Victorian Early Years Awards Terms and Conditions

These terms and conditions relate to the 2023 Victorian Early Years Awards (VEYA). The Awards celebrate leadership, outstanding achievement, exceptional dedication and innovation in improving outcomes for children aged birth to eight years and their families.

By submitting or accepting a nomination, award nominees agree to be bound by the terms and conditions outlined in this document.

Key dates

1. Nominations open 9:00 am Tuesday 1 May 2024.
2. Nominations close 11:59 pm Wednesday 13 June 2024.
3. The online judging process will take place in the week commencing Monday 24 June 2024.
4. Finalists will be contacted in the week commencing Monday 26 August 2024. Unsuccessful nominees will also be contacted at this time.
5. The VEYA presentation ceremony will be held on Thursday 7 November 2024. Finalists must be available to attend if requested.

Eligibility

6. Awards are open to all early years professionals or early childhood education and care services operating or working in Victoria who meet the selection criteria detailed in the VEYA Nomination Guide, or as confirmed by the Department of Education (the department).
7. Nominees for the Early Childhood Teacher of the Year Award must be a provisionally or fully registered early childhood teacher with the Victorian Institute of Teaching and currently employed in a Victorian licensed children’s or approved education and care service that receives state government funding to provide a kindergarten program.
8. Nominees for the Educator of the Year Award:
   1. must have an ACECQA recognised certificate III or diploma qualified early childhood qualification.
   2. be currently employed in a Victorian licensed children’s or approved education and care service that receives state government funding to provide a kindergarten program.
   3. do not have to be working in the kindergarten program to be eligible for this category.
   4. who are upskilling and are already leading a kindergarten program under alternative funding arrangements are eligible to apply within this category.
9. Nominees for the Emeritus Professor Collette Tayler Excellence in Educational Leadership Award must either be
   1. an approved early childhood education and care service or service provider that receives state government funding to deliver a kindergarten program
      OR
   2. an early childhood educational leader working in an approved early childhood education and care service that delivers a Victorian funded kindergarten program.
10. Nominees may not enter the same initiative in more than one category.
11. Previous individual award recipients are ineligible to be nominated for the current year awards in any individual category until the third year following their win. For example, a person who received the Early Childhood Teacher of the Year Award in 2023 is not eligible to be nominated until 2026 (and those nominated in 2020 are now eligible to be re-nominated).
12. Early childhood service/organisation award recipients are not eligible to be nominated for any award category until the third year following their win. For example, an organisation that received an award in 2023 are not eligible to be nominated in any category until 2026.
13. Award recipients of other state, national or international professional awards are eligible to be nominated for VEYA if they meet the eligibility criteria of the award category.

The nomination process

13. Nominations must be submitted online via the VEYA online nomination system, Award Force.
14. All nominees (including each nominee for an early childhood service/organisation award) must be employed with the organisation listed in their application at the time of nomination.
15. Nominations must be accompanied by at least two referees as outlined in the VEYA Nomination Guide.
16. Nominations can be made on behalf of others. However, those nominated must consent to the nomination. Consent is obtained via the online nomination system.
17. Nominators cannot endorse their own nomination.
18. Nominations are assessed against the key selection criteria outlined in the VEYA Nomination Guide and replicated on the online nomination system.
19. The judges’ decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
20. Nominations will not be accepted after 5:00 pm Thursday 13 June 2024.
21. Incomplete nominations, nominations that do not comply with the nomination conditions, or nominations in respect of ineligible nominees, will be automatically rejected at the absolute discretion of the department.

Shortlisting

22. Before progressing to a judging panel, all nominations will be shortlisted by the program area experts. This is a preliminary screening only and is used to determine that the nominations:
    1. are fully complete and meet the eligibility criteria for their category
    2. present no probity concerns, such as perceived conflicts of interest or ethical concerns
    3. are not promoting activities that do not align with the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) and educational practice quality standards.
23. Judges will review each of the nominations within their allocated award category via the online award system.
24. Judges score nominations against each criterion outlined in the VEYA Nomination Guide. The nominations that score the highest in each award category will be deemed finalists (usually three).
25. A reference check will be undertaken by the department for all shortlisted finalists. The department may elect to remove a finalist from the shortlist should these checks raise concerns.
26. A legal check and a conduct and ethics check will be undertaken by the department for all shortlisted finalists. The department may elect to remove a finalist should these checks raise concerns.

