Playing Our Part: Why Toy Libraries Belong in NSW's Plan for Children

Toy Libraries Australia has made a formal submission to the NSW Strategic Plan for Children and Young People 2027–2030. Here's what we said, and why it matters.

NSW is designing a plan for 2.6 million children and young people, aged 0 to 24. It's a big job. With five themes covering everything from education to mental health, community connection to voice and influence, there's a lot riding on what ends up in the final document, due for release later this year.

Toy Libraries Australia (TLA) jumped at the chance to contribute. Because toy libraries already deliver on what this plan is trying to achieve, every single day, in 83 communities across NSW.

Learning starts long before preschool

The plan wants children who are educated and thriving. So does TLA. The evidence is unambiguous: the quality of a child's home learning environment (the toys they play with, the conversations they have, the stories they explore) is a stronger predictor of Year 3 NAPLAN results than attendance at formal early childhood education.

Toy libraries put that evidence to work. They give families the tools (literally) to build rich learning environments at home, and the confidence to use them.

Play isn't just sport

The consultation paper's Community connection theme includes a subtheme called Play and create. It's a welcome addition. But the framing leans heavily toward sport, arts programs, and organised recreation. Valuable, but that’s not the whole story.

Children also need time for free, self-directed, imaginative play. Play in nature. Play that gets messy, risky, loud, and genuinely joyful. Research from Robyn Monro Miller's Churchill Fellowship report is clear: play is a biological imperative, not a nice-to-have, and communities need to intentionally protect it.

Toy libraries are built for exactly this kind of play. For around $2 a week, families can borrow toys, games and puzzles that spark open-ended discovery. And at a time when cost is flagged as a barrier to participation, that's a meaningful difference.

Inclusion that actually includes everyone

With 12% of NSW children and young people living with disability, the plan's Disability services and inclusion subtheme carries real weight. TLA's submission flags that the incoming Thriving Kids program must be included in the plan and implemented in line with the National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention: family-centred, strengths-based, and embedded in everyday community life.

Toy libraries value is already proven

TLA calls on the NSW Advocate for Children and Young People to explicitly recognise toy libraries in the final strategic plan as cost effective community infrastructure that supports children and families across multiple priority areas.

An independent Social Return on Investment analysis found Australian toy libraries generate $4.22 in social, economic and environmental value for every $1 invested, and $11 for every $1 of government funding.

The infrastructure is there. It works. It should be recognised in the final plan.

Want to know more? Read our full submission or get in touch to find out how toy libraries can help NSW build a better, more playful future for children and families.