From 1 January 2024, kindergarten will be free for Queensland families!

The best things in life are free, and although ‘free’ and ‘childcare’ aren’t two words we often see together, Queensland families can start getting excited, because free kindy is coming!  

The Palaszczuk government has poured an extra $645 million into the budget to make kindy free for every family from 1 January, 2024. 

This is a brilliant way to bring in the New Year, because free kindy will save Queensland families around $4,600 per year, and ensure that lots of preschoolers reap the rewards of early childhood education and care.  

There aren’t too many provisos either, hidden in fine print. 

Instead, kindy will be free for eligible-aged children who attend a government-approved program offering free kindy.  

Free kindy is a 15 hours per week (or 600 hours per year) kindergarten program that’s delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher, and your preschooler is eligible to attend this program in the year before they start school.  

Or more specifically, they can start kindy in the year they turn four-years-old by 30 June.  

All kindergartens will be able to offer free kindy if they like, by opting into the program, and the government assures us that, ‘Children will benefit from free kindy regardless of whether they attend a community kindergarten or kindy in a long day care.’  

However, do keep in mind that the ‘free’ part only relates to the 15 hours per week of approved kindy program your child gets, not any other hours your child attends care.  

If your child is in long day care, it’s best to speak with your service directly about how they will deliver the kindergarten program next year (for example, how many hours per day it will cover), and what you may expect your fees to be. 

Some Queensland families are already enjoying free, or cut-price, kindy. 

Thanks to the government’s 2023 kindergarten reforms, kindy is currently free for 14,000 children and cheaper for another 26,000. 

However, it’s estimated that an extra 50,000 families will benefit from free kindy next year, and this is great news for young learners and parent earners.  

A quality kindergarten program readies children for school and supports their learning and development in the crucial first five years of life.  

And for parents, free kindy means more money in the family budget to cover expenses like rate rises, rent, food, fuel and maybe a few things we actually want to spend our cash on! 

It’s also hoped that free kindy will encourage and enable parents to return to work, safe in the knowledge that their child is being looked after well and educationally enriched.  

The government is also spending big money to support early childhood workers.  

They’ve increased funding to attract and retain a quality early learning workforce, particularly in regional and remote areas; and are paying for things like relocation expenses, accommodation assistance, professional development and targeted resources to help childcare workers support kindy kids all over Queensland and to the best of their abilities.  

There is also extra money to ensure that children with disability get a lot out of the kindergarten program.  

All up, the government’s kindergarten investment is $2 billion over four years, and this is definitely money well spent!  

There’s so much evidence about the benefits of a quality kinder program for little learners, and hopefully free kindy means that every eligible child can enjoy the program before they start Prep.  

The government is working with the early learning sector to prepare for an influx of enrolments in January 2024, and if you have a preschooler, but haven’t yet got a place, now’s a great time to search for a community kindy or long day care with KindiCare. 

You can learn more about Queensland’s approach to kindergarten here, and free kindy is definitely cause for celebration.  

Bring on the New Year!