Finalist selection

27. The judging panels will confirm the winners of the nine categories, which will be kept confidential until the VEYA ceremony.
28. The department reserves the right not to allocate an award in any category.
29. Finalists will be notified over the phone, as well as via email.
30. Upon acceptance as a finalist, finalists agree to:
    • participate in any audio, photographic and video requirements for the VEYA ceremony and award promotion, noting they may also be subsequently used in other departmental publications and promotions; and
    • provide permission to the department for on-going use of these images/recordings for promotional purposes.
31. The department reserves the right to use all, or part of any material, including nominations, for any publicity campaign related to government education in Victoria. Copyright of any materials produced during, or as a result of, the award is owned by the department.
32. Nominations become the property of the department and may be used to promote the awards. VEYA nominations, including finalists, may be used as case studies or examples of good practice and published subsequent to the completion of the VEYA.
33. Finalists and winners of the VEYA are encouraged to share their good practice with other early childhood services and organisations in Victoria. Finalists and winners may be invited to present at the following year’s VEYA ceremony.
34. Finalists and winners may contacted by the department to provide input on departmental initiatives and media opportunities should their expertise be relevant.

Grants

35. Recipients will be required to enter into a written common funding agreement in standard form with the department prior to receiving any funding.
36. Winners of the following award categories will receive a $15,000 grant to further their initiative:
    • Improving Access and Participation in Early Learning
    • Supporting Parents to Build Their Capacity and Confidence
    • Creating Collaborative Community Partnerships
    • Promoting Children’s Health and Wellbeing
    • Continuity of Early Learning
    • Aunty Rose Bamblett Koorie Early Years Legacy.

This can include resources to further develop the initiative, professional development, back fill costs while staff develop the initiative. This may include:

• providing paid time release, backfill, travel, or accommodation expenses to attend professional learning related to the research or development of the initiative. Travel/accommodation costs should be calculated using the ATO reasonable travel and meal expenses rates as a guide. The total amount provided by the department will not exceed the dollar value specified above.
• formal professional learning. This might include (but is not limited to) attendance at conferences, workshops, seminars, online courses, subscriptions to journals/research articles, textbook resources on topics specific to the initiative.

The grant may not be spent on the following: salaries for staff while they are not working on the initiative, usual business overheads such a utilities, rent, insurance, that are not directly related to the initiative.

37. Winners of the following award categories will receive a professional learning grant of $15,000 to further their professional learning:

• The Early Childhood Teacher of the Year
• The Emeritus Professor Collette Tayler Excellence in Education Leadership (if the category is won by an educational leader)
• The Educator of the Year
• The Minister’s Award (if the category is won by a nominee from one of the above categories)

This grant may be spent on professional learning and may include staff replacement costs and reasonable travel/accommodation costs to participate in the nominated activity using the ATO reasonable travel and meal expenses rates as a guide. The total amount provided by the department will not exceed the dollar value specified above.

38. All recipients of a professional learning grant must include a professional learning proposal after acceptance of their award. This must be approved by the department prior to a recipient undertaking professional learning.
39. Recipients can propose to undertake professional learning that exceeds the amount of their award grant, provided they are able to fund the additional costs above the amount of their award grant from other sources.
40. Payments to schools for all activities included in a winner’s professional learning plan will be administered via the department's Schools Targeted Funding Portal.
41. For award recipients who applied as a partnership, the partnership will self-determine how funding will be allocated across organisations. Disagreement around funding allocations across organisations will be resolved at the local level between organisations.
42. Recipients will be required to provide a full acquittal of their grant funding and are responsible for recording and documenting their grant expenditure. This includes, but is not limited to, credit card receipts and statements, and provider invoices.
43. Recipients must spend their grant amount by 29 December 2025. Recipients who do not spend their grant amount, or spend only part of their grant, by these dates forfeit the remaining grant funds, unless otherwise agreed in writing with the department.
44. A request for an extension of time to use the grant must be made in writing by no later than 1 December 2025. Extensions will be considered on merit and granted at the sole discretion of the department.

Privacy Statement

45. The department practises fair information handling practices. Nominator/nominee personal information will be collected, used and disclosed for the purpose of facilitating the 2024 VEYA and assisting the Selection Panel with its decision making.
46. The information provided will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Data and Protection Act 2014 (Vic).
47. Information will be submitted via the Award Force system and accessed by the department’s Workforce Retention and Recognition Unit and the judging panel.
48. Information will only be disclosed at the VEYA Ceremony or in promotion materials with the express consent of the person to whom the information relates.
49. Information will not be used for any other purpose unless otherwise required by law.
50. Information will be stored on DET servers located in Victoria and Award Force servers. Award Force have their own privacy policy, which can be viewed at Privacy policy and terms of service.
51. The department’s Privacy Policy can be viewed at our Privacy Policy page.

Queries

52. All queries relating to the VEYA, or to access and update your personal information, can be sent to: early.years.awards@education.vic.gov.au.