Overview
Early Start Kindergarten (ESK) provides eligible children with 15 hours of free or low-cost kindergarten each week led by a qualified Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) registered teacher.
Children enrolled in ESK will be eligible for Pre-Prep (more hours of Four-Year-Old Kindergarten) the following year, no matter where they live in the state.
Eligible children
ESK is available to children who are at least 3 years old by 30 April in the year they are enrolled to attend the program and:
- are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander or
- are from a refugee or asylum seeker background or
- have had contact with Child Protection.
Children whose birthdays fall between 1 January and 30 April have the choice of the year they will start school. Parents and carers need to be consulted about the intended year children will start school before determining which year they access ESK.
Make a referral
Professionals working with families can advise services of children's eligibility for ESK directly with the relevant early childhood service provider. Parents can also notify early childhood services about their eligibility.
Notification of eligibility can be provided in writing or verbally from a parent or professional, or based on the knowledge you have of the family’s background. No other action or information is required to determine eligibility.
Enrolments
ESK enrolments need to be placed in a group where they can receive 15 hours per week of high-quality education, preferably delivered by the same teacher to enable continuity of learning.
A child can be placed in a Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program, a mixed age program, or a Four-Year-Old Kindergarten program, and can be enrolled in multiple groups in order to access 15 hours per week.
Early Start Kindergarten, Free Kinder and Three-Year-Old Kindergarten
ESK continues to be available for eligible 3-year-old children to access 15 hours of free or low cost kindergarten per week, throughout the roll-out of funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten.
Eligible children should be enrolled in ESK, even if Free Kinder or 15 hours per week of funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten is available at the service.
Enrolling children through ESK ensures they have priority of access to kindergarten, including Pre-Prep. It also means services receive additional funding and support. For instance:
- The service will receive a full year’s ESK funding upfront regardless of when a child starts or leaves the service. This supports you to plan for their access and inclusion.
- The number of ESK enrolments at a service contributes to how much School Readiness Funding (SRF) the service receives.
Enrolling eligible children in ESK also helps with planning for the delivery of Pre-Prep to eligible children the following year.
Services are encouraged to discuss eligibility for ESK and Pre-Prep with families and referrers directly, in addition to the information collected in enrolment forms.
Refugee and asylum seeker children
A child from a refugee or asylum seeker background is eligible for ESK if the child, a parent, a carer or a legal guardian holds, or has previously held, or is applying for one of the following:
- Refugee visa (subclass 200)
- In-country Special Humanitarian visa (subclass 201)
- Global Special Humanitarian visa (subclass 202)
- Emergency Rescue visa (subclass 203)
- Woman at Risk visa (subclass 204)
- Humanitarian Stay visa (subclass 449)
- Temporary Protection visa (subclass 785)
- Temporary (Humanitarian Concern) visa (subclass 786)
- Safe Haven Enterprise visa (subclass 790)
- Resolution of Status visa (subclass 851)
- Protection visa (subclass 866)
- Bridging visa, and is in the process of applying for one of the above Refugee or Humanitarian visas
- ImmiCard
- an approved exemption from the department.
This includes children and families who now hold Australian citizenship or permanent residency. Children and families who meet the above criteria can provide this information verbally and are not required to provide visa documentation or other evidence. The child’s eligibility for ESK should be recorded in the child’s confidential enrolment record.
Exemptions will be considered by the department where a child, their parent, carer or guardian, is a refugee or asylum seeker but does not meet the above criteria. If an exemption is required or there’s any uncertainty around eligible visas, contact your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch.
Children in out-of-home care
All children in out-of-home care who are 3 by 30 April in the year they start kindergarten are eligible for ESK. Ensuring more children in out-of-home care participate in ESK is a commitment under the Early Childhood Agreement for children in out-of-home care. These children are also eligible for Pre-Prep from 2026.
Early Start Kindergarten Extension Grants
The ESK extension grant is available for eligible children in the year before school who are enrolled in services not participating in Free Kinder and are not eligible for the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy.
The eligibility criteria are the same as for ESK, however, a child is not required to have accessed ESK in the previous year to access the ESK extension grant.
Long Day Care and Early Start Kindergarten
ESK and the ESK Extension Grant can be used in combination with the Australian Government’s Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and the Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS).
