging with allied health service level reports and feedback. We've designed the funding to accommodate up to 30 hours of allied health engagement.

So what does it look like? We've got some examples on the screen, but I'll read through those for you now. So this could include whole staff in-service training. This could be provided through staff meetings, focused on addressing identified needs through cohort-wide strategies.

You might choose to do this as a one-off occurrence or a series of multiple training sessions, whatever is required at your service. This could also look like in classroom support, which could include observation, reviewing of teaching practices and pedagogies, modelling of cohort wise strategies and reviewing teacher understanding and implementation of these strategies and experiences. You could also look at a combination of these models.

So this could look like a combination of in classroom support and staff training sessions. So, that will further support educators and teachers to understand and embed cohort wide teaching strategies in support of Children's Health and development.

So any allied health supports may be delivered daily for a short period of time, weekly, or in any other increments, depending on the needs and availability of the service and the allied health staff. It may include a break in visits to allow for consolidation of skills before returning to review those skills and commence the next strategy. Provided that the allied health support provided is cohort wide and focused on upskilling educators and teachers in your service, there is no requirement for you to deliver this in any specific way in your service. So from here we ask you to consider what would work best for you and for your service.
Now on to 2B: professional development and training. So Category 2 funding can also be used to engage in professional development and training focused on children's health and developmental outcomes on a cohort-wide scale.
When choosing training or professional development, consider how the learnings could be applied across the whole cohort. This funding can include covering of related travel costs and relief time to enable educator attendance at professional learning events as well.

On the slide, we've provided a starting point for you to consider. So this includes engaging a community member to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in your service and any related professional development with that.
Engaging with the department's professional learning tools, so we've recently launched the Brighter Beginnings Connect and Communicate Toolkit and the HDC Culturally Safe Approach Toolkit. They are free resources, um, but if you can use the funding for any related overtime costs in engaging with those resources. Engaging with existing professional learning courses. So there's a wealth of knowledge out there, some amazing organizations that are running some great professional development courses.

Engaging in training delivered by your local health district. Each district has different offerings, so we encourage you to reach out to your local health district team. An example I've pulled out is our Northern Sydney Local Health District professional learning: Small bites for big steps. it's a great resource to start with. So something to start looking into is each local health district's offerings. Or you could consider using the funding to attend conferences related to early childhood development.

When considering conferences, look at the agenda, consider how could learnings be translated into the service environment and go from there. Again, you know your service best, so please lean on your experience and knowledge of the children in your service when using grant funding.

The Health and Development Check team has published a list of recommended professional learning. The QR code is on the screen now, which will take you to this list and my colleague Charlie will also pop the URL in the chat just for your ease of access.

This is not an exhaustive list. You may choose to use funding for other professional learning and development courses, conferences, or workshops, provided that they are related to supporting children's health and development
or are related to the health and development checks in ECEC program. Of course, we encourage you to use the funding to attend health and development workshops and engage with the department's professional learning materials and tools, which I mentioned before were our Brighter Beginnings Connect and Communicate Toolkit or the HDC program's Culturally Safe Approach Toolkit. Professional learning can be completed anytime, so long as the funds are spent before 31st of December 2026.

Finally, you can also use Category 2 funding to purchase resources that support children's health and development. So resources will need to support cohort wide engagement with identified developmental domains, such as speech or language development.

Examples I've pulled out on the screen, but they include socio-emotional books, self-regulation teaching resources, role-play resources and books, visuals and games that might support communication development; books to engage in shared reading to foster language development, or books on topics such as emotions to support children to develop their social skills; equipment to support children's social skills and behaviour, such as setting up quiet spaces for children to visit when needing time away from the group; creating visuals to support transitions between routines; healthy eating or oral health books and resources such as a tooth brushing model; posters for learning about healthy eating and teeth brushing, and role play resources such as food models. You might consider gross motor equipment such as climbing frames to support gross motor development. A really great example we saw in 2025, an edible garden to allow children to learn about different foods, assist in food preparation where appropriate, and develop a positive attitude towards food.

You could create some classroom visuals that encourage an inclusive environment for children with hearing impairments, or consider how you could rearrange learning environments to reduce hazards and enhance accessibility for those hearing or vision impaired children in your service.

