Kindergarten Funding Rates

Kindergarten funding rates 2021

Kindergarten providers can find which funding rates table is applicable to them by identifying whether they have opted in to Free Kinder or not and whether they operate under either of the Victorian Early Childhood Teachers' and Educators' Agreement 2020 (VECTEA) and the Early Education Employees' Agreement 2020 (EEEA) or not.

Table 1 – Services that are signatories to the Early Childhood Enterprise Agreements (EA) and opt-in to Free Kinder

1. Services that are signatories to the Early Childhood Enterprise Agreements are services that will sign the new Victorian Early Childhood Teachers' and Educators' Agreement (VECTEA) or the Early Education Employees' Agreement (EEEA).

2. Services that opt-in to Free Kinder will not be eligible for the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy (KFS) or the KFS Ratio Supplement, as these payments are included in the Free Kinder funding rate.

3. ESK Extension will be paid at the Free Kinder rate

4. Ratio supplement funding commenced 1 January 2016 and is paid per child to any service eligible for standard or rural per capita funding offering sessional programs with groups of 23 or more at the required teacher child ratio of 1:11 that do not attract Commonwealth Child Care Subsidy. Long day care services and services managed by non-government schools are not eligible for the ratio supplement.

For the purpose of kindergarten funding, a group is defined as children attending a kindergarten session at the same time in a room with a qualified early childhood teacher. The number of children in each group should not exceed 33 children at any one time. In the case of rotational programs, a number of smaller subgroups may be brought together to create a larger group as defined above.

5. The ESK ratio supplement will be paid at a rate equivalent to the Standard Ratio Supplement as a proportion of the ESK Ratio Supplement is included in the Free Kinder funding rate. 

The same rates apply to funded three-year-old and four-year-old enrolments in programs of 15 hours per week. For services in funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten roll-out areas and delivering a funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program between five and 15 hours, child level funding will be provided on a prorated basis. For example, a kindergarten delivering a ten hour Three-Year-old Kindergarten program will receive two thirds of the applicable rate of funding available.

Table 2 – Services that are signatories to the Early Childhood Enterprise Agreements (EA) and do not opt-in to Free Kinder

1. Services that are signatories to the Early Childhood Enterprise Agreements are services that will sign the new Victorian Early Childhood Teachers' and Educators' Agreement (VECTEA) or the Early Education Employees' Agreement (EEEA).

2.ESK Standard and Rural enrolments will be funded at the same rate, regardless of whether a service opts-in to Free Kinder or not.

3.The ESK ratio supplement will be paid at a rate equivalent to the Standard Ratio Supplement as a proportion of the ESK Ratio Supplement is included in the Free Kinder funding rate. 

The same rates apply to funded three-year-old and four-year-old enrolments in programs of 15 hours per week. For services in funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten roll-out areas and delivering a funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program between five and 15 hours, child level funding will be provided on a prorated basis. For example, a kindergarten delivering a ten hour Three-Year-old Kindergarten program will receive two thirds of the applicable rate of funding available.

Table 3 – Services that are not signatories to the Early Childhood Enterprise Agreements (EA) and opt-in to Free Kinder

1.From 2019, non-government school kindergarten services in the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) 1 will receive the standard per capita rate.  SEIFA is a measure of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage.  SEIFA 1 is an area of highest relative disadvantage.

2. Services that opt-in to Free Kinder will not be eligible for the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy (KFS) or the KFS Ratio Supplement, as these payments are included in the Free Kinder funding rate.

3.ESK Extension will be paid at the Free Kinder rate

4. The ESK ratio supplement will be paid at a rate equivalent to the Standard Ratio Supplement as a proportion of the ESK Ratio Supplement is included in the Free Kinder funding rate. 

5. All PPP enrolments will be funded at the EA rate.

The same rates apply to funded three-year-old and four-year-old enrolments in programs of 15 hours per week. For services in funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten roll-out areas and delivering a funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program between five and 15 hours, child level funding will be provided on a prorated basis. For example, a kindergarten delivering a ten hour Three-Year-old Kindergarten program will receive two thirds of the applicable rate of funding available.

Table 4 – Services that are not signatories to the Early Childhood Enterprise Agreements (EA) and do not opt-in to Free Kinder

1.From 2019, non-government school kindergarten services in the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) 1 will receive the standard per capita rate.  SEIFA is a measure of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage.  SEIFA 1 is an area of highest relative disadvantage.

2. ESK Standard and Rural enrolments will be funded at the same rate, regardless of whether a service opts-in to Free Kinder or not.

3. The ESK ratio supplement will be paid at a rate equivalent to the Standard Ratio Supplement as a proportion of the ESK Ratio Supplement is included in the Free Kinder funding rate. 

4. All PPP enrolments will be funded at the EA rate.

The same rates apply to funded three-year-old and four-year-old enrolments in programs of 15 hours per week. For services in funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten roll-out areas and delivering a funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program between five and 15 hours, child level funding will be provided on a prorated basis. For example, a kindergarten delivering a ten hour Three-Year-old Kindergarten program will receive two thirds of the applicable rate of funding available.

Table 5 – Travel allowance

Table 6 – Early Years Management

The Establishment grant is not indexed. All other Years Management grants are indexed in July each year.