Kindergarten (also called preschool) is an educational program for children delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher in the two years before they start school.

Kindergarten is for all children. If your child has a disability or learning difficulty (requires support to access kindergarten), the educators will talk with you about how the program and environment can support your child.

Research shows that kindergarten improves children’s health and wellbeing and helps them to develop strong social skills and encourage a love of learning.

Children who go to a kindergarten program are more independent and confident and more likely to make a smooth transition to primary school.

Some kindergartens run as a stand-alone service and others are through child care centres or on school sites.

Three and four-year-old kindergarten is subsidised by the Victorian State Government to allow all children to attend for free.

From 2023 onwards, the Victorian State Government has announced that kindergarten will be free for all three and four year old children. From 1 February 2024 it is free to apply for kindergarten at City of Whittlesea kindergartens, subject to change.

We are working with kindergarten providers to cater for your family’s needs and manage capacity across our centres. This means three-year-old kindergarten hours will vary at different kindergartens, providing families with between 5 and 15 hours each week.

Sessional Kindergarten timetables for 2026 are available on Council’s website. Most childcare centres also offer kindergarten programs, contact your local centre for details.

• Applications will open on 1 February for 3-year-old kinder in 2027 and 4-year-old kinder in 2028.
• You can apply for 3- and 4-year-old kindergarten at the same time.

Three-year-old kindergarten

Your child must turn three by 30 April in the year of attendance.

Four-year-old kindergarten

Your child must turn four by 30 April in the year of attendance.

• Some children are eligible for an additional year of funded kindergarten as assessed by the teacher.

If your child was born between January and April you can choose which year to enrol your child: Either the year they become eligible or the year after.

	Three-year-old kindergarten	Four-year-old kindergarten
Date of birth range	Year of attendance	Year of attendance	Applications open
1 May 2021 – 30 April 2022	N/A	2026	Now
1 May 2022 – 30 April 2023	2026	2027	Now
1 May 2023 – 30 April 2024	2027	2028	1 February 2026
1 May 2024 – 30 April 2025	2028	2029	1 February 2027

Kindergartens in the City of Whittlesea are managed by volunteer parent management committees, schools or professional early childhood organisations.

Management bodies are registered with the Department of Education (DE) and monitored regularly to ensure quality and standards are maintained and funding conditions are met.

City of Whittlesea’s role is to:

• maintain Council’s facilities in which kindergarten programs are run
• manage a central application system for kindergartens in Council’s facilities and for some long day care services.
• support early childhood educators with professional development and service planning

In 2025, we heard from 231 families through the online survey.

Thanks to your feedback, we’ve made several improvements:

• 🗣️ Improved communication about Pre-Prep Kindergarten – we’ve provided more information for families, including a dedicated webpage explaining the transition from Four-Year-Old Kindergarten to Pre-Prep. Four-year-old Kindergarten is becoming Pre-Prep | City of Whittlesea
• 📝 Streamlined application process – updates have been made to make it easier for families to identify and indicate priority of access eligibility.
• ⏰ More timetable options – additional sessions have been added where needed to provide greater flexibility for families