Free Three- and Four-Year-Old Kinder will be available across Victoria at participating services in 2023 at both long day care and sessional (standalone) services.

Free Kinder means more Victorian children can have the best start in life, no matter where they live:

• For three-year-olds, this means from 5 and up to 15 hours per week of a kindergarten program
• For four-year-olds, this means 15 hours per week (600 hours a year)

Free Kinder means a saving of up to $2,500 per child, each year, and also means more than 28,000 Victorians can return to work, including almost 26,600 of which are women.

Participating kindergarten programs will receive funding directly from the Victorian Government, so families are not out of pocket (and don’t have to claim the savings back). If your child attends a kindergarten program within a long day care setting, free kinder a $2,000 Free Kinder subsidy will offset the kindergarten program component of your out-of-pocket fees.

Long day care centres will be required to pass on the full amount to parents as a direct reduction in their out-of-pocket fees. This will provide a free program for some families and a significantly reduced cost for other families, depending on service fees, number of days attended, and the amount of Commonwealth subsidy received.

For more information visit www.vic.gov.au/kinder