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Toy Library Grants Program

Information about the Victorian Government’s commitment to support existing and establish new toy libraries.

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The Victorian Government is investing $1.9 million over 4 years (2023 to 2027) to establish 8 new toy libraries and support existing toy libraries with grants of up to $10,000.

The initiative will make toy libraries accessible to more families across Victoria. It will also help families to save money by promoting sustainability and establishing new toy libraries in areas that need it the most.

The 2026 grant round is now open.

Key dates

Early February 2026

31 March 2026

20 April 2026

May 2026

June 2026

July 2026

General guidelines

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There are two grants available:

Toy libraries provide families with access to high quality educational toys and equipment, helping to create a rich home learning environment for children.

Play-based learning provides opportunities for children to foster imagination and creativity, improve gross and fine motor skills, and foster cognitive and sensory development.

Toy library membership ranges from small (catering to 20 families) to large (supporting over 500 families).

Access to toy libraries is important for Victorian families because it can:

Information on toy libraries and how to establish a new toy library is available on the Toy Libraries Australia website.

Successful grant applicants will be notified by email and issued a Victorian Common Funding Agreement to complete, sign, and return to the Department of Education for countersigning.

They will also be asked to provide a PDF including the organisation name, bank account details and ABN.

Once the signed agreement and PDF have been provided, the Department of Education will process the grant payment.

Grant recipients may be promoted and featured in relevant Victorian Government communications.

As a condition of accepting a grant, the organisation must agree to provide a reasonable amount of additional information to support ongoing promotions and communications if requested by the Department of Education.

Grant recipients may also be required to facilitate visits from Government representatives and media.

The Department of Education is collecting information for the primary purpose of processing and assessing applications for the Toy Library Grants Program.

Information collected will be dealt with in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973 and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014.

Information will be securely stored and only accessible by those Department of Education 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.

Guidelines: New Toy Library Establishment Grants

Applications for New Toy Library Grants are now open.

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The Victorian Government is providing New Toy Library Establishment Grants of $40,000 for 2 new toy libraries per year, in 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27.

In providing this funding, the New Toy Library Establishment Grants aim to:

If a grant round is oversubscribed and exceeds the available grants per year, applications will not roll over to subsequent rounds. On request, unsuccessful applicants can seek feedback on their application and may reapply in future rounds.

Applicants must be a registered not-for-profit organisation operating in Victoria to apply for this grant program. Any of the following entities operating in Victoria are eligible to apply:

Eligible applicants will have their application assessed as follows:

Assessment criteria Weighting
Community demand and impact – The application: details a proposed location and premises suitable for the establishment of a new toy library, including evidence of agreement to use the premises for the establishment of a toy library, if relevant. identifies community needs and how they will be addressed, evidenced by community engagement, surveys or consultation. offers evidence of the demand (including data) and impact of a new toy library in the proposed location. 30%
Project management – The application provides: a strong project plan that demonstrates how the organisation will successfully establish a new toy library. The project plan should include resourcing, timelines, deliverables and the key stakeholder(s) and their roles. 40%
Financial viability – The application provides information about: the financial feasibility of establishing a new toy library and how the grant will support this how the toy library will be financially sustainable. 30%
Total 100%

This is a competitive expression of interest process that will fund 2 new toy libraries per year for 4 years.

If the New Toy Library Establishment Grants round is oversubscribed, only eligible applications that receive as assessment score of 60% or higher will be considered. Priority will then be given (in order) to applications for proposed toy libraries located in:

  1. the following growth corridor local government areas: Cardinia, Casey, Hume, Melton, Mitchell, Whittlesea and Wyndham
  2. a socio-economic area of disadvantage (defined by SEIFA)
  3. regional or rural areas
  4. an area that does not currently have adequate access to a toy library.

The New Toy Library Establishment Grant provides a one-off payment. Funding must be expended on the categories outlined in the table below.

Toys and equipment must meet Australian child safety standards and where possible, successful applicants should source toys and equipment from local suppliers and made from sustainable materials.

The New Toy Library Establishment Grant provides a one-off payment. Funding must be expended on the categories outlined in the table below.

Toys and equipment must meet Australian child safety standards and where possible, successful applicants should source toys and equipment from local suppliers and made from sustainable materials.

What can the grant be used for?

What can the grant not be used for?

As a condition of funding, successful applicants must complete an acquittal.

Organisations that successfully obtain grant funding in 2024-25 will be contacted by the department with information about acquittal requirements and timing. The acquittal process is planned to conclude no later than June 2027.

Successful applicants are advised to keep receipts for purchases made using grant funding and may be required to provide this to the department on request.

Guidelines: Existing Toy Library Grants

Applications for Existing Toy Library Grants are now open.

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The Victorian Government is providing grants of up to $10,000 to support existing toy libraries operating in Victoria to renew their toy and equipment stock, improve their membership offerings, enhance accessibility and pay for a limited range of one-off costs.

Grant applications will be managed through an application process. The Victorian Government has partnered with Toy Libraries Australia to support existing toy libraries to submit an application and use funding in line with the Program Guidelines.

Funding available:

To be eligible for the grant, a toy library must be:

Mobile toy libraries will be considered as one toy library regardless of the number of communities they serve.

Eligible toy libraries will have their application assessed as follows:

Assessment criteria Met or not met
Appropriate use of grant funding – The application demonstrates how the toy library will use the grant for approved categories. Met or not met
Impact on membership – The application demonstrates how a grant will improve the member experience and/or member accessibility and/or increase memberships. Met or not met
Impact on community – The application demonstrates how a grant will positively impact the local community. Met or not met

If the Existing Toy Library Grants round is oversubscribed, priority will be given (in order) to toy libraries that are:

  1. located in the following growth corridor local government areas: Cardinia, Casey, Hume, Melton, Mitchell, Whittlesea and Wyndham
  2. located in socio-economic areas of disadvantage, as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA)
  3. located in regional or rural areas.

The Existing Toy Library Grants provide a one-off payment. Funding must be expended on the categories outlined in the table below.

Toys and equipment must meet Australian child safety standards and where possible, successful applicants should source toys and equipment from local suppliers and made from sustainable materials.

What can the grant be used for?

What can the grant not be used for?

As a condition of funding, successful applicants must complete a simple acquittal. Successful applicants will be supported to submit acquittals to the department.

Toy libraries that successfully obtain grant funding in 2025 will be contacted by the department with information about acquittal requirements and timing. The acquittal process is planned to conclude no later than June 2027.

Successful applicants are advised to keep receipts for purchases made using grant funding and may be required to provide this to the department on request.

Contact

If you have any queries about the Toy Library Grants Program, please email Toy.Libraries@education.vic.gov.au

Education & training

Updated 27 March 2026

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