Pre-School Funding Increased - CareforKids.com.au ®

Pre-School Funding Increased
Community based preschools receive a significant boost

Community based preschools across the country are set to receive a significant boost this financial year under the Government's National Partnership for Universal Access to Early Childhood Education.

Under the Partnership the Commonwealth, State and Territories have committed to achieving universal access to early childhood education for all children in the year before school by 2013.

Specifically, every child will have access to a preschool program in the year before school for 15 hours a week, 40 weeks per year. The programs will be delivered by a four-year university qualified early childhood teacher.

The Commonwealth is providing funding of $970 million over five years to 2012-2013 to achieve universal access. An additional $15 million over five years has been allocated to develop better data and performance information.

The table below details how the funds will be distributed across the States and Territories.

$ million	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	Total
New South Wales	10.2	21.3	26.9	82.3	137.9	278.6
Victoria	7.4	15.3	19.3	59.1	109.5	210.6
Queensland	11.2	23.4	29.5	90.3	97.6	252.0
Western Australia	3.7	7.7	9.7	29.7	47.6	98.4
South Australia	2.5	5.2	6.6	20.2	30.9	65.4
Tasmania	0.7	1.5	1.9	5.9	10.4	20.4
Australian Capital Territory	0.4	0.9	1.2	3.6	7.1	13.2
Northern Territory	0.7	1.5	1.9	5.9	5.9	15.9
Total	37.0	77.0	97.0	297.0	447.0	955.0

The distribution of funding across the States in the first four years will have an emphasis on assisting those jurisdictions that are further behind in the delivery of pre-school services. Funding from the final year will be on a four-year old population basis.

For more information visit www.deewr.gov.au