A new era of early childhood education in Queensland began this year with more than 64,000 children across the state given the opportunity to access free kindy.
It has been fantastic to see so many families benefit from this initiative and that thousands more families will access free kindy next year.
Kindy mum, Melody, said that her daughter has loved kindy this year and their family has been grateful for the subsidised program.
‘Kindy is an important stage for any child who is stepping into a new learning environment. It means learning, growing and making friends in a safe and caring environment,’ she said.
‘It has been amazing to have the opportunity of kindy for my children and having it free this year, has helped with the cost of living.’
Melissa, a fellow parent, agreed.
‘Kindy has provided the prefect stepping stone for preparing my son for school. He has developed his confidence and a love of learning, as well as making many friendships,’ she said.
‘Free kindy has enabled my child to be able to access a quality early childhood education without any costs to our family.’
Free kindy in Queensland
Kindy is a part-time educational program of 15 hours per week, 40 weeks per year and is free—a valuable preparation in the year before school.
To be eligible for free kindy, children need to be at least 4-years-old by 30 June in the year before they start Prep.
Kindergarten is delivered in different ways at different services. For some services, 15 hours of free kindy might be delivered over 2 or 3 days, with additional wrap-around care paid for separately. In these cases, additional care may be covered in part by the
Australian Government Child Care Subsidy.
If families aren't sure where to look, they can jump onto the
free kindy finder online tool, and easily locate a free Queensland Government approved kindergarten program in their area.
Share the message
As peak kindy enrolment time continues across the state, approved-kindergarten program providers are encouraged to discuss with families the continuation of free kindy into 2025.
For more information and resources to share with families thinking about enrolling in kindergarten, visit the
free kindy page.
All approved-kindergarten program providers please be sure to display your kindy tick.
For information about kindy tick packs for approved providers, please contact the kindy funding team:
kindyfunding@qed.qld.gov.au.
