Early Childhood Provisionally Registered Teacher (PRT) Grants Program

Information about funding available to support early childhood provisionally registered teachers (PRTs) to move from provisional to full registration.

Overview

Status: Closed

Who can apply: Businesses, not-for-profit groups

Funding: $3,370

The department offers grants to approved providers to support provisionally registered early childhood teachers (PRTs) to move to full registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).

Moving from provisional to full registration is an important step in a teacher’s career and demonstrates their proficiency against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

Approved providers can apply for funding of $3,370.40 (excluding GST) per eligible PRT that they employ at a state-funded early childhood service in Victoria.

Please note: the funding amount has increased from the previous amount of $2,872 to better align with the cost of backfill and is only applicable to new applicants from the 2025-26 application rounds onwards. Please refer to the ‘Funding details’ section below for further information.

Apply for the grant

Applications for Round 2 of the 2025-26 PRT Grants Program are now closed.

Approved providers must log in and register in the PRT Grants Program Portal to apply. It also allows applicants to review and withdraw applications and provides grant recipients with the opportunity to request funding reallocations. Instructions on how to use the program portal are available in the portal guide.

Approved providers are strongly encouraged to review the guidelines and terms and conditions before applying for funding through this program. These documents outline how applications will be prioritised if the number of eligible applications exceeds the number of grants available.

Key dates

2025–26 PRT Grants Program – Round 2

Applications open

9 am (AEST) on Monday 2 March 2026

Applications close

5 pm (AEST) on Friday 27 March 2026

Assessment of applications

April 2026

Applicants advised of the outcome of their grant applications

May 2026

Payments made to successful applicants

June 2026

Check-ins conducted with grant recipients and PRTs supported through Round 2 of the 2025-26 PRT Grants Program

September 2026

Acquittal process begins

May 2027

Guidelines

Open all

Program objective

The PRT Grants Program provides funding to approved providers delivering state-funded kindergarten so they can support the PRTs they employ to move to full registration within 12 months of receiving a PRT grant.

The transition period from studying early childhood education to securing a role and becoming proficient on the job is a critical time for teachers to consolidate their professional identity and practice. It can be a challenging period and involves significant dedication from new graduates and those who support them. By assisting employers to support PRTs through this period, the PRT Grants Program aims to reduce attrition and enhance the professional development opportunities offered to early career early childhood teachers.

Eligibility criteria

Eligibility of the Applicant

The application must be submitted by an approved provider of an early childhood service, or an authorised representative of an approved provider (in this section, referred to as the Applicant)
The PRT the Applicant seeks funding to support must be employed at an early childhood service operated by the approved provider and delivering a state-funded kindergarten program in Victoria. The early childhood service must be listed as ‘Funded’ in the Kindergarten Information Management System (KIMS)
The Applicant must intend to support the PRT(s) to move to full registration within 12 months of receiving a PRT grant
The Applicant must agree to abide by the PRT Grants Program Terms and Conditions (DOCX, 87KB). This includes the requirement to provide the PRT with the Privacy Statement (Attachment A in the program guidelines) prior to the submission of an application.
If applicable, the Applicant must have complied with the applicable terms and conditions if the Applicant received funding through a previous round of the program

Eligibility of the PRT an Applicant seeks funding to support

The PRT can be working in a teaching role:

in a funded room
in an unfunded room in a funded early childhood service; or
as a casual relief teacher

The PRT must be employed by the Applicant at an early childhood service delivering a state-funded kindergarten program in Victoria. The early childhood service must be listed as ‘Funded’ in KIMS
The PRT is ineligible if funding issued through previous rounds of the PRT Grants Program was fully expended to support them.

Funding details

Funding is subject to department approval of the application. Submitting an application does not guarantee funding will be awarded.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application via email at the conclusion of the application assessment period.

Successful applicants (hereafter referred to as grant recipients) will be issued funding through their existing service agreements with the department. Grant recipients can track this payment through the Funded Agency Channel.

In addition to the program terms and conditions (DOCX, 87KB), grant recipients will be required to act in accordance with the terms and conditions of their existing service agreement with the department.

Important: the new grant amount of $3,370.40 is only applicable for new applications from Round 1 FY2025-26 onwards. If an individual has received funding prior to Round 1 FY2025-26, they are only eligible for the maximum funding amount of $2,872 less prior funding received. If an individual has not received funding prior to Round 1 FY2025-26, they are eligible for $3,370.40.

Prioritisation criteria

Should the number of eligible applications exceed the number of grants available in a particular grant round, priority will be given as follows:

First priority: Applications for funding to support PRTs leading the delivery of funded kindergarten programs in early childhood services in local government areas (LGAs) classified as “Rural”, “Regional” or “Melbourne – Peri Urban” (refer to Attachment B in the program guidelines for a breakdown of LGAs by location type)
Second priority: Applications for funding to support PRTs leading the delivery of a funded kindergarten program.
Third priority: Applications for funding to support the PRTs that have been provisionally registered with the VIT for the longest period.

Use of the grant funding

Grant recipients are required to expend their grant funding in line with the program guidelines.