Long Day Care services are required to use ESK and ESK Extension grants in the first instance to allow eligible children to attend a kindergarten program for 15 hours per week for a minimum of 600 hours per year at no cost to the family.
Long Day Care services may collaborate with the family or carer to determine how to support the child’s needs. The service may consider how this can contribute to their Quality Improvement Plan.
The service can put the grant towards:
- gap fees not covered by CCS or ACCS
- financial expenses whilst accessing ACCS
- resources for children with high, complex needs or those experiencing disadvantage
- employment of a kindergarten teacher
- out-of-pocket expenses such as excursions/incursions
- professional development for staff about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
Immunisation status for Early Start Kindergarten enrolments
No Jab No Play
Under No Jab No Play, children enrolled in ESK are eligible to enrol immediately, without proof of up-to-date immunisations.
A 16-week support period from the date children first attend the service allows the family to continue to access kindergarten while they obtain an Immunisation History Statement. The service should assist the family as much as possible through this process.
If the support period has expired and the service has not received appropriate documentation (including a 'catch up schedule'), the child can continue to attend kindergarten, except in the circumstance of an outbreak of an infectious disease.
The service should continue to work with the carer to address this issue. The support period intends to encourage immunisation, not prevent attendance.
No Jab No Pay
Under the Australian Government’s No Jab No Pay, families accessing kindergarten in Long Day Care can only receive financial assistance through the Child Care Subsidy if children meet immunisation requirements.
Information for Maternal and Child Health professionals
Information for Child Protection professionals
Other early intervention programs and funding
The Access to Early Learning (AEL) program provides a more intensive early intervention than ESK. Through AEL, a facilitator supports vulnerable 3-year-olds from families with multiple and complex needs, assisting them to access universal kindergarten programs.
AEL is for families that have a range of barriers to children's kindergarten participation. It is unlike ESK, which predominately addresses financial barriers.
AEL facilitators undertake in-home visits and work with families to build their child’s engagement with formal learning. They also work to strengthen the home learning environment. Facilitators collaborate with educators and other services to support the family and child.
Find out more, get support and resources
Why participation matters
Participation in quality kindergarten supports children’s long term development and health, particularly those who are vulnerable, and is important for success at school and beyond.
Kindergarten acts as a protective factor by offering a supportive and stimulating environment where children can develop essential skills, build positive relationships, and receive early support if needed.
When children attend kindergarten consistently, they experience deeper connections with their peers and educators, who better understand their unique interests, strengths, and needs. This sense of belonging helps children feel valued, secure and confident to fully explore and enjoy their learning environment.
Consistent kindergarten attendance can also support children to smoothly transition to school. This is because children who have consistent attendance patterns in kindergarten are more likely to maintain their level of participation once they commence school.
The evidence behind 2 years and more time in kindergarten provides more information about the importance of early childhood education and the evidence behind the Best Start, Best Life reforms.
Resources for Funded Kindergartens provide further information about ESK for kindergarten services, MCH services, Child Protection and Child FIRST professionals.
Early Start Kindergarten provides further information about ESK for families.
To order ESK print material free of charge, please sign up and/or login to the Victorian Kindergarten Resources website, and select the Early Start Kindergarten option. Anyone can view and order ESK print material.
Interpreting services
Early Childhood services can support access for children from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds and help culturally and linguistically diverse families understand more about ESK or kindergarten by accessing telephone interpreting services.
Telephone interpreting services can be accessed by phoning the Department’s provider for language services, All Graduates on 03 9605 3051 or emailing de.enquiries@allgraduates.com.au.
Information for parents
Direct parents and carers to Early Start Kindergarten for more information about ESK.
Resources
- Communication kit (DOCX, 6MB)
- Communications kit for Refugee and Asylum Seeker families (DOCX, 7MB)
- Early Start Kindergarten postcard (PDF, 456KB)
- Early Start Kindergarten brochure (PDF, 781KB)
- Early Start Kindergarten for refugees and asylum seekers brochure (PDF, 589KB)
- Early Start Kindergarten for refugees and asylum seekers brochure - Easy English version (DOCX, 2MB)
- How Early Start Kindergarten grants work in long day care (PDF, 710KB)
- Supporting CALD families to engage in kindergarten
Social media tiles
15 Hours of kindergarten
No child left behind
Why ESK?
Why ESK? (support)
Translated brochures and social media tiles
Translated versions of the above resources can be found at Early Start Kindergarten.
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