Queensland families will receive even better services and more cost-of-living relief thanks to the Palaszczuk Government’s $1 billion investment in kindergarten, with 14,000 children now able to enrol for completely free kindy in 2023.
Visiting Lady Gowrie Love Street Child Centre in Fortitude Valley today, Education Minister Grace Grace said around 40,000 families in total would benefit from free or cheaper kindy, and that parents and carers could now jump online to see exactly how much they will save thanks to the Kindy for All program.
“There’s no two ways about it: the early years are absolutely critical to a child’s future,” Ms Grace said.
“We want Queensland’s kindy services to be both exceptional and accessible, and I don’t want a single family in our state to struggle to send their child to kindy.
“That’s why earlier this year I announced we’d be making kindy free for 14,000 of our most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and cheaper for another 26,000.
“That means of the 58,000 families with kids in kindy, 70% of them will see a reduction in their fees.
“Following extensive consultation with more than 2,000 kindy services, I’m pleased to announce that families can now go online to see exactly what savings they’ll get, depending on their circumstances.
“For example, a family that earns $60,000 and holds an Australian Government Health Care Card will benefit from free sessional kindy. That will save an average of $4,500 a year.
“If your child attends kindy in a long day care, you have a family income of up to $130,000 and receive Family Tax Benefit, you will save around $500 a year.
“This is significant, targeted, financial support for low to middle income families that will help with the cost-of-living and give more kids a great start in life.
“Kindy really does count, so I encourage Queensland families to jump online, see their savings, and enrol their kids for kindy today.”
Advait, 3, will start at Love Street kindy in January 2023. His father, Amol, said the Kindy for All program would make a huge difference for their family.
“We are so happy to receive free kindy for Advait,” Amol said.
“It’s a relief for our family to know that we can give him the opportunity to learn, play and make friends at kindy without worrying about the cost.”
Lady Gowrie Queensland CEO, Louise Jackson, said she is excited to offer new Kindy savings to her families.
“We know the early years are incredibly important and we want every child to experience the benefits of kindy,” Ms Jackson said.
“The new Kindy savings will go a long way in supporting families attending our kindy services from next year.
“It helps lower costs and enables all children to participate in kindy – a great start to life, and their education.”
The kindergarten program funding overhaul – the most significant reform for the sector in more than a decade – also includes:
- $38.5 million to help 300 remote and regional services attract and retain early childhood teachers by providing relocation expenses and accommodation assistance
- Doubling the number of services covered by Kindy Uplift to more than 900
- $19 million a year to enhance support for families with children who have a disability or are developmentally vulnerable
Notes: Children will benefit from reduced fees from January 2023 regardless of whether they attend a community kindergarten or kindy in a long day care. Kindy is a part-time educational program for children in the year before Prep. Your child can start kindy in the year they turn 4 years old by 30 June, which is the year before they start school.
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