Community Child Care Fund

Special Circumstances Grant Opportunity Application

Special Circumstances Grants

The Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) Special Circumstances Grant Opportunity is to support the continuity of child care, for disadvantaged and vulnerable communities, where services approved under the Family Assistance Law operate a child care service, and are:

  • at high risk of temporary/permanent closure due to financial viability issues resulting from an unforeseen event or circumstance such as, but not limited to, natural disaster, extreme weather event or pandemic, or
  • at high risk of permanent closure due to another event or circumstance, where that closure would result in a lack of suitable child care (market failure) for the community, or
  • seeking to commence a new service in a community where another service has closed, resulting in a lack of suitable child care (market failure), and the new service will require funding to establish a viable operation.

This grant opportunity is to assist services severely impacted by unforeseen events or circumstances in remaining viable and operational so they can continue to support families in their community. It specifically responds to services at high risk of closure due to local emergencies, natural disasters, extreme weather events (such as drought, bushfire, flood) or pandemics or another event or circumstance , which would result in market failure for the community. Market failure means families requiring child care will be unable to find suitable places in reasonable proximity to their community. The Department of Education, Skills and Employment has a CCCF priority area list that are considered disadvantaged or vulnerable. Please refer to paragraph 4.2 of the Guidelines for more information on ‘disadvantaged and vulnerable communities’.

COVID-19 Special Circumstances Grants

As a result of State or Territory Government imposed temporary public health directions that severely limit the number of children that can lawfully attend child care, there are some providers with child care services (including in metropolitan and inner regional areas) that have experienced severe financial difficulties that are putting them at risk of closure. Where this has been as a result of one or more periods of short term restrictions, including stay at home requirements from 1 February 2021 or in response to health risks associated with COVID-19 from 27 January 2022, along with child care services being required to stay open to provide care to vulnerable children or children of authorised workers, the department will consider an application under this grant opportunity.


The CCCF Special Circumstances Grant Opportunity is intended to be one-off, short term (i.e. not intended to provide longer term or repeated funding) and supplementary per event. COVID–19 related applications for events that occurred prior to 31 January 2021 are not eligible under this grant opportunity.


If your circumstances meet the eligibility criteria discussed above, and you have not already received CCCF Special Circumstances funding for the same event, in this financial year, your application for CCCF Special Circumstances will be assessed on its merits in accordance with the CCCF Special Circumstances Guidelines. If you received COVID-19 funding prior to 27 January 2022 and have subsequently closed or partially closed the service for one or more periods to respond to health risks associated with COVID-19 you may be eligible to reapply.

An assessment of the risk of short term financial viability issues may only be made after the Provider of a Service has accessed existing viability support including child care subsidy, transition measures including Transition Payment or Recovery Payment. The CCCF Special Circumstances payment is a last resort.


Who should use this application form? 

If you are an approved provider of a child care service wishing to apply for a grant you must complete the application including the budget template contained in this form. If you are seeking to commence a new service in a community where another service has closed you must prepare and complete the application including the detailed budget proposal contained in this form.


COVID-19 Special Circumstances Grants 

If you are an approved provider of a child care service severely financially impacted by COVID-19 wishing to apply for a grant of up to $150,000 under the CCCF Special Circumstances Grant Opportunity you must prepare and complete this application and the detailed budget proposal contained in this form. You must submit a separate application for each child care service you are seeking grant funding for. If your child care service is receiving CCCF restricted funding, please contact your Department of Education, Skills and Training funding manager for support. If a provider has had their approval cancelled or suspended, under the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, then the provider is not approved for the purposes of this grant opportunity, unless the provider has successfully sought a stay of the cancellation or suspension decision from the Federal Court or Administrative Appeals Tribunal.


Is information available to assist completing the application form?

Please refer to the CCCF Special Circumstances grant opportunity guidelines before you complete this application form.

Further information is available to help you complete the application form below:

Note: People with hearing or speech disability can use the National Relay Service (NRS) to access the department’s phone numbers. Call 1300 555 727 (speak and listen) or go to the NRS website for options.

All questions marked with an asterik (*) are mandatory.