Support is available for all Victorian funded kindergartens to plan and implement an inclusive program that is responsive to the needs of children with a disability, developmental delay or complex medical needs.
Inclusive kindergarten programs ensure that all children can participate and learn alongside their peers, in an environment that supports their individual strengths and interests. Inclusive programs encourage and allow all children opportunities to access and participate in kindergarten programs.
All educators and education providers in Australia have obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005 to support children with disability. This requires services to make reasonable adjustments that ensure children can access and participate in kindergarten.
Services are also required to deliver quality kindergarten programs in line with the National Quality Framework and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF).
Kindergarten Inclusion Support Program
The Kindergarten Inclusion Support (KIS) program helps funded Victorian kindergarten providers meet these obligations through a team approach that benefits the entire kindergarten group. As the Best Start Best Life reforms continue to roll out, children with additional needs and who also have priority access to Pre-Prep will be supported as they attend more hours.
The purpose of KIS is to help educators do what they do best: create a safe, welcoming and dynamic learning space where every child can be included. The KIS program builds the capacity of the service and teaching team to work in a coherent way to deliver inclusive programs by:
- supporting early childhood teachers to build their capacity to develop and implement an inclusive program
- supporting early childhood teachers to contribute to positive outcomes for children, as defined in the VEYLDF
- providing additional assistance to teaching teams in responding to children’s individuals needs in the context of the whole kindergarten group.
If a child requires equipment to support their inclusion in the kindergarten program, they can access the KIS Specialised Equipment Program (KIS SEP). KIS SEP allows Victorian funded kindergarten programs to borrow specialised equipment at no cost. This program allows greater inclusion of children with significant disabilities.
Read more about KIS SEP and how to apply on the KIS Specialised Equipment Program page.
In addition to the KIS Program, there are a range of resources available to support kindergartens to implement an inclusive program. This support does not cover all kindergarten running costs.
Long daycare centres (LDC) providing a Victorian funded kindergarten program can also access the Commonwealth funded Inclusion Support Program (ISP). For more information regarding the ISP, providers can contact the Victorian Inclusion Agency for help.
Team approach to inclusion
All members of the kindergarten team contribute to the education of all children in the group, by demonstrating their commitment to valuing and respecting diversity.
The benefits of a team approach are:
- Coherent and consistent practice that reinforce the strategies and routines critical to supporting children’s engagement in learning.
- Increased capacity for educators to support each other in developing and providing a flexible program that responds to the needs of each child in the group.
- A broad support network is provided for children which reinforces a sense of belonging to the group and the broader community. This helps children feel that they are contributing to their world and are becoming confident and involved learners with a strong sense of self.
- Families feel confident that their children are welcomed and accepted by the whole team who has knowledge and understanding of their child’s interests, strengths and abilities.
Supporting a whole of service approach lies at the centre of the KIS program, and supports are designed to facilitate and embed this practice.
KIS program streams
There are 2 streams under the KIS program:
Disability
This helps kindergartens support the access and participation of children with disability or developmental delay and high support needs.
Complex medical needs
This helps kindergartens provide an inclusive program for children with complex medical needs who do not have a disability. These are children who need a high level of health care support to access a funded kindergarten program.
Available supports
Supports from KIS may include:
- Specialist consultancy to enhance the capacity of early childhood teachers to include all children in the kindergarten program. Specialist consultants provide information, links to professional development opportunities, and one-to-one consultation and coaching sessions that are tailored to children’s individual needs.
- Additional staffing support for the overall capacity of the kindergarten teaching team to provide a more inclusive environment for all children. KIS-funded assistants:
- work as part of the team, take direction from the early childhood teacher, sharing everyday team responsibilities in delivering the kindergarten program to all children in the group
- should not work exclusively with children identified in a KIS application and should not supervise a child or a group of children without another educator employed by the service – this applies to indoor/outdoor programs and in single early childhood teacher programs
- must not be used to increase staff levels to meet licensing requirements.
- Specialist training for early childhood teachers to meet the individual needs of a child, by building their understanding of and capacity to meet the individual needs of the child with disability or developmental delay with ongoing high support needs or complex medical needs.
- Minor building modifications to ensure the kindergarten’s physical environment supports a child to attend the kindergarten program and participate in activities. These modifications are typically permanent changes to the building structure. Examples of minor building modifications include widening doorframes, installing permanent toilet platforms, adding high-visibility strips to trip hazards, installing grip rails, and resurfacing paths to allow wheelchair or walker access to outdoor play areas.
Disability inclusion research in kindergartens
The Department of Education is undertaking a two-year research project (2024-2025) to better understand how to assess and support the inclusion needs of children with disabilities, developmental delay or complex medical needs in kindergarten.
The research aims to identify best-practice assessment methods and inform future advice on strengthening inclusion supports across Victorian funded kindergarten programs.
This work builds on existing supports, including the Preschool Field Officer (PSFO) program, KIS and the KIS SEP program.
Read more about the Disability Inclusion Research in Kindergartens project.
Submission process
KIS providers and the Australian Healthcare Associates (AHA) can support kindergartens throughout the application process.
KIS providers support kindergartens to understand various aspects of the KIS program, including:
- the purpose of the KIS program
- eligibility criteria
- information needed for an application, including the submission process
- types of support available through the KIS program
- processes for accessing approved support through the KIS program
- the importance of program support groups (PSG) and requirements of ECTs to lead PSG meetings
- preparing applications and appeals.
AHA manages the online KIS application service and assesses the eligibility of KIS applications. AHA operates a helpdesk for kindergarten staff and KIS providers to:
- provide general advice about the application process
- help kindergartens navigate the KIS portal
- answer queries about the progress of specific applications.
From the week beginning Monday 6 October 2025, KIS applications will be submitted by accessing the digital form located on the KIS Program portal. The following guidelines and forms will apply to this submission process:
- Kindergarten Inclusion Support Program:
- Privacy notice and consent form for parents/carers/guardians (DOCX, 113KB) (to be used with the digital portal from 6 October 2025)
- KIS Plan (DOCX, 53KB) – learning support plan to map and monitor a child’s learning and development (to be used with the digital portal from 6 October 2025).
Each user in a kindergarten service seeking to lodge an application will need to create an account. These accounts will require individual email addresses, in addition to needing multi-factor authentication.
There is no change in the submission process for KIS applications submitted before 6 October 2025. It is recommended that applications for 2026 be submitted via the digital form.
To follow up a current submission or to discuss alternative submission arrangements, contact the KIS application support team:
- telephone: 1300 564 149
- email: support@kisapplications.com.au.
If you are planning to submit an appeal or a transfer application for an application submitted before 6 October 2025, contact the support team in the first instance.
It is not recommended that kindergarten services submit applications for the current kindergarten year after the fourth week of term 4. If services believe they have extenuating circumstances, they should first speak with their KIS provider.
KIS provider contacts
If your service requires support with understanding the KIS Program guidelines and assistance with completing applications before submission, contact the KIS provider for your area:
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