The early years are critical to a child’s future and we want every Queensland family to know kindy is free from 1 January 2024.
Kindy is for 15 hours per week, 40 weeks per year, at a government-approved educational program and it is FREE. It is for children who are aged at least 4 years of age by 30 June in the year before they start Prep.
Historic investment for early learning in Queensland This $2 billion investment over the next four years means kindy is now accessible and affordable for every family. From 2024, 64,000 Queensland families will have access to free kindy for their child. Free kindy from 2024 means every eligible child will have access to high-quality early education, setting them up for a strong and successful future.
A state-wide advertising campaign promotes free kindy for all Queensland families and encourages families to go online to find their nearest free kindy provider.
Long Day Care Service offers a 12-hour day session and the ECT works 7.5 hours a day delivering the Approved Kindergarten Program, 7.5 hours of the day is covered by Free Kindy and the remaining 2.5 hours is wraparound kindy care and needs to be charged accordingly, with families incurring Out of Pocket Costs.
Supporting our workforce
A key to quality early childhood programs and kindergarten, is having a qualified, resilient and capable workforce. The Queensland Government is investing $120 million over the next four years, this includes a co-designed Queensland Early Childhood Workforce Strategy. This strategy aims to help attract and retain educators, by providing opportunities to upgrade their qualifications, build leadership skills, improve professional recognition, and build educator capability
