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The AEDC Tasmanian Grants provide funding for local initiatives that support children and families during the vital early years of development.

These grants are designed to build on what鈥檚 already working well in communities but also meet the needs of children with 鈥榙evelopmental vulnerability鈥� within the local community.

Funded programs help turn AEDC data into meaningful action by:

• Supporting children鈥檚 learning, health and wellbeing
• Strengthening community鈥慴ased early years responses
• Raising awareness of the AEDC among early years professionals
• Increasing the use of AEDC data to inform planning and practice

Who can apply?

Organisations working with children from conception to eight years can apply, including:

• Schools
• Early Childhood Education and Care providers
• Libraries
• Local Government
• Health organisations
• Community鈥慴ased organisations
• Child and Family Learning Centres (CFLCs)

Congratulations to Our 2026-27 AEDC Grant Recipients!

The 2026-27 Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) Grants Program received 31 applications from organisations supporting children and families across Tasmania.

We are pleased to announce the following nine grant recipients:

1. Emerge Allied Health
2. Windermere Primary School
3. Clarendon Vale Primary School
4. Siblings Australia
5. Carlton Street Child Care
6. Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre
7. Swansea Primary School
8. JRLF Herdsmans Cove Primary School
9. Tasmanian Catholic Education Office

Over the next 12 months, these organisations will deliver projects that support children, families and communities using AEDC data.

Congratulations to all successful recipients. We look forward to sharing updates on their projects throughout 2026-27.

Thank you to everyone who applied. The applications were of a high standard, and we appreciate the time and effort that went into preparing them.

Congratulations to all grant recipients and thank you for your work supporting Tasmania’s children and families.

The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a national collection of information.

This measures how children are developing in their first year of full-time school.

The 2024 AEDC is the sixth national collection since 2009.

The next collection will be in 2027.

Teachers in Tasmania completed comprehensive questionnaires for more than 6,400 Prep students across the state.

The AEDC assesses children as being developmentally 鈥榦n track鈥�, 鈥榓t risk鈥� or 鈥榲ulnerable鈥� across five key developmental domains:

• physical health and wellbeing
• social competence
• emotional maturity
• language and cognitive skills
• communication skills and general knowledge.

Introduction to the AEDC

Understanding the Data

The AEDC is the most comprehensive data collection of its kind in the world and Australia鈥檚 only census of children in their early years.

The AEDC data can help schools to:

• plan and support children’s successful transition to school
• raise awareness of the importance of children’s early years
• implement programs and services for children in the community to support early child development
• act as a platform to forge collaborative community partnerships

Resources

• Watch a .
• Watch a short video about how a school used the AEDC to inform their planning – Using the AEDC – Why Bother?

• Find .

The AEDC provides educators across sectors with a common language to understand and discuss what is working well in their community and where families may need support to ensure that their children are on-track during the early years.

Evidence from the AEDC can be used to support policy and practice in early childhood education.

The five AEDC domains provide an insight at a community level into the learning and development needs of young children.

The AEDC is also a useful predictor of future development and learning, indicating how well early childhood education programs have prepared them for future learning experiences.

• • Linking the AEDC with the NAQ

.

Supporting your children鈥檚 development using the AEDC domains

Below is an example of how the AEDC has been used by Early Childcare Educators

Michael Dempsey and Jodi Upton talk about the positive results from the 2018 AEDC collection for Tasmania, also the programs and initiatives that families and community members can engage in to support children’s learning and development.  (ABC Drive, Thursday 28 March, 2019, 11:55 mins)

• Hear a pre-recorded webinar for schools 鈥� 鈥樷��
• Talk, Read and Play Resources – The Department of Education Tasmania