The BSBL reforms include:

• Free Kinder: Free Kinder is now available for Victorian 3- and 4-year-old children at participating services in standalone (sessional) kindergartens and long day care centres – a saving of up to $2,500 per child, every year.
• Pre-Prep: Four-Year-Old Kindergarten will gradually transition to ‘Pre-Prep’ – increasing to a universal 30-hour-a-week program of play-based learning for 4-year-old children in Victoria by 2036.
• Three-Year-Old Kindergarten: the continued roll-out of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten, with programs increasing to 15 hours a week across the state by 2029.
• Early learning and childcare centres: the establishment of 50 Victorian government-owned and operated early learning and childcare centres. These centres will be built in areas with the greatest need and will make it easier for families to access early childhood education and childcare.

These initiatives demonstrate a clear commitment to improving early learning outcomes for Victorian children, workforce participation and access for families, and present the most significant change to Victoria’s early childhood sector in a generation.

Pre-Prep roll-out 

Pre-Prep will roll-out in City of Greater Geelong in 2032.

• Statewide, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children from a refugee or asylum seeker background, and children who have had contact with Child Protection services, will be able to access up to 25 hours of Pre-Prep in 2026, increasing to up to 30 hours from 2028.
• Children who have (or have a parent or guardian who has) a Commonwealth concession card and children who are a multiple birth child (triplets or more) across the state will be able to access up to 25 hours of Pre-Prep in 2028, increasing to up to 30 hours from 2030.

Facilities

New and expanded infrastructure is key to delivering the BSBL reforms and will require a large expansion of kindergarten facilities across the State. Kindergarten Infrastructure and Services Plans (KISP), which are jointly developed with Local Governments, indicate where and when new infrastructure will be required to support both reform implementation and population growth in each of Victoria’s 79 local government areas (LGAs). KISPs help all kindergarten providers meet demand and collectively provide a clear picture of infrastructure need across the State.

KISPs support planning for services and future capital works and include detailed information about:

• Current capacity and demand for funded kindergarten
•  Capacity to be delivered for planned infrastructure projects and future demand for kindergarten
• Forecast ‘unmet demand’ for kindergarten – that is, the kindergarten places needed that cannot be met by current or planned capacity
• Information specific to each local government area and its early childhood education and care landscape.

KISPs were initially developed to support the roll-out of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten and have now been updated to incorporate Pre-Prep.

KISPs are intended to support planning. They are not funding documents and do not commit any party to addressing the unmet demand identified. However, it is expected that future investment requests through Building Blocks and funding decisions about Local Government, not-for-profit projects (including non-government schools) would align with the relevant KISP (including Section 3: Local Context).

The KISP is available from the Department of Education's website and will be used to assess grant applications.

Kindergarten in the region

The City of Greater Geelong is a wonderful place to bring up children and we are committed to continually improving on our liveability and the support offered to all families across the municipality.

Geelong has a strong participation rate of children attending kindergarten with 96 per cent of children enrolled in a kindergarten program, higher than the Victorian average of 92 per cent. The number of four-year old kindergarten enrolments in a long day care or integrated children’s service setting has been steadily increasing over the last ten plus years.

While we provide a range of infrastructure that supports services for children and families across Greater Geelong, early childhood services are provided by a mix of public, private, and not-for-profit providers. Council owned kindergarten buildings are leased to Early Years Managers and community groups who deliver the kindergarten program.

We recognise the leadership, advocacy and partnership role we play within the community and early childhood industry to promote the welfare and education of children and to provide high quality services that are accessible and equitable to all families; including people encountering economic and social disadvantage.

The KISP will help us work better together to understand infrastructure capacity, service delivery, operation models and community needs, developing a joint response plan that is fair and equitable, adaptive and responsive.