As parents, we know there's nothing more important than our kids and making sure they get the best start for the best life.
Our kids are born ready to learn with 90% of their brain development happening in their first five years, and access to quality education and care in these five years sets them on a pathway to thrive.
But right now, the childcare system just isn't working for working families.
In fact, it's working against them.
With average child care costs well over $100 a day - if you can even get access to a place.
It means that women are seven times more likely to step back from work just to manage the increasing costs of childcare.
That's not only bad for them, it hurts all of us, too.
Taking almost 26,600 women out of the workforce entirely and costing our economy $1.5 billion per year in lost earnings alone.
It's unfair and it's unsustainable - and it's why the Victorian Government is changing it.
Building on our Best Start, Best Life investments, we're making sure every child has every chance to be their best - while helping more mums return to work, enabling them to work as much as they want to - instead of how much they can afford to.
We start by making Kinder free for all three and four-year-olds from 2023, saving families an average of between $2,000 and $2,500 per child every year.
This means immediate relief for family budgets, and more opportunities for kids to play, learn and make friends.
We'll also establish 50 new centres located in the communities that need them most and all with extended hours.
By creating more places closer to home, it'll be easier, more convenient and more affordable for families to access care.
The first centres open from 2025 and will introduce Pre-Prep - transitioning four-year-old Kinder into a new free 30-hour-per-week play based learning year.
All delivered in your existing kinder or childcare centre with more to be built across our state.
Making sure kids have everything they need to be ready for primary school and saving parents
thousands of dollars in childcare fees.
These improvements won't just help our kids thrive, they'll ease the pressure on household budgets.
Importantly, they'll also make it easier for women to return to work on terms that work for them.
Setting families up for success. And setting our kids up for life.
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