Free Four-Year-Old Kinder
All three and four-year-old children across Victoria can now access Free Kinder at participating services. Free Kinder is funded by the Victorian Government. For four-year-old children, this means access to 15 hours of a kinder program per week (600 hours per year).
Who is eligible?
All Victorian children are eligible for Free Kinder programs.
Families do not need a HealthCare Card or Australian Citizenship to access Free Kinder.
What's available?
Free Kinder Program in a sessional kindergarten
For families with children attending Four-Year-Old Kindergarten programs at participating sessional kindergartens, Free Kinder means there will be no charge for their program for up to 15 hours per week.
Free Kinder Program in a Long Day Care Setting
Families with children enrolled in Four-Year-Old Kindergarten programs at participating long day care services will receive a fee offset of up to $2,000 per child.
- Most families will still pay some fees for their child’s attendance across the week, depending on the number of days attended. The Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) should also be considered to reduce the financial cost for the family.
When?
At age four(if the child turns 4 between 1 January and 30 April):
Children can commence Four-Year-Old Kindergarten this year, or the following year.
At age four (if the child turns 4 after the 30 April )
Children can commence Four-Year-Old Kindergarten the following year.
Planning when a child starts kindergarten is important as it affects the age they will start at primary school.
Use this starting age calculator to support families to understand their choices for when their child becomes eligible for kindergarten and subsequently, starts school.
If you are working with a family with a child under three, start a conversation about Three-Year-Old Kindergarten or Early Start Kindergarten now so they can be supported to plan for their child's transition to kindergarten.
If a child has not attended Three-Year-Old Kindergarten, they can still start Four-Year-Old Kindergarten with their peers. Places can often be found for children experiencing vulnerability after the kindergarten year has started.
How to access?
Contact the local council and ask the early years team about Four-Year-Old Kindergarten in a child’s area.
OR
Find a Kinder is an online map that can be used to search for Victorian government funded kindergarten programs nearest to a family. Services can be contacted directly via details on the map to ask about their programs, individual enrolment process and to check if they are delivering Free Kinder. If additional support is required to connect a child experiencing vulnerability with kindergarten, contact the local council or Early Childhood Improvement Branch for assistance.
