This page includes resources for services and providers to communicate with families about Free Kinder, Kinder Kits and Three-Year-Old Kindergarten and its benefits.
The information and digital materials below can be shared across your social media, websites, newsletters, or family communication platforms. You can also order printed materials from the Victorian Kindergarten Resources for your service.
Kindergarten programs in Victoria in 2023
In an Australian first, children across Victoria can now access two years of free kindergarten programs before school at participating services. Free Kinder means a saving of up to $2,500 per child, per year, for Victorian families.
- For three-year-old children, this means a free kindergarten program of between five and 15 hours each week.
- For four-year-old children, this means a free kindergarten program of 15 hours each week (600 hours each year).
Sessional kindergartens
- Sessional kindergartens will receive a Free Kinder amount of $2,500 per child enrolled.
- Services that offer a Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program of less than 15 hours, will receive a pro-rata amount.
Long day care centres
- Long day care programs, which also attract Commonwealth Childcare payments, will receive a Free Kinder amount up to $2,000 per child.
- Services that offer a Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program of less than 15 hours, will receive a pro-rata amount.
Free Kinder
Free Kinder is part of the Best Start, Best Life , which builds on the continued roll-out of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten.
Because of the Free Kinder initiative, you may find families engaging in early childhood learning for the first time.
Use the below resources to help you communicate about Free Kinder.
- Free Kinder is here (social media tile) (PNG,
- Three-Year-Old Kindergarten is here and it’s free (poster) (PDF,
- Advice for families about Free Kinder in 2023 (DOCX,
Kinder Kits
To celebrate the start of Free Kinder and continued successful roll-out of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten, all eligible children enrolled in a Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program in 2023 will receive a free Kinder Kit.
Kinder Kits are full of educational and fun toys, books and resources that encourage creativity and open-ended play. Use the below resources to help celebrate children receiving their Kits.
The kits are designed to encourage continued learning through play at home and include lots of tips and ideas to help parents guide their child’s early learning and development.
To help families get the most out of their Kinder Kits, you can find videos and other resources, including a Guide for Families and translated materials, at .
Kinder Kits will be delivered to services in Term 1. All children enrolled in Victorian Government-funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten and in their first year of Early Start Kindergarten and Access to Early Learning will receive a Kinder Kit.
Kit orders are linked to KIMS enrolment data and can only be distributed to eligible children to avoid eligible children missing out.
For any questions about Kinder Kit orders, contact kinder.kits.@education.vic.gov.au.
Three-Year-Old Kindergarten
Two years of quality early childhood education has more impact than one. It’s strongly recommended that families send their children to kindergarten programs for two years before school, starting with Three-Year-Old Kindergarten programs.
Use the resources below to celebrate the start of the year and promote Three-Year-Old Kindergarten, especially if your service still has enrolments available. Share the infographics and fact sheets with families and your community at the start of and during the year.
Celebrate a new year of kindergarten
Use the sample text in the kit to help you celebrate children settling in to Three-Year-Old Kindergarten and promote early childhood education to your families, staff, and broader community. The kit also includes key information about Three-Year-Old Kindergarten programs, including Free Kinder, flexible hours, the transition to Pre-Prep from 2025 and the benefits of two years of kindergarten.
- Communications resources to help you talk about 2023
- Celebrate start of year (social media tile) (PNG,
- Two years is better than one (poster 1) (PDF,
- Two years is better than one (poster 2) (PDF,
- Two years is better than one (email banner) (JPG,
For services with enrolments still available
- Enrolments still available (social media tile) (PNG,
- Enrol in Three-Year-Old Kinder (poster, editable) (PDF,
- Spots available in Three-Year-Old Kinder (poster 1) (PDF,
- Spots available in Three-Year-Old Kinder (poster (PDF,
- Know someone with a three-year-old child (PDF,
Infographics and fact sheets
- Benefits of two years of kindergarten (JPG,
- What children experience in a kindergarten program (JPG,
- Email signature image (JPG, .
- What is play-based learning (PDF,
- What is play-based learning (DOCX,
- When to start at Three-Year-Old Kindergarten (PDF,
- When to start at Three-Year-Old Kindergarten (DOCX,
- How to find a service (PDF,
- How to find a service (DOCX,
Pre-Prep
Four-Year-Old Kindergarten will transition to Pre-Prep in stages from 2025. As Pre-Prep gradually rolls-out over the next decade, children will receive 16 to 30 hours per week of high quality, play-based learning in the year before school. By 2032, children across the state will have access to 30 hours of Pre-Prep.
