The NSW and Victorian governments will introduce a full year of free preschool
The NSW and Victorian Governments have made a joint commitment to introduce a full year of free preschool education.
Victoria’s plan will begin in 2025 and NSW’s will begin by 2030.
Under the plan, young children in both states will attend a full year before kindergarten (in NSW) or prep (in Victoria). It will be free of charge and children will attend five days a week. According to the joint statement, this would mean “in the next ten years, every child in Victoria and NSW will experience the benefits of a full year of play-based learning before their first year of school.”
Both governments will also introduce more funding for child care in the short term.
In NSW, families will be eligible for up to $4,000 per year in fee relief for 3, 4 and 5-year-olds attending community or mobile preschool. The Government will also fund new centres focused on boosting availability in under-serviced areas.
In Victoria, kinder will be free for 3 and 4-year-olds from the start of next year for 15 hours a week, increasing to 30 hours for 4-year-olds by 2025. The Government will also build 50 government-operated centres.
In a joint statement, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the two states were undertaking “the greatest transformation of early education in a generation,” calling it a policy “that will change lives.”
“It will benefit hundreds of thousands of working families. Helping more mums and dads return to work on terms that work for them. Building a system that works for women, not against them. It means a brighter future for our kids – and their families too. And two great states working together to deliver it.” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet
