Building Blocks Grants – Capacity Building (Australia)

Deadline: 30-Jun-23

The Victorian Government is now accepting applications for its Building Blocks Grants – Capacity Building to provide funding for projects that create additional kindergarten places for three and four-year-olds by building new, or expanding existing, infrastructure.

Applications to the Capacity Building stream must demonstrate how the project will create additional capacity for funded Three and Four-Year-Old Kindergarten through the creation of new, or the expansion of existing, buildings and facilities.

Making the best use of existing facilities and resources can help many services to offer more places to local families. Before progressing with an infrastructure solution, consider how you can maximise your enrolments and make even better use of your existing facilities.

Categories of Grants

• Integrated Children's Centre: These grants provide funding for new community hubs, bringing together a range of professional services to deliver education, care, health and support services to children and their families.
• New Early Learning Facility: These grants fund new facilities that support high quality early learning programs, including funded kindergarten programs for three and four-year-olds.
• Modular Kindergarten Buildings: These are high quality and rapidly deployable buildings that can be commissioned to meet urgent demand for kindergarten facilities. Modular buildings are relocatable, and can be delivered quickly to minimise project risks, time and costs.
• Expansion: These grants increase the licenced capacity of existing facilities that provide a funded kindergarten program for three and four-year-old children.
• Through these grant categories, the Building Blocks Capacity Building stream will:
  • create additional infrastructure capacity for funded Three and/or Four-Year-Old Kindergarten;
  • promote integrated service delivery, so families can access early childhood education and care, health and development and family services at one location;
  • improve access to local and responsive early childhood services for children from vulnerable and/or disadvantaged families; and
  • establish early childhood infrastructure at or near school sites.

Funding Information

• Integrated Children's Centre:
  • Eligible organisations can apply for up to $2 million per grant (GST exclusive).
  • Integrated Children’s Centres must be completed and acquitted within 24 months of the funding being announced by the Minister for Early Childhood. 
• New Early Learning Facility:
  • Eligible organisations can apply for up to $1,500,000 per grant (GST exclusive).
  • New Early Learning Facilities must be completed and acquitted within 18 months of the funding being announced by the Minister for Early Childhood.
• Modular Kindergarten Buildings:
  • Eligible organisations can apply for grants for the manufacture, delivery and installation of the modular kindergarten facility. Organisations can apply for:
    • a one-room (33 licensed places) modular kindergarten facility and associated works, valued up to $1.35 million;
    • a two-room (66 licensed places) modular kindergarten facility and associated works, valued up to $2.0 million;
  • Given that modular kindergarten facilities will be delivered in partnership between the applicant and the Department, project completion timelines will be agreed on a case by case basis but are expected to be on average within 12 months.
• Expansion:
  • Eligible organisations can apply for up to $600,000 per grant (GST exclusive).
  • Expansion projects must be completed and acquitted within 12 months of the funding agreement being announced by the Minister for Early Childhood.

Eligibility Criteria

• Your organisation can apply if it is:
  • a Victorian local government (Council);
  • a not-for-profit community organisation that is a legal entity (for example an incorporated association, incorporated cooperative or Indigenous corporation);
  • a Victorian government school; or
  • a Victorian non-government school registered with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority or Catholic Education Commission of Victoria.
• For-profit organisations cannot apply for any grant streams within Building Blocks.

For more information, visit Victorian Government.

For more information, visit https://www.schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au/building-blocks-grants-capacity-building