Child eligibility

To be eligible to enrol in a 3-year-old preschool program, a child must be:

• aged 3 by 30 April (for term 1 enrolment) or 3 by 31 October (for mid-year enrolment) of the year in which they are to be enrolled in the preschool program, and
• not attending another funded preschool program or not yet in compulsory schooling.

Some children will not yet have turned 3 within the 2-year period before they plan to start school – with the youngest such child being 2 years and 9 months old. Services are not required to start these children in the preschool program if they cannot accommodate them, given National Law ratio requirements.

Services are required, at a minimum, to offer families the option for these children to either start during the term, or at the next start or mid-year intake point. The goal is that children should receive as much of their 2 years of preschool as possible, considering intended school starting age.

To be eligible to enrol in a 4-year-old preschool program, a child must be:

• aged 4 by 30 April (for term 1 enrolment) or 4 by 31 October (for mid-year enrolment) of the year in which they are to be enrolled in the preschool program,
• if attending another funded preschool program, not for more than total of 15 hours per week across all funded preschool programs, and
• not yet in compulsory schooling.

Partner Services must inform parents/guardians that their child can only access a funded 3-year-old preschool program at one service at any given time, and make sure that families asking about 3-year-old preschool understand their eligibility, as outlined below:

• Children enrolled in long day care receive their 3-year-old preschool program there, if it is a Partner Service.​ During the phased roll-out of 3-year-old preschool, this applies regardless of the number of days per week a child attends.

• Children in a long day care service that is not a Partner Service, have the option to apply for a 3-year-old preschool program within a government or non-government sessional preschool, or another long day care service that is a Partner Service. This is based on family preferences and services available within their local area. Available options will grow as the roll-out progresses between 2026 and 2032.

NOTE:

• If a family is in a long day care Partner Services and decides to fully cease their child’s long day care enrolment before the start of the next preschool program intake period (January or mid-year), they will be eligible to apply for preschool within a government or non-government sessional preschool. The family would need to formally notify the Partner Service by 31 October before the start of the following year, or by 30 April before a mid-year intake. If they choose to move to another long day care Partner Service, they can do this at any time.
• In extenuating circumstances where a family have not met these timeframes, a request for an eligibility review can be made to the OECD, if there is evidence the intent of the policy is being met. These exemptions are not guaranteed and are considered on a case-by-case basis.  All exemption decisions are made under delegated authority, are time-limited and documented, and do not establish precedent.
• The intent of this policy is to support families where their circumstances change, and the existing service can no longer meet their needs. Services should not facilitate decisions for families to re-enrol in their service if the reason is not in line with this policy intent.
• A child cannot be in receipt of a funded 3-year-old preschool program at 2 services.
• If a child is enrolled in more than one long day care service where each is a Partner Service (such as shared care arrangements), only one of those services can receive 3-year-old preschool funding. This is based on the parents’ decision or, in its absence, the first service to enrol the child in any capacity.

Before enrolling a child in 4-year-old preschool, the Partner Service must find out from the parent/guardians whether the child is already enrolled to access a place in another government-funded preschool program.

Under the Australian Government’s Preschool Reform Agreement, a child can access an average of 15 hours per week or 600 hours over a 12-month period across multiple preschool service providers. Families can choose to receive their funded 4-year-old preschool at a long day care service and/or sessional preschool service.

If a child is enrolled in two 4-year-old government funded preschool programs, funding is allocated based on the service type. For example:

• If a child is enrolled in more than one long day care delivering a funded 4-year-old preschool program (such as shared care arrangements), the maximum entitlement of 15 hours per week can be funded across both services and is determined by the parents’ choice.
• If a child is enrolled in a sessional preschool program as well as a long day care that is a Partner Service, the sessional preschool will receive the funding for up to 15 hours per week.
• If the child is not enrolled in the sessional preschool for the full 15 hours, the long day care service can claim the remaining hours to bring the total to the maximum entitlement of 15 hours per week.

Partner Services are responsible for ensuring reasonable steps are taken to minimise claims for funding for children who may be enrolled in more than one funded preschool program. This responsibility includes clearly communicating to parents verbally and in writing about eligibility rules for 3-year-old preschool and how they differ from 4-year-old preschool.

The OECD will conduct ongoing checks for duplicate enrolments. If there is a duplication, the service-type eligibility policy will be applied to determine where funding will be allocated.

If a Partner Service makes a claim for a child who is not eligible, or where there has been a duplicate enrolment, the OECD will recover the funds for that child and take appropriate action under the Funding Agreement.