The
2024 Queensland Kindergarten Funding Essentials for sessional kindergartens is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of kindy funding, including eligibility, claims and payments, legal obligations, assurance and subsidies.
The following information will support your service's operations and planning around the new free kindy funding. Terms and conditions apply from 1 January 2024.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for funding, service providers must meet 2 sets of criteria.
Child eligibility criteria
A child must be at least 4 years of age by 30 June in the year they commence kindergarten. Service providers may only claim funding for each enrolled, eligible child.
Service provider eligibility criteria
Each service provider (members and affiliates of central governing bodies) must:
- operate a service that has a current service approval under the Education and Care Services National Law (National Law) or the
Education and Care Services Act 2013 (ECS Act)
- be registered as an approved kindergarten program provider
- not had approved kindergarten program provider status suspended or revoked
- employ a qualified early childhood teacher or a 'working towards' early childhood teacher with an approved exceptional circumstance from the Department of Education to deliver the approved kindergarten program. Qualifications must
- deliver an approved kindergarten program using the
Queensland kindergarten learning guideline or an alternative kindergarten learning guideline accredited by the
Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority
- offer and provide all eligible children in the approved kindergarten program an annual provision of 600 hours made up of at least 15 hours a week or 30 hours per fortnight for 40 weeks. Any other model must be approved by the Department of Education prior to commencement
- have a rating of working towards National Quality Standard or higher. Services waiting to be assessed by the regulatory authority against the National Quality Standard are still eligible for funding
- ensure that the fee charged for eligible children participating in an approved kindergarten program is not more than the fee charged for any other group at the service
- have kindergarten program fees that are below the Department of Education’s funding threshold to opt into free kindy
- be a member or affiliate of a central governing body (sessional kindergartens).
Requirements
In claiming and receiving kindergarten funding, service providers agree to and must:
- adhere to the terms and conditions detailed in kindergarten funding service agreements
- retain and provide on request any evidence to demonstrate compliance with kindergarten funding for up to 3 years, including early childhood teacher qualifications, staff rosters, room rolls, programming information, enrolment forms, policies and procedures, invoices, software provider reports, fee structures and family fee statements
- spend funding for eligible children in the year for which the funding was claimed
- adopt a fee structure that is not a barrier to participation by families and the pricing methodology used to establish these fees aligns to the service's purpose as a not for profit community association
- ensure fees are developed in consultation with the relevant central governing body
- ensure fees charged for eligible children are the same as or less than fees for non-eligible children attending the kindergarten program)
- not transfer affiliation from 1 central governing body to another during a calendar year (sessional kindergarten affiliates). The central governing body must provide the Department of Education with confirmation of the new membership
- ensure enrolment policies and procedures are followed and
- prioritise enrolment of eligible children into approved kindergarten programs prior to opening additional programs or enrolling non-eligible children
- only offer non-eligible children places in an approved kindergarten program after 28 February each year, if places are available after finalising the enrolment of eligible children. Earlier enrolments of non-eligible children must be approved in writing by a central governing body and the Department of Education prior to offering places
- ensure claims are made for eligible children in 1 kindergarten program only
- support family choice regarding the service provider to which kindergarten funding is applied, where a child attends multiple sessional kindergartens (funding is allocated to the sessional kindergarten if a child attends a long day care and sessional kindergarten)
- ensure enrolments are not refused for eligible children in an approved kindergarten program if funding has been claimed for that child by another service provider
- display the following information at all times an approved kindergarten program is being delivered
- approved kindergarten program provider certificate
- kindergarten program operating times
- approved kindergarten program 'kindy tick' identifier
- name and qualifications of the early childhood teacher delivering the kindergarten program
- fee structure clearly documenting the kindergarten program fees, including how subsidies or other funds are allocated or passed on, so that eligible families understand how kindergarten will be made free for their child. You can use the
statement of fees as an editable template for the information you are required to provide
- use the online application in the
Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority portal to develop and upload a transition statement (with family permission) for each eligible child's family in November of the kindergarten year. Read more about
kindergarten transition statements
- have a workforce plan that is reviewed at least annually and includes a range of strategies to attract and retain suitably qualified early childhood teachers. Read more about
workforce plans.
Kindergarten funding subsidies
Kindergarten funding is provided to service providers through 1 or more subsidies.
-
Base subsidy—provided for each eligible child who is enrolled in an approved kindergarten program at a sessional kindergarten that has opted into free kindy.
-
Free kindy subsidy—provided for each eligible child enrolled in an approved kindergarten program in a sessional kindergarten that has opted into free kindy and covers the parent fee component of the kindergarten program for at least 15 hours a week for 40 weeks, or 600 hours a year.
