Dear early childhood education and care services,
You may have seen media reporting that the Victorian Budget 2023/24 continues generational investment in early childhood education and care, to give every child the best possible start in life.
The budget sets out an additional investment of more than $1.8 billion over 5 years in early childhood education and Pre-Prep. This builds on our existing $4.4 billion investment to deliver the Best Start, Best Life reforms, including Three-Year-Old Kinder, which will transform early childhood education.
The budget also funds practical supports to improve access, participation and inclusion. This new funding includes $1.2 billion to lock in the infrastructure development we need, as we continue our progress towards 15 hours of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten by 2029 and delivering 30 hours of Pre-Prep each week for every 4-year-old child by 2032.
The key areas for the budget investment in early childhood education are:
- $546 million to support the continued roll-out of the Best Start, Best Life reforms, including Three-Year-Old Kinder and the ongoing provision of Free Kinder
- $28 million to support language learning in early childhood services
- $20 million to provide every service with grants for toys and equipment, create 8 new toy libraries, support existing toy libraries, and fund Bush Kinder programs
- $18 million to expand supports to young children with disability, developmental delay and additional needs.
This budget is a mix of record investment for the future and strong support for existing and new programs and initiatives. Combined, the budget recognises the remarkable contribution the early childhood sector makes to our state. It also highlights our commitment to working closely with services and partners to deliver our transformative reforms.
Beyond the budget, a few quick and practical reminders from me.
- Mid-year enrolments for study in early education are now open. The department continues to offer financial support of up to $34,000 through our Early Childhood Scholarship and Early Childhood Aboriginal Pathway Scholarship programs, and I encourage you to share this opportunity with people you know, because growing our best workforce is an opportunity for all of us.
- With many in the sector now working on enrolments for 2024 programs, it’s timely to remind services and providers that enrolment processes must use the Priority of Access Guidelines. On our website you can find a full list of the criteria that must be used by service providers when prioritising enrolments. You can also contact the department's regional offices for support and funding guidance.
- If your service’s circumstances change, it’s important that we work together immediately to explore options to assist your service to continue meeting funding conditions and quality of service. Please contact the department if there are any changes to the conditions that we use to determine funding – this is crucial to ensuring your service receives the correct amount of funding.
Thank you from us, too, for your professionalism and everything you continue to do to support Victoria’s children, families and communities.
Kim Little
Deputy Secretary
Early Childhood Education
Updated