Priority of Access for 2027

New Priority of Access (PoA) policies will apply for kindergarten enrolments from 2027.

Priority of Access (PoA) helps service providers determine which children are offered a funded kindergarten place first when there are more applications than places. This applies to all funded kindergarten programs in sessional and long day care services including places allocated through a Central Registration and Enrolment Scheme (CRES).

There are no changes for 2026 enrolments. View the 2026 Priority of Access criteria.

These updates aim to support:

children who will benefit most from improved access and participation
the rollout of Pre-Prep.

All funded kindergarten services must promote fair and equitable access to kindergarten programs and have a PoA policy in place.

What’s new in 2027

The Priority of Access criteria have been updated for 2027. All of the existing eligibility criteria are still in place.

The revised approach introduces 2 tiers:

Tier 1: children who will benefit the most from improved access and participation in a kindergarten program.
Tier 2: for children currently attending the service, applied after all Tier 1 children are placed.

Changes for 2027 include:

clarifying that services must apply PoA criteria whether a child lives within or outside the local government area (LGA) where the service is located
clarifying referral pathways for families experiencing family violence
replacing the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy category with 2 new categories:

children and families with concession cards
children from multiple births (triplets or more).

expanded eligibility for children, parents and carers with additional needs
a new category for children accessing an additional year of Three- or Four-Year-Old Kindergarten or Pre-Prep
a new Tier 2 category for children who are continuing at the same service for Four-Year-Old Kindergarten or Pre-Prep.

If you need help with the PoA criteria, contact your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch (ECIB).

When services must use Priority of Access

Services must use the PoA criteria when there are more eligible children than available kindergarten places. This means services must:

offer places based on the PoA criteria
work with other local kindergarten services and the local ECIB to help all eligible children access a kindergarten place.

PoA must be applied before any locally agreed criteria. Long day care services must apply the PoA criteria to all funded kindergarten places.

PoA applies to all children, whether they live inside or outside the local government area (LGA) where a service is located.

If your service is in a Pre-Prep rollout LGA, once you apply the PoA criteria you must then prioritise children who live in the LGA. Children from outside the LGA whose nearest service is within it, must be prioritised before other children from outside the LGA.

These criteria apply to all 2027 enrolments.

If you need help, guidance is available from your local ECIB.

Priority of Access criteria

Below are PoA eligibility and evidence requirements for 2027 enrolments.

High priority children	Criteria and processes for verifying need(s)
Tier 1
Children at risk of abuse or neglect, including children in out-of-home care	The child is eligible for Early Start Kindergarten or Access to Early Learning, and/orThe family, carer or legal guardian identifies the child as known to or having had contact with Child Protection or in Out-of-Home Care and/orThe parent or carer or child is experiencing family violence and/or has had contact with The Orange Door and/orThe child or family has previously accessed Flexible Support Packages and/orThe child or family is referred by one of the following: Child Protection Child and family services Maternal and Child Health nurse (MCH) Out of Home Care provider.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children	As part of the enrolment process, service providers must respectfully ask families ‘Do you identify your child as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander?’ and record this information in Arrival.
Asylum seeker and refugee children	The child, a parent, a carer or a legal guardian holds, has previously held, or is applying for, a refugee or asylum seeker visa (see list of visas in the Kindergarten Funding Guide), and/orThe child, a parent, a carer or a legal guardian holds a current or expired ImmiCard, and/orChildren, parents, carers or legal guardians who previously held a refugee or asylum seeker visa and now hold Australian Citizenship or permanent residency.
Children and/or families holding concession cards	A child or parent holds a Commonwealth Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card, Veterans’ Affairs Card.