So this is not an exhaustive list. Consider what works for your service. The examples on the screen I've broken down into developmental domains, because the key point in all of this funding is to ensure that it relates to children's health and development and those developmental domains that support children get ready for school.

So, next steps. This is the exciting bit, I suppose. Let's look at how we can apply for the funding! So as I mentioned at the start of the presentation, applications are open now.

So we estimate that the application will take between 15 to 30 minutes to complete. That's very generous. We have tried to make this as simple as possible, so we really intend that it will take as little time as possible. If you have any difficulties accessing the application form, you require additional support, or you have any questions about the application process please feel free to contact our team at the e-mail address which is on the screen right now.

The QR code on the screen will also take you to our SmartyGrants page to apply, but my colleague Charlie will also place the link in the Q&A for your ease of access just now. So I'll leave this on the screen for just a second cause this is
the most exciting part that you can actually get applied right now.

All right, so to assist you with applying, we've pulled together a little bit of a handy guide. So if you've got all of this information ready, your application wouldn't take long at all. And so please make sure you have the following information handy, ready to go.

So we ask that the person completing the application is either the approved provider, the SP admin account holder of the services ECCMS account, or an approved delegate of either of the above.

And just noting that your service must have an ECCMS account to receive the funding, cause that's how we process it. To fill in the application, you'll be asked to provide the following identification information:

So your approved provider ID and service approval ID numbers, the legal entity name of the approved provider and service, and the approved provider ABN.

And you'll also be asked to provide some demographic information to assist with the application: Total number of child enrollments in 2025, so that's across the entire service. Your projected number of four-year-old enrollments in 2026.
if known. The number of children enrolled that identifies Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. The number of children enrolled that identifies language background other than English and then your SEIFA quintile and remoteness classification.

We don't expect you to know those last two off the top of your head. So we've, added some additional guidance and links to get to that information as part of the application form. So that's all in there for you.

And then also part of the application is a 300 word summary of how you intend to use the funding. So yeah, that is also part of your application. And then that's it, you will have applied! If you need any more information, we've got some links on the screen now. So first and foremost, if you want more information about the health and development checks in ECEC program, please visit our website.
This website also has links, the e-mail addresses of all of our Brighter Beginnings teams in each local health district. So if you ever need to contact your local health district team related to this program, that's all available on our Health and Development Checks website.

Our second link on the screen now is to our program guidelines. We encourage you all to read the program guidelines before applying, so you understand the intent of the funding and how best to use that funding in your service. The QR code will take you to this page. And also, if you have any more questions about the Health and Development Participation Grant for 2026 I've also linked our FAQ page here. If you can't find the information you need or questions aren't answered across any of these websites, please feel free to contact us via our e-mail. Like my colleague Alicia said, we are very responsive at our inbox at Early Childhood Development.

Yeah, very, very responsive. Always eager to answer your questions as soon as we can. If after today's session, um, you know, if you've heard anything in
addition, if you've already applied and you've heard some further information and you'd like to amend your application, please feel free to send us an e-mail at that Early Childhood Development e-mail address and we'll assist you with that as well.

So, we've pretty much reached the end of our session today. So I thought before we let you go, we'll recap some of the key takeaways from our presentation today to put you in the best place possible to apply for the grant.
So first and foremost, the e-mail you provide with your application will be our contact point for all ongoing grants communications. So yeah, making sure that that is one that will get to you in your service.

Funding is split into two categories. You can choose to apply for one or for both. If we look at each category, category one funding provides support to participate in the HDC program.

So this includes staffing and administration costs. The funding must be used for participation in the HDC program as delivered by your local health district's Brighter Beginnings team.

Category 2 funding covers allied health engagement, professional development and resources for your service, and these must be delivered on a cohort wide scale.

Finally, and most important, applications for this grant will close on the 3rd of December 2025. We will stay online now for a few more minutes to answer any of your questions in the Q&A. Um, thank you all so much for your time today to discuss the 20 Twenty-six HDP grant and we look forward to receiving your applications. And hearing further from you. Thank you.