-
Service location subsidy—provided to service providers that have opted into free kindy (for each eligible child) where the service is located in an eligible remoteness category using the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) remoteness measure at the SA2 geographic level.
-
Kindy uplift—provided to eligible service providers, determined by the Department of Education, to respond to children's learning and development needs through provision of evidence-based initiatives.
-
Inclusion subsidy—provided to service providers to support inclusion of all eligible children in an approved kindergarten program irrespective of diversity of background or additional needs.
-
Per capita subsidy—provided to service providers that have not opted into free kindy.
Kindergarten funding claims and payments
Sessional kindergartens are funded collectively through a kindergarten funding service agreement with central governing bodies. Each central governing body distributes funding to members or affiliates in accordance with individual kindergarten funding service agreements.
Payments from the Department of Education are made to central governing bodies through 2 block grants in advance over a calendar year, with an acquittal process completed at the end of each term.
Payments are made by electronic funds transfer.
Legal obligations
Central governing bodies have legal obligations relating to kindergarten funding and must have financial oversight of the use of grant funding provided to each service provider.
Central governing bodies are contractually bound to the terms and conditions in kindergarten funding service agreements. Each central governing body is the legal entity that enters into this contractual and legal relationship with the Department of Education. Legal obligations include:
- reporting and governance requirements
- financial accountability
- compliance with the Kindergarten Funding Essentials, including service eligibility and requirements.
Sessional kindergartens (affiliates only) are bound to the terms and conditions of respective affiliate funding agreements with their central governing body. Affiliate funding agreements legally bind each central governing body's affiliate to the Department of Education's kindergarten funding requirements.
Kindergarten funding assurance
The Department of Education conducts assurance reviews of approved kindergarten providers to monitor compliance against the requirements of kindergarten funding.
Assurance reviews are conducted by officers authorised under the
Community Services Act 2007. The
Community Services Act 2007 authorises investigating, monitoring and ensuring compliance of services in receipt of kindergarten funding.
Funding provided by the Department of Education will be recovered (or reimbursed) in full for all periods where:
- the kindergarten funding terms and conditions, service eligibility criteria or requirements have not been met, or there is insufficient evidence to support compliance
- there is insufficient evidence of
- appropriate expenditure of subsidies
- support for claims, particularly where the claim falls outside the normal operating context of the service
- establishment of fees in accordance with the service's purpose as a not-for profit association or that the central governing body has not supported these fees
- claiming anomalies or deliberate overclaiming have been identified
- subsidies have not been passed on to families
- funding has not been correctly applied
- enrolment of an eligible aged child into the kindergarten program has been denied on the basis of parental choice as to the application of the funding in multiple service settings.
Sessional kindergarten grants (funded through central governing bodies)
Base subsidy for sessional kindergartens
The base subsidy is provided to service providers for each eligible child enrolled in an approved kindergarten program.
Base subsidy amounts funded
Check the
amount that can be claimed (appendix 5).
Base subsidy spending rules (inclusions)
Sessional kindergartens can use the base subsidy for the following:
- operational costs directly related to the delivery of the approved kindergarten program for eligible children
- capital expenditure/improvements
- renovations, maintenance and utilities (e.g. rates, water, electricity)
- improved entitlements for the early childhood teacher delivering the approved kindergarten program, including but not limited to wages, professional development or learning resources and incentive payments
- quality and age-appropriate resources specifically for eligible children
- planned incursions, excursions and extracurricular kindergarten activities for eligible children.
The base subsidy must
not be used for any costs
not directly related to the delivery of the approved kindergarten program for eligible children.
Base subsidy spending rules (exclusions)
The base subsidy must
not be used for any costs
not directly related to the delivery of the approved kindergarten program for eligible children or service software programs and memberships.
Base subsidy financial obligations
Each central governing body or sessional kindergarten must be able to demonstrate to the Department of Education:
- how the base subsidy was spent by each sessional kindergarten for which the funding was granted
- that the base subsidy was used for the relevant kindergarten cohort enrolled in the year for which the funding was claimed
- that the base subsidy was used to directly enhance the approved kindergarten program for which the funding was granted
- that kindergarten funding was not used to subsidise the delivery of other programs (for example, kindergarten programs for non-eligible children).
Each central governing body or sessional kindergarten must retain and provide on request evidence to demonstrate compliance with kindergarten funding – base subsidy. This evidence may include:
- enrolment policies and procedures supported by enrolment forms
- fee structure for the service/s
- family fee statements
- financial reports supported by receipts, invoices, bank account statements
- early childhood teacher payslips/employment contracts.
