The early childhood agreement for children in out-of-home care

The early childhood agreement for children in out-of-home care (OoHC) aims to increase the participation of young children placed in OoHC in high quality early childhood education and care. The early childhood agreement for children in out-of-home care (OoHC) aims to increase the participation of young children placed in OoHC in high quality early childhood education and care.

Aims of the agreement

The agreement focuses on:

meeting the health, learning and development, and cultural needs of children
engaging children with universal services, particularly Victoria’s funded kindergarten programs including Early Start Kindergarten for three year olds.

The agreement also works towards all children in kinship care and their carers engaging in supported playgroups or Koorie supported playgroups.

These services are free for children placed in OoHC, and provide core foundations in health, development and learning. All children, regardless of their circumstances, have the right to access these services.

The agreement aims to meet the following requirements:

Increase three year old children placed in OoHC in Early Start Kindergarten (for 15 hours a week)
Increase the participation of children placed in OoHC in the year before school in funded kindergarten
Ensure children who enter OoHC are up-to-date with the immunisation schedule within six months of their initial assessment (excepting approved exemptions)
Ensure children who have entered OoHC are referred to a health service for a comprehensive health assessment and ongoing care management for any physical, mental or oral health issues identified
Ensure children placed in OoHC transitioning from kindergarten to prep have a Transition Learning and Development Statements (TLDS)
Ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have a cultural plan completed
Ensure individual learning plans are shared with carers and relevant professionals.

Read the full agreement

Early childhood agreement for Children in Out-Of-Home Care

Roles and responsibilities for early childhood professionals

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Find out more about supporting children placed in OoHC.

Targets and measures

The following are the targets and measures that the partners to the agreement will be working towards in the next three years:

Double the number of three-year-old children placed in OoHC in Early Start Kindergarten (for 15 hours a week), using 2018 data as the baseline.
95% participation of children placed in OoHC in the year before school in kindergarten.

Participation refers both to enrolment and regular attendance, noting that at the time of the development of this agreement there is no systematic collection of attendance data for kindergarten.

100% of children who enter OoHC are up-to-date with the immunisation schedule within six months of their initial assessment (excepting approved exemptions).
100% of children who have entered OoHC are referred to a health service for a comprehensive health assessment and ongoing care management for any physical, mental or oral health issues identified. This information is documented in a health, wellbeing and safety plan that can be shared with other services involved in the care of the child.
100% of children placed in OoHC transitioning from kindergarten to prep have a TLDS. The central implementation group may agree during the duration of the agreement to identify other measures, noting the priority action above to improve the measurement of participation of children placed in OoHC in MCH and kindergarten.

Children covered under the agreement

The agreement covers:

children placed in OoHC who are subject to statutory orders or voluntary agreements
children placed on permanent care orders (but who are no longer involved with the Department of Health and Human Services), with consent from their carers.

Refresh to the agreement in 2018 – the key changes

The agreement has been updated to ensure Victoria’s most vulnerable children are able to thrive. The updated agreement has new priorities, targets and measures, with continued particular focus on:

Aboriginal children who are significantly over-represented in OoHC
children with specific needs including those from:

culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
those with a disability or developmental delay.

The agreement has also been broadened to include Aboriginal agencies, community service organisations and specialist health services.

Parties to the agreement

There are 11 parties to the refreshed agreement:

Department of Education and Training
Department of Health and Human Services
Municipal Association of Victoria
Early Learning Association Australia
Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency
Victorian Aboriginal Children and Young People’s Alliance
Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare
Community Child Care Association
Vic Tas Primary Health Network Alliance
Victorian Healthcare Association
Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated

Early childhood education and care

Updated 27 March 2026

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The early childhood agreement for children in out-of-home care

Aims of the agreement

Read the full agreement

Roles and responsibilities for early childhood professionals

Targets and measures

Children covered under the agreement

Refresh to the agreement in 2018 – the key changes

Parties to the agreement

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