The Building Blocks Grants program is an integral part of the government’s Best Start, Best Life commitment.
The program supports the sector to create the extra kindergarten places needed to ensure universal access to increased hours of 3- and 4-year-old kindergarten over the next decade.
The following grants are now open for applications, with many offering increased funding following the recent Victorian Budget 2023/24.
Improvement Grants now open
A new round of Building Blocks Improvement Grants is now open with increased funding available in some categories.
Following the Victorian Budget 2023/24, funding for Early Learning Facility Upgrade projects has increased from $500,000 to $750,000, and funding for Minor Infrastructure projects has increased from $70,000 to $150,000.
Grants of up to $2,000 per service are also available to fund new information technology (IT) equipment.
The Improvement stream offers grants to help providers and local government refurbish or renovate early childhood buildings and facilities.
There are 3 categories of grants under the Building Blocks Improvement stream:
- Early Learning Facility Upgrade
- Minor Improvement
- Information Technology.
Applications for Early Learning Facility Upgrades and Minor Infrastructure Grants are open until Sunday 3 September 2023.
Applications for Information Technology Grants are open until Sunday 30 July 2023.
For details on how to apply, refer to the Building Blocks Improvement Grants webpage.
Capacity Building Grants now open
Earlier this year the Victorian Government announced a major boost to funding for Building Blocks Capacity Building Grants.
Crucially, this budget allows for these increased Building Blocks Capacity grants rates to continue for builds completed beyond 2026, to better support partnerships with local government to meet the needs of the community into the future.
Under the Capacity Building stream, projects that create additional kindergarten places for 3- and 4-year-olds can now receive funding of up to $9 million to build a 4-room Integrated Children’s Centre offering up to 132 new approved kindergarten places.
Applications for Capacity Building Grants are accepted year-round and assessed in batches.
For details on how to apply, refer to Capacity Building Grants.
Planning Grants now open
Building Blocks Planning Grants are open and now available year-round.
The Planning stream offers funding for planning and pre-construction work on kindergarten building projects that support the roll-out of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten and Pre-Prep across Victoria.
This might include designing, developing the scope or calculating construction costs of the project.
This grant is for applicants who will be applying for a Building Blocks Capacity Building grant once planning is complete.
Applications for Planning Grants of up to $150,000 are now accepted year-round and assessed in batches.
For details on how to apply, refer to the Planning Grants webpage.
Find out more
For more information, refer to:
For further enquiries, contact the Victorian School Building Authority’s Early Childhood Grants team by email: building.blocks@education.vic.gov.au
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