VIC Free Kinder
Free 3-year-old AND 4-year-old kindergarten — the most generous program in Australia.
program
Free Kinder
hours per week
15 hours/week for 4-year-old kinder; 5-15 hours/week for 3-year-old kinder (scaling up)
hours per year
600 hours/year for 4-year-old kinder (15 hours/week)
4-year-old age cutoff
turning 4 by 30 April of the kinder year (Victorian age cutoff)
3-year-old access
yes
cost
$0 — fully covered by the Victorian Government
eligibility
any Victorian child meeting the age cutoff. no income test.
delivery
community-based kinder services and kindergartens attached to long-day-care centres — both free
how to enrol
enrol via your local council's kinder central registration system. most councils open registration in the year before kinder starts.
3-year-old program
3-year-old kinder provides 5 hours per week in 2026, scaling to 15 hours per week by 2029
important notes
- •Victoria is rolling out 15 hours/week of free 3-year-old kinder progressively between 2025 and 2029
- •Free Kinder applies to government, community-based and eligible long-day-care services
- •if your child attends a Free Kinder program inside a LDC, the kinder hours are free — the non-kinder hours still attract normal fees (offset by CCS)
- •Victoria also offers Pre-Prep from 2025 — a free 30 hours of learning for 4-year-olds (rollout in early adopter councils first)
authority: Victorian Department of Education
check the official pagecompare all states
free kinder and preschool programs across Australia
information sourced from Victorian Department of Education. state programs are updated regularly — always confirm current rules on the official page before enrolling. mini mode is not affiliated with any state education department.