Free kindy subsidy
The free kindy subsidy is provided for each eligible child enrolled in an approved kindergarten program delivered by a sessional kindergarten that has opted into free kindy, and covers the parent fee component of the kindergarten program for at least 15 hours a week or 30 hours a fortnight for 40 weeks, or 600 hours a year.
Free kindy subsidy financial obligations
The central governing body must be able to demonstrate to the Department of Education:
- how the free kindy subsidy was allocated to each eligible child
- that the subsidy was not used to subsidise non-eligible children.
Central governing bodies must ensure that each approved provider or sessional kindergarten identifies the free kindy subsidy paid by the Queensland Government on each family's fee statement. Where this is not possible, the family fee statement must include the 'kindy tick' and free kindy logo to demonstrate to the family that they have received free kindy.
Each approved provider must retain and provide, on request, evidence to demonstrate compliance with the free kindy subsidy. This evidence may include:
- enrolment policy and procedures, supported by enrolment forms
- fee structure for the service
- family fee statements
- detailed cost centre reports
- financial reports, supported by receipts, invoices, bank account statements.
Service location subsidies
Service location subsidies are provided for each eligible child to service providers located in an eligible remoteness category using the ABS remoteness measure at the statistical area level 2.
There are 2 service location subsidies: Early Childhood Teachers and Financial Viability.
Service location – Early Childhood Teachers subsidy
The subsidy is designed to assist service providers to attract and retain qualified early childhood teachers to deliver an approved kindergarten program.
Service location – Financial Viability subsidy
The subsidy is designed to assist service providers with the cost of delivering a kindergarten program in a regional/remote area.
The Department of Education determines service and funding eligibility.
Service location subsidies amounts funded
The subsidy is calculated as a per child amount multiplied by the number of eligible children enrolled in the service. Where eligible enrolments are fewer than 22 children (at the service), a minimum payment based on 22 enrolments will be provided.
The kindergarten funding service agreement includes a condition that the service provider must seek to maximise the number of eligible aged children enrolled in the program. As a condition of payment, the Department of Education may seek additional information or evidence from the service about activities to maximise eligible aged enrolments.
Read the
amount that can be claimed (appendix 5).
Service location subsidies spending rules
The service location – Early Childhood Teacher subsidy must only be used to attract and retain qualified early childhood teachers at the eligible service, including:
- assisting the early childhood teacher with relocation costs
- subsidising rent for the early childhood teacher
- paying above award wages
- providing additional paid annual leave
- subsidising flights to and from the community to the early childhood teacher's home base
- professional development for the early childhood teacher specifically to assist them in delivering an approved kindergarten program
- learning resources for the early childhood teacher to enhance their delivery of an approved kindergarten program.
Service providers must provide an annual service location – Early Childhood Teachers plan to their central governing body specifying how the funding will be used to attract and retain early childhood teachers. Download a
sample template in an editable format.
The service location – Financial Viability subsidy may only be used to offset the operational costs for delivery of the approved kindergarten program at an eligible service.
If the service wishes to use either of the subsidies for any purpose other than the intent of each subsidy, approval from their central governing body and the Department of Education must be obtained.
Service location subsidies financial obligations
The central governing body must be able to demonstrate to the Department of Education how the service location subsidies have been spent for the purpose of attracting and retaining a qualified early childhood teacher and for financial viability (if applicable) at each sessional kindergarten.
Each central governing body or sessional kindergarten must retain and provide on request evidence to demonstrate compliance with the service location subsidies. This evidence may include:
- early childhood teacher payslips/employment contract
- correspondence relating to negotiation of the early childhood teacher wage and entitlements
- financial reports supported by receipts, invoices, bank account statements
- fee structure for the service
- family fee statements
- evidence of administering and monitoring financial viability component to member services
- annual service location – Early Childhood Teachers plans.
Kindy uplift
Kindy uplift is provided to eligible service providers to respond to children's learning and development needs through provision of evidence-based initiatives. Kindy uplift is designed to strengthen children's access to, and meaningful participation in, the full range of kindergarten experiences.
The Department of Education determines service and funding eligibility.
Kindy uplift amounts funded
Read more about
amount that can be claimed (appendix 5).
Kindy uplift spending rules (inclusions)
Kindy uplift must be used to improve children's learning and development. Funding can be used for programs, resources, educational supports and professional development to build educator capability and support inclusion.
From 2024, all Kindy uplift plans must include a focus on embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the approved kindergarten program.
In addition to culturally safe, responsive and inclusive kindergarten programs, services may also focus on one or more priority areas:
- social and emotional learning
- physicality
- executive function
- oral language and literacy
- mathematics and numeracy.
