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Pre-Prep to kick off in 2025 in regional Victoria before expanding across the state
Freya Lucas
Jan 30, 2023
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Victoria’s Pre-Prep year – a program of 30 hours each week of teacher-led play-based learning – will begin in 2025, with regional Victorian children the first to benefit before the program rolls out across the state.
The roll-out schedule was announced over the weekend by Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep Ingrid Stitt.Pre-Prep will start in 2025 in Ararat Rural City, Gannawarra Shire, Hindmarsh Shire, Murrindindi Shire, Northern Grampians Shire and Yarriambiack Shire – before other local government areas (LGAs) progressively join the roll-out in following years.
Vulnerable children and Aboriginal children living outside the early roll-out areas will also be eligible for 30 hours of Pre-Prep every week from 2026, while children experiencing disadvantage will be eligible from 2028.
Those able to access Pre-Prep from 2026 include:
- Children from a refugee background
- Children known to child protection
- Aboriginal children.
Children whose families hold Commonwealth concession cards will be eligible for Pre-Prep from 2028.
Pre-Prep programs will be delivered through sessional kindergartens and long day care centres, creating a high-quality, universal program that gives four-year-old children greater opportunities to socialise, learn through play and best prepare them for their formal educational journey.
Children in metropolitan Melbourne will be able to access Pre-Prep from 2030, starting at 16 to 20 hours each week – and from 2032, all children across Victoria will be eligible for 30 hours of Pre-Prep each week.
This roll-out schedule is similar to the roll-out for Three-Year-Old Kindergarten, allowing enough time to develop a strong, skilled workforce and deliver the infrastructure required to support this uplift in service delivery, information from the Government notes.
Participating kindergarten programs will receive funding directly from the Government, so families are not out-of-pocket and do not have to claim back the savings.
Further details of the LGAs and roll-out schedule appear below.
Pre-Prep roll-out schedule 2025
16 to 30 hours per week for 40 weeks of the year LGAs:
- Ararat Rural City
- Gannawarra Shire
- Hindmarsh Shire
- Murrindindi Shire
- Northern Grampians Shire
- Yarriambiack Shire.
Pre-Prep roll-out schedule 2026
16 to 30 hours per week for 40 weeks of the year LGAs:
- Benalla Rural City
- Buloke Shire
- Corangamite Shire
- East Gippsland Shire
- Horsham Rural City
- Loddon Shire
- Mansfield Shire
- Mitchell Shire
- Pyrenees Shire
- Strathbogie Shire
- Wangaratta Rural City
- Wodonga Rural City.
State-wide: roll-out to Aboriginal children and children experiencing vulnerability 2027
Pre-Prep roll-out schedule 2027
16 to 30 hours per week for 40 weeks of the year LGAs:
- Alpine Shire
- Central Goldfields Shire
- Colac Otway Shire
- Glenelg Shire
- Indigo Shire
- Moira Shire
- Moorabool Shire
- Moyne Shire
- South Gippsland Shire
- Southern Grampians Shire
- Swan Hill Rural City
- West Wimmera Shire.
Pre-Prep roll-out schedule 2028
16 to 30 hours per week for 40 weeks of the year LGAs:
- Bass Coast Shire
- Baw Baw Shire
- Campaspe Shire
- Golden Plains Shire
- Greater Shepparton City
- Hepburn Shire
- Latrobe City
- Macedon Ranges Shire
- Mildura Rural City
- Mount Alexander Shire
- Queenscliffe Borough
- Surf Coast Shire
- Towong Shire
- Warrnambool City
- Wellington Shire.
State-wide: roll-out to children experiencing disadvantage 2029
Pre-Prep roll-out schedule 2029
16 to 30 hours per week for 40 weeks of the year LGAs:
- Ballarat City
- Greater Bendigo City
- Greater Geelong City.
2030 to 2031
2030: 16 to 20 hours per week for 40 weeks of the year
2031:
16 to 25 hours per week for 40 weeks of the year LGAs:
- Banyule City
- Bayside City
- Boroondara City
- Brimbank City
- Cardinia Shire
- Casey City
- Darebin City
- Frankston City
- Glen Eira City
- Greater Dandenong City
- Hobsons Bay City
- Hume City
- Kingston City
- Knox City
- Manningham City
- Maribyrnong City
- Maroondah City
- Melbourne City
- Melton City
- Merri-bek City
- Monash City
- Moonee Valley City
- Mornington Peninsula Shire
- Nillumbik Shire
- Port Phillip City
- Stonnington City
- Whitehorse City
- Whittlesea City
- Wyndham City
- Yarra City
- Yarra Ranges Shire.
2032
30 hours per week for 40 weeks of the year: all of Victoria
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