When will Pre-Prep be available

Pre-Prep started in 6 regional areas in 2025 and will gradually become available to more children across Victoria each year.

In 2026 and 2028, children who meet the criteria for priority cohorts will become eligible for Pre-Prep, no matter where they live in Victoria.

By 2036, Pre-Prep will be available to all Victorian children in the year before school.

When a child can start Pre-Prep depends on:

what local government area you live in, or
if your child is eligible from 2026 or 2028, anywhere in Victoria, based on the criteria for priority cohorts.

Eligibility

- From 2026, between 16 and 25 hours of Pre-Prep will be available to:
  - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
  - children from a refugee or asylum seeker background
  - children who have had contact with Child Protection (this includes children in Out-of-Home-Care and children who have had contact with Child Protection in previous years)
  - children who were supported by Early Start Kindergarten or Access to Early Learning in their Three-Year-Old Kindergarten year.
- If a child is enrolled through Early Start Kindergarten or Access to Early Learning for their three-year-old kindergarten year, check the family know their child is eligible for Pre-Prep the following year.
- In 2028, children who meet the above eligibility will be eligible to receive up to 30 hours of Pre-Prep.
- From 2028, between 16 and 25 hours of Pre-Prep will be available to:
  - children who have, or have a parent or guardian who has, a Commonwealth concession card
  - children from families with triplets or more

Making sure families know their child is eligible

You can use the below prompts to start a respectful conversation with families who may not be aware they can access Pre-Prep from 2026:
- Our service is making sure families know how the four-year-old kinder year works for their child.
- Your child may be able to get more hours of kinder next year. Is it okay if I give you some information about this?
- We can arrange an interpreter to help tell you more about it, including how to enrol.

If you have families or children from a refugee or asylum seeker background in your community, refer to Foundation House’s ‘Schools in for Refugees’ webpage, which has a range of resources including an information sheet, Identifying children and families of refugee background in the early years. You may also seek support from a CALD Outreach Worker if available in your local government area.

To support conversations with Koorie families in your community, use the information and videos at Koorie Kids Shine. You can also contact a Koorie Education Coordinator for support. If you are a kindergarten service, you may want to let families know how Koorie perspectives are included in the learning curriculum – e.g. through daily Acknowledgement of Country, reading Koorie stories, displaying Aboriginal artwork, and celebrating Aboriginal cultural events such as NAIDOC.

Information to give families:

Updated 1 December 2025