Service providers must submit an annual Kindy uplift plan to demonstrate how the funding will improve outcomes for eligible children. Each Kindy uplift plan must be endorsed by a Kindy uplift advisor and the approved provider.
Kindy uplift spending rules (exclusions)
Use of Kindy uplift funds to support staffing ratios is out of scope. Services are permitted to use the funding to pay wages and employ staff (or training for new staff) to support educators, children and families to respond to educational needs (e.g. bicultural support workers, family support workers, cultural advisors, Elders in residence, early childhood experts/coaches).
Kindy uplift must
not be used for any costs
not directly related to the delivery of the approved Kindy uplift plan.
Kindy uplift financial obligations
Each central governing body or sessional kindergarten must be able to demonstrate to the Department of Education how Kindy uplift was spent by each service provider for which the funding was granted.
Each central governing body or sessional kindergarten must retain and provide on request evidence to demonstrate compliance with kindergarten funding for Kindy uplift.
This evidence may include:
- enrolment policies and procedures supported by enrolment forms
- financial reports supported by receipts, invoices, bank account statements
- an approved Kindy uplift plan.
Each central governing body must acquit this funding at the end of each calendar year. This acquittal is to be submitted through QGrants on or before 28 January of the following calendar year.
Inclusion subsidies
Inclusion subsidies are provided to service providers to support inclusion of
all eligible children in an approved kindergarten program irrespective of diversity of background or additional needs. Funding is provided to ensure
all eligible children meaningfully participate in kindergarten on the same basis as their peers.
There are 2 inclusion subsidies: Inclusion Ready and Kindergarten Inclusion Support Scheme.
Inclusion Ready subsidy
The Inclusion Ready subsidy is provided to service providers for each eligible child enrolled in an approved kindergarten program.
The Inclusion Ready subsidy is provided to service providers to:
- improve kindergarten participation and attendance for
all children
- ensure children with diverse backgrounds or additional needs are provided with adjustments, supplementary to the strategies and resources already available
- remove any barriers to participation for eligible children experiencing vulnerability*
- engage in professional development to ensure educators support children and families to feel welcome, engaged and culturally safe
- support the transition into kindergarten or Prep for children with diverse backgrounds or additional needs.
* This should be undertaken in consultation with families.
Kindergarten Inclusion Support Scheme subsidy
The Kindergarten Inclusion Support Scheme subsidy is provided to service providers to make reasonable adjustments for eligible children with disability or suspected disability to ensure they can access and participate in an approved kindergarten program on the same basis as their peers.
Funding is administered on behalf of the Department of Education by central governing bodies and is designed to support educators to meet their legal responsibility to ensure
all children are included in the kindergarten program through:
- building educator capability to develop and implement programs inclusive of children with disability or additional needs
- promoting collaboration between families and professionals, including National Disability Insurance Scheme partners, early childhood development programs, specialist support providers and local schools
- providing equitable access to resources, participation and opportunities for children to demonstrate their learning.
Funding will be provided based on the level of adjustments made to enable the eligible child to access and participate in the kindergarten program.
Inclusion subsidies amounts funded
Read the
amount that can be claimed (appendix 5).
Inclusion subsidies spending rules
Inclusion subsidies must be spent to improve access and participation for
all children, including those with diverse backgrounds or additional needs. Funding must be spent on additional educators, programs, resources, equipment, educational materials, professional development, or visiting partners or specialists.
Inclusion subsidies financial obligations
Each central governing body or sessional kindergarten must be able to demonstrate to the Department of Education how the inclusion subsidies were spent by each service provider for which the funding was granted.
Each central governing body or sessional kindergarten must retain and provide on request evidence to demonstrate compliance with kindergarten funding – inclusion subsidies. This evidence may include:
- enrolment policies and procedures supported by enrolment forms
- financial reports supported by receipts, invoices, bank account statements.
Per capita kindy subsidy
The per capita kindy subsidy applies to sessional kindergartens that are not eligible to opt into free kindy where their fees are higher than the funding threshold set by the Department of Education.
Services will receive an annual payment for each eligible child in the kindergarten program and will need to meet all kindergarten program provider eligibility requirements and reporting requirements under the Preschool Reform Agreement to qualify for funding for each eligible child.
Services receiving the per capita kindy subsidy can access Kindy uplift and the inclusion ready subsidy but are not eligible for base or service location subsidies.
Services can opt into free kindy anytime during the year provided they can reduce their fees to meet the funding threshold and are otherwise eligible.
Read the
amount that can be claimed (appendix 5).