All children benefit from more hours of early childhood education, and children in priority groups are likely to receive especially high benefits from more hours of kindergarten.
Early Start Kindergarten (ESK) helps eligible children to access 15 hours per week of free or low-cost Three-Year-Old Kindergarten with a qualified teacher.
From 2026, the same groups of children are eligible for Pre-Prep — more hours of funded Four-Year-Old Kindergarten — no matter where they live.
Eligible children include those who:
- identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
- are from a refugee or asylum seeker background
- have had contact with Child Protection or are in out-of-home care.
Children enrolled in ESK or supported by the Access to Early Learning program for Three-Year-Old Kindergarten are also eligible for Pre-Prep the following year. Children who weren’t enrolled in ESK but otherwise meet the eligibility criteria can still access Pre-Prep from 2026.
Changes to ESK eligibility
Recent changes to the process for enrolling in ESK mean that children (and children with a parent, carer or legal guardian) who previously held a refugee or asylum seeker visa are eligible for ESK and Pre-Prep and no longer need to seek a specific exemption from the department. This will make it easier for these families to enrol and mean less administration for services.
More information on the eligibility criteria for ESK and Pre-Prep in 2026 will be made available on the Early Start Kindergarten information for professionals webpage in the coming weeks.
Services are encouraged to discuss the benefits of early childhood education with families and enrol eligible children in ESK and Pre-Prep so they can benefit from more hours of kindergarten. Enrolling eligible children in ESK also helps with planning for the delivery of Pre-Prep to eligible children the following year.
Find out more
For more information, refer to:
- Early Start Kindergarten
- Operational policies supporting the Best Start, Best Life reforms(opens in a new window)
- The evidence behind 2 years and more time in kindergarten(opens in a new window)
- Communicating with families(opens in a new window).
For further enquiries, contact your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch(opens in a new window).
Updated