Queensland Education Minister welcomes children to 2023 Kindy year with C&K visit 

Queensland’s Minister for Education Grace Grace visited C&K Kingston Community Kindergarten earlier this week to formally kick off the 2023 learning year.

14,000 children in Queensland will be able to attend kindergarten completely free of charge this year, with many more families in Queensland to benefit based on the $1 billion investment made by the state’s Government in early learning. 

Families that earn up to $60,000 and hold an Australian Government Health Care Card will benefit from free sessional kindy, an average saving of $4,500 a year.

A child attending kindy in a long day care, with a family income of up to $130,000 and receiving Family Tax Benefit, will save around $500 a year.

“We want our kindy services to be both exceptional and accessible,” the Minister said. 

The kindergarten program funding overhaul also includes:

• $38.5 million to support 300 remote and regional services, including incentives to attract and retain early childhood teachers
• Doubling the number of services covered by the successful Kindy Uplift program to more than 900
• $19 million a year to enhance support for families with children who have a disability or are developmentally vulnerable

“This is significant, targeted, financial support for low to middle income families that is helping with the cost-of-living and giving more kids a great start in life,” the Minister said in closing.