Dear colleagues
As I shared with you last month, the 2025/26 Victorian Budget delivers nearly $2 billion for the Best Start, Best Life reforms, demonstrating the Victorian Government’s commitment to early childhood education.
The Budget figures tell the story of future investment, but it’s also useful to think about how these figures translate in the real world. Updated statistics about last year’s kindergarten programs are now available and they paint a striking picture.
In 2024:
- more than 143,000 children benefitted from Free Kinder
- 96% of eligible children attended Four-Year-Old Kindergarten, the highest rate since 2016
- 88% of services offered 15 hours a week of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten, well ahead of schedule.
On the infrastructure side, this year we’ve opened:
- 20 kindergartens on government school sites
- 45 kindergartens on local government and other provider sites
- 4 early learning and childcare centres, operated by Early Learning Victoria.
The investments from this year’s Budget will help us work together to build on these achievements, to support more children and families to access more hours of play-based learning.
Supporting First Nations access and reflecting on Reconciliation Week
This year’s Budget also invests $5.3 million in Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) with kindergarten programs. This is vital funding that will provide certainty and flexibility through a single per-child funding stream. This investment enables these organisations to deliver tailored programs – improving outcomes and advancing self-determination.
This update edition comes to you at the conclusion of National Reconciliation Week (Tuesday 27 May to Tuesday 3 June 2025).
This year’s theme was ‘Bridging now to next’, which encouraged reflections on the lessons learned from the journey to Reconciliation so far.
One of the initiatives making a big difference for First Nations families in Victoria is Koorie Kids Shine. Launched in 2015, the program has contributed to high levels of participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Three- and Four-Year-Old Kindergarten.
Throughout the state, there are great examples of creative, effective approaches to support inclusion and participation. In this edition, you can read how the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative in the Barwon Region is supporting Koorie families in their transition to kindergarten.
First Nations children are also being prioritised to access Pre-Prep. In 2026, Victorian children who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander will be able to access up to 25 hours of kinder programs each week, no matter where they live in the state.
There is still more work to do and more opportunities to reflect as a sector on how we can do our best for First Nations children and their families. I look forward to continuing our work together to help Victorian children to learn and thrive.
Bronwen FitzGerald
Deputy Secretary
Early Childhood Education
Updated