Vic and Federal Governments sign preschool funding agreement around 4 yo kinder

The Victorian and Commonwealth governments have signed a preschool funding agreement which confirms up to $514 million of Commonwealth funding for Four-Year-Old Kindergarten in Victoria from 2022 to 2025. 

Federal Acting Minister for Education and Youth Stuart Robert said the agreement will ensure Victorian children have access to high-quality preschool options and are better prepared for their first year of school and will benefit around 330,000 Victorian children.

The funding is linked to new reforms, including improving preschool participation and developing an outcomes measure, and “will benefit all children, regardless of the type of preschool they attend,” Mr Robert said.

Victorian Minister for Early Childhood Ingrid Stitt said the Commonwealth’s contribution would provide funding certainty to parents, educators and the sector. With the Commonwealth’s $514 million contribution, Victoria will spend a total of $2.3 billion on Four-Year-Old Kindergarten over the life of the agreement.

“Victoria has already delivered an extensive kindergarten education agenda – including the statewide roll-out of universal Three-Year-Old Kindergarten, the introduction of equity funding, and more support for quality early education programs,” Ms Stitt said. 

“This agreement maintains Commonwealth funding to the sector and, importantly, will ensure all Victorian children and their families are supported during these significant years.”

The Commonwealth is continuing to work with the remaining states and territories to ensure they can have an agreement in place, and funding certainty, ahead of the 2022 preschool year.

To read the announcement in full please see here.