Grant funding can be used in any way that will support the PRT to move to full teacher registration with the VIT within 12 months of the grant being issued.

Grant recipients are expected to consult and develop a plan with their PRT upon receipt of the funding, however, the ultimate responsibility for the expenditure and acquittal of the funding lies with the grant recipient.

Examples of how the funding may be used includes:

provision of paid time release, travel, accommodation expenses and/or employment of a casual relief teacher to backfill the PRT and/or their mentor while they work together to meet the requirements for full teacher registration
costs associated with engaging in professional learning that will to support the PRT to move to full teacher registration. No funding can be used on activities that involve delivering services to children.

Grant management

As stated in the program terms and conditions (DOCX, 87KB), the grant recipient must promptly notify the department of all service/employment changes that will affect the use of the funding.

Should a grant recipient wish to reallocate funding to support a different PRT in their employ, the department will review the request, confirm the eligibility of the PRT and, if the funding reallocation is approved, update the program records accordingly.

When a PRT grant is issued to an approved provider, the department will notify the supported PRT about the funding issued to their employer. The department will also notify a representative of the early childhood service at which the PRT is employed.

The department will conduct a check-in with grant recipients and supported PRTs within 6 months of the funding being issued. This will assist with the identification of barriers faced by PRTs and their employers, allow for the distribution of useful resources and improve the department’s ability to monitor the effectiveness of the PRT Grants Program.

Grant acquittal and reporting requirements

Funding issued to approved providers through the PRT Grants Program must be spent in accordance with the program terms and conditions (DOCX, 87KB) in the 12 months following the issuing of the grant.

As a condition of accepting a grant, grant recipients must complete an acquittal form 12 months after receiving a PRT grant. The acquittal form must be completed within 30 days of distribution to grant recipients. Failure to complete the acquittal form within this time period may, at the discretion of the department, make an approved provider ineligible to receive funding in future PRT grant rounds.

To acquit PRT Grants Program funding, grant recipients must confirm that funding was expended in accordance with the 2024-25 PRT Grants Program Terms and Conditions. If the funding has not been fully spent, further information will be sought from the grant recipient. Any further request for information, record, or report must be received by the department within thirty (30) days of the grant recipient receiving the request

Where permitted by the department, grant recipients that are approved to continue to support PRTs using funding remaining after the initial 12-month period will be required to complete the acquittal form every 3-6 months until the funding is acquitted (i.e., the grant recipient confirms the funding has been expended in accordance with the program terms and conditions (DOCX, 87KB).

Recoup policy

Grant recipients are expected to make every effort to spend the funding within the 12-month funding period to support PRTs to move to full registration, however, the department acknowledges that there may be extenuating circumstances where this is not possible.

The department will recoup all or part of the funding within sixty (60) days if:

$501 or more of each grant issued to the approved provider remains unspent following the 12-month funding period, or
the funding is not being used per the PRT Grants Program Guidelines.

Further information

Promotion

Grant recipients may be promoted and featured in relevant Victorian Government communications. As a condition of accepting a grant, the grant recipient must agree to provide a reasonable amount of additional information to support ongoing promotions and communications if requested by the department. Grant recipients may also be required to facilitate visits from government representatives and media.

Information privacy

The administration of the PRT Grants Program will be undertaken by a third-party supplier with oversight from the department. The third-party supplier will require access to program data, including the personal information of applicants and grant recipients. The application form will contain a prominent privacy collection notice to ensure that applicants are aware of the collection, use and disclosure of their information to both the supplier and the department. The department will also ensure that the supplier meets IT security requirements.

The department is collecting information for the primary purpose of processing and assessing applications for the PRT Grants Program. Information collected will be dealt with in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic) and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic). Information will be securely stored and only accessible by those department staff involved in the grants process. Applicants can access and amend the information provided upon request. For more information about privacy obligations, please see the department’s privacy policy.

Supporting documents

The 2025-26 PRT Grants Program Round 1 will be conducted in accordance with the:

Supports

If you have any questions about the PRT Grants Program, please contact prt.grants.program@education.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window).

If you need assistance finding a mentor, visit How to find an early childhood mentor(opens in a new window).

To learn more about other supports available to early career ECTs and educators, visit Supports for early career ECTs and educators.

Visit Training and support for early childhood professionals(opens in a new window) to learn about other supports available.

For more information about the VIT inquiry process and how to apply for full registration, visit Moving to full registration on Victorian Institute of Teaching website.

Updated 27 March 2026

Economic Growth Statement

Mini vic.gov.au

Early Childhood Provisionally Registered Teacher (PRT) Grants Program

Overview

Apply for the grant

Key dates

2025–26 PRT Grants Program – Round 2

Applications open

Applications close

Assessment of applications

Applicants advised of the outcome of their grant applications

Payments made to successful applicants

Check-ins conducted with grant recipients and PRTs supported through Round 2 of the 2025-26 PRT Grants Program

Acquittal process begins

Guidelines

Eligibility of the Applicant

Eligibility of the PRT an Applicant seeks funding to support

Prioritisation criteria

Use of the grant funding

Grant management

Grant acquittal and reporting requirements

Recoup policy

Promotion

Information privacy

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