Pre-Prep will be rolled out across Victoria in stages, with vulnerable and disadvantaged children prioritised for earlier access, no matter where they live. Aboriginal children will also be prioritised for earlier access.
- Pre-Prep roll-out map (digital banner) (PNG,
- Transitioning to Pre-Prep and roll-out map (social media tile) (PNG,
- Pre-Prep from 2025 and roll-out map (social media tile) (PNG,
- Roll-out map (animated GIF) (GIF,
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Kinder Tick
The Kinder Tick helps Victorian families find a government approved kindergarten program for their children.
The Kinder Tick means:
- the program will be led by a qualified teacher
- children will benefit from play-based learning
- the kindergarten program is funded and approved by the Victorian Government
- the program complies with government guidelines and the National Quality Framework.
Order Kinder Tick including signage for your service or download the logo and information .
Early Start Kindergarten
Early Start (ESK) continues to be available for eligible children, providing 15 hours of kindergarten each week for two years before school.
Eligible children should be specifically enrolled in ESK, even where Free Kinder or 15 hours per week of funded three-year-old kindergarten is offered.
Enrolling children through ESK ensures they have priority of access, and services can receive additional funding and support. For instance:
- the number of ESK enrolments at your service contributes to how much School Readiness Funding (SRF) your service receives
- sessional kindergartens and long day care services will receive a full year’s funding allocation (for hours enrolled) when ESK applications are approved – this is regardless of when a child starts or leaves the service. This supports your planning around the child’s access and inclusion into the kindergarten program
- long day care services will receive at least $500 in extra funding for supporting an ESK enrolment.
To be eligible for ESK, children must be three by 30 April in the year they start kindergarten, and either:
- be from a refugee or asylum seeker background
- identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
- be from a family that has had contact with child protection.
Services are encouraged to discuss eligibility for ESK with families and referrers directly, in addition to information provided through enrolment processes.
Koorie Kids Shine
Koorie Kids promotes the value of kindergarten to Aboriginal families and the community. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged three and four can access 15 hours of free kindergarten each week through Early Start Kindergarten.
Use these Koorie Kids materials to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families to learn more about the benefits of kindergarten, including how services create culturally safe places for Koorie children and families, and how to engage in Three-Year-Old Kindergarten.
To order Koorie Kids Shine print material free of charge, sign up and log in to the Victorian Kindergarten Resources , and select the Additional supports and programs option. Anyone can view and order Koorie Kids Shine print material.
Download and print your posters, brochures and postcards:
Download the Communications kit (DOCX, , which has info you can use on social media and in a newsletter.
Social media tiles for use on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram:
- Social media tile v1 (PNG,
- Social media tile v2 (PNG,
- Social media tile v3 (PNG,
- Social media tile v4 (PNG, .
Social media tiles
- Connect with the country - Facebook (JPG,
- Connect with the country - Twitter (JPG,
- 15 hours free - Facebook (JPG,
- 15 hours free - Twitter (JPG,
- Free kinder for children aged three and four - Facebook (JPG,
- Free kinder for children aged three and four - Twitter (JPG,
- Learn through play, art, music and dance - Facebook (JPG,
- Learn through play, art, music and dance - Twitter (JPG,
- Make friends, build skills and grow confidence - Facebook (JPG,
- Make friends, build skills and grow confidence - Twitter (JPG, .
Translated materials
Some families from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds may experience barriers accessing early childhood education, including language barriers.
Use the new translations to assist your engagement with CALD families. Translated information is available in 30 languages explaining what early childhood education is and its benefits. There is also information about supports for access and participation.
Please share the link with your staff and families.
You can also order printed translated resources from the Victorian Kindergarten Resources in 30 different languages. You can also download materials from the portal for digital use (for example, to send by email).
You can find further resources to communicate with cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) families about kindergarten and its benefits on the Supporting CALD families to engage in webpage.
Social media tiles are available from the portal or below.
Translated social media tiles
Arabic
Assyrian
Bengali
Burmese
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
Dari
Dinka
English
Farsi
Greek
Gujarati
Hakha Chin
Hazaragi
Hindi
- Enrolments still open tile (JPG,
- Best start, best life tile 1 (PNG,
- Best start, best life tile 2 (PNG,
- Best start, best life (DOCX,
Indonesian
Italian
Karen
Khmer
Korean
Nepali
Oromo
Punjabi
Sinhalese
Somali
Spanish
Swahili
Tamil
Telugu
Thai
Turkish
Urdu
Vietnamese
Reviewed 28 February 2023