Kindergarten QLD: Free kindy to Prep ready

Free kindy for Queensland  

Since January 2024, all children enrolled in a Goodtstart kindergarten in Queensland will get 15 hours a week of free kindy. This is part of the Queensland Government's push for affordable access to quality early childhood education. Every child in their pre-Prep year (or years; some children do a couple of years of kindy) will get 600 hours of free kindy.

Kindergarten spaces are filling up fast, so it might be a good idea to confirm your child's place today by enrolling now. Let's take a look at the Queensland Government's 'Free Kindy'and cover the following topics:

• Who's eligible for free kindy in Qld?
• How you access free kindy
• Claiming both your Childcare Subsidy (CCS) and free kindy
• How much you'll save with free kindy 
• When your child will be eligible to start kindy 
• Why kindy is so important
• The difference between preschool and kindy 
• The difference between kindy and childcare 
• Some helpful links and resources 

Who's eligible for free kindy in Qld? 

Your child is eligible for the Queensland Government's 'Free Kindy' program if they fit these requirements: 

• They're at least four years old by 30 June in the year before they start Prep. 
• They're attending a government-approved educational program offering free kindy in long daycare settings. 
• They're attending an ACECQA-approved kindergarten for at least 15 hours per week, 40 weeks of the year. 

How you access free kindy 

1. Check if your child is eligible to start kindy by using the Queensland government's kindy age calculator. 
2. If your child is already in pre-kindy and will be doing kindergarten next year at the same centre, you won't need to do anything. 
3. If you're enrolling your child at a new centre for kindy, find your closest Goodstart kindergarten program. 
4. Book an appointment to visit the centre and meet the kindy teacher and centre director. 
5. If you know where you're sending your child to kindy, start their enrolment and save their spot. 

Claiming both your Childcare Subsidy (CCS) and free kindy 

The Queensland Government funds 15 hours per week, 40 weeks per year of free kindy. The outstanding amount gets split between you and the CCS. If your family is eligible for the CCS, you'll keep claiming that. If your child attends a long day care kindy, you'll pay for the hours of care outside of the kindy program (15 hours per week). Your CCS could cover some of these costs as well.

How much you'll save with free kindy 

The Australia Childcare Alliance and Kidsoft have this handy Free Kindy calculator. Enter your session details in either the daily or fortnightly calculator. This will give you an idea of what your family's out-of-pocket costs will be. The fortnightly calculator gives a clearer picture of your kindy savings by calculating your CCS and free kindy hours for the whole fortnight.    

When do children start kindy in Queensland?

Children turning four on or before 30 June 2024 are eligible for kindergarten (and 15 hours of free kindy!) in 2024. Check below for the eligible birth dates and their kindy enrolment year: 

• To attend kindy in 2025, your child was born between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021.
• To attend kindy in 2026, your child was born between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022. 

Kindergarten is vital for school readiness 

Our practice is guided by the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) with goal that 'All children experience learning that is engaging and builds success for life', so having at least a year of kindergarten before Prep is critical. Your child develops skills that prepare them for formal schooling (school readiness). Our child-led approach (adapting what's learned in class to the interests of each child) encourages them to become confident and active classroom participants. Throughout the year, we'll review their progress leading up to school to ensure they're on track. If they'll benefit from another year with us in kindy, we suggest this. And don't worry if we do. This is so common in the 4-5 age group. Six more months with your toes in the sand can be the difference between an anxious and stressful start to school and a confident, smooth one. 

Is preschool the same as kindy?  

Kindergarten (kindy) is a part-time educational program for children the year before they start school (Prep). The year before starting school is preschool in the following states: 

• New South Wales.
• The Northern Territory.
• The Australian Capital Territory.
• South Australia.  

It's kindergarten/kindy/kinder in the rest of Australia. In Queensland, kindy is at least 15 hours per week, 40 weeks per year. It's free for children in government-approved kindergarten programs from 1 January 2024.

What's the difference between kindy and childcare? 

To get a Kindy Tick (Which is governemt approval), the centre needs to meet National Quality Framework (NQF) standards and all kindy teachers must hold at least a bachelor's degree in early education. Our qualified teachers design and deliver high-quality play-based programs tailored to your child's interests and needs. We also build out routines that support their growing independence and prepare them for the structure of the classroom. We're led by the Australian Early Learning Years Framework (ELYF), and kindy forms part of the Australian early education curriculum. Kindergarten programs must be government-approved, and Free Kindy is only offered at kindergartens with ACECQA approval. Confirm your centre has a Queensland Government Kindy Tick before enrolling for 2024. 

Further reading and resources 

We hope you've found this guide helpful in accessing your free kindy hours next year. It's such an exciting year, and we're here to support you and your child until they start school. There's a lot to think about, so please have a chat with our family services team or drop into your local Goodstart centre and speak to the centre director.

If you'd like to learn more about kindergarten or Queensland's Free Kindy, we've made a handy list of resources below: 

• Download our guide to kindergarten and what to expect in the year ahead. 
• The Queensland Government's Free Kindy starting in 2024. 
• The Free Kindy calculator to help you work out what you'll pay every fortnight.  
• Our CCS estimator if you need to calculate your Child Care Subsidy. 
• The Australian Early Year Learning Framework (EYLF) that guides our kindergarten curriculums.  

Finally, we're still taking kindy enrolments for 2024, so you can enrol your child for next year or pop them on a waitlist if needed.