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4-year-old only Preschool Reform Agreement funding arrangements for 2026

Delivering a preschool program for children in the year before full time school only for 2026

Funding is provided by the Australian Government under the Preschool Reform Agreement (PRA). The Office for Early Childhood Development (OECD) has assumed responsibility for PRA funding and will be managing this Agreement on behalf of the Government Party from December 2025. Please note, non-government 4-year-old only preschool funding is subject to existing Australian Government funding arrangements for preschool programs continuing.

Non-government preschool service providers that have a funding agreement for 2026 will receive funding to support the cost of delivering a preschool program for children in the year before full-time school.

Seeking to become a preschool provider

New applications for 4-year-old only preschool delivery under the PRA will no longer be accepted, reflecting the planned transition to the Flying Start program funding and contracting model.

Providers interested in delivering funded preschool for the first time in any of their services should stay up to date with opportunities to express interest to become a Flying Start preschool provider.

About the Preschool Reform Agreement

The Preschool Reform Agreement (PRA), which commenced on 1 January 2022, has been extended by the Australian Government for 2 years until 31 December 2027.

The PRA provides funding to the South Australian government to support the delivery of 15 hours per week, or 600 hours a year of a quality preschool program by a degree-qualified early childhood teacher to all South Australian children, regardless of the setting in which programs are delivered in the year before school.

In 2026, the Australian Government’s contribution for preschool children in their year before school is $1,612 per child.

The objective of the PRA is to facilitate children’s early learning and development and transition to school by:

  • maintaining universal access to affordable, quality preschool program for all children
  • improving participation in preschool programs; and
  • maximising the benefit of the preschool year by improving outcomes for children.

The PRA has a focus on improving preschool participation and outcomes including for:

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children; and
  • disadvantaged children.

Maintaining eligibility for funding

To maintain eligibility for funding for the provision of preschool programs, the provider must:

  • be an approved provider registered with the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA)
  • hold an ACECQA service approval for the preschool service provider
  • have an Australian business number (ABN) where the entity name matches the approved provider name on the ACECQA register; and
  • be registered for Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Conditions of funding

In order to receive funding, preschool service providers will be required to:

  • ensure at all times, the preschool program is delivered by a degree qualified early childhood teacher registered with the Teacher’s Registration Board of South Australia that at a minimum, meets National Quality Framework qualification requirements
  • conduct and deliver 15 hours of affordable, quality preschool programs per week for 40 weeks of the year (or 600 hours annually) that is accessible and offered to all eligible children in the year before school, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and disadvantaged children.
  • demonstrate a commitment to quality and safety in education and care in their services.
  • where in receipt of the Australian Government Child Care Subsidy (CCS), not have had their CCS funding ceased by the Australian Government.

Base per capita subsidy

The base per capita subsidy is paid for every eligible preschool child in their year before school that contributes to the cost of employing a degree qualified early childhood teacher to deliver the preschool program and other associated costs of the program.

The base per capita subsidy amount is determined by the socio-economic status of the area the service provider is in.
Other targeted or specific purpose subsidies that are dependent on certain criteria are listed below.

Targeted child subsidy

Service providers are eligible to receive a subsidy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children or children of families holding one of the following:

The targeted child subsidy must be expended to the exclusive benefit of the specific child attracting the subsidy, through a reduction in fees for the family.

Children with a recognised disability subsidy

A subsidy is available to service providers with enrolments of children entitled to a health care card with a CD (child disability) to provide access to and regular participation in the preschool program.

Remote area subsidy

A subsidy paid to service providers located in remote or very remove areas of South Australia to contribute to the additional staffing costs for recruitment and retention of early childhood teachers (view remote or very remote areas).

Funding claim and payments

Funding for the non-government preschool providers program is paid 6-monthly and based on preschool enrolment data submitted to the Non- Government Preschool Data System (NGPDS) for children in the year before school. Payments are made via electronic funds transfer.

Preschool data collected from service providers each school term will be used for calculating grant payments as follows:

  • Payments for the first 6 months of the year will be made by 30 April based on enrolment data collected in term 1, with any adjustments as required from the term 4 collection of the previous year.
  • Payments for the second half of the year will be made by 30 September based on enrolment data collected in term 3, with any adjustments as required from the term 2 collection.

Parent declaration

Children are eligible to access 15 hours of government-funded preschool per week. Preschool providers, both government and non-government, must make sure that they don't make a funding claim for over 15 hours of government-funded preschool per week.

To help this process, service providers must have a signed declaration from a parent or guardian confirming that the child is not enrolled in more than 15 hours.  For enrolments from 2026, see the 4-year-old (year before full-time school) declaration and consent form (PDF).

Privacy statement

Service providers must provide the OECD with the following information about enrolled children for funding assessment and reporting purposes, including but not limited to:

  • full name of child
  • child’s gender
  • child’s date of birth
  • usual residential address of child; and
  • full name of child’s parents or guardians.

Before making a funding claim for a child, the service must make sure that:

Have questions?

Contact the Funding Operations and Monitoring Team via email: OECD.PreschoolFunding.sa.gov.au