Quality first: Early Years Qualification Scholarships

The scholarships are an initiative under the Safe Start, Strong Futures Plan 2026, designed to support students undertaking early childhood education studies, and to help grow and retain the NT early childhood workforce.

Scholarships are available for:

• certificate III qualifications – valued at $5,000
• diploma qualifications – valued at $5,000
• bachelor qualifications – valued at $5,000 per year (for up to 4 years).

For more information, read the guidelines and terms and conditions.

Quality first years scholarships application guideline PDF (316.9 KB)
Quality first years scholarships application guideline DOCX (979.1 KB)

Quality first early years scholarships terms and conditions PDF (299.1 KB)
Quality first early years scholarships terms and conditions DOCX (981.1 KB)

Who can apply

You can apply if you:

• are a resident of the NT
• are an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or permanent humanitarian visa
• are enrolled in early childhood qualification in a NT registered training organisation.

Who can't apply

You can't apply if you receive a scholarship, bursary, stipend or funding from another source, excluding:

• Australian Government Youth Allowance, Abstudy and Austudy
• one-off merit scholarships paid in one year or less
• access and equity grants
• subsidies and grants not paid to you directly, like an accommodation scholarship or textbook bursary.

How to apply

Applications open on Friday, 17 July and close on Friday, 21 August 2026.

To apply go to GrantsNT and search for 'Quality First'.

Contact

For more information, contact the Scholarship Administrator by calling 08 8999 3569 or emailing oec.eyss@education.nt.gov.au.

All correspondence and notifications about your application will be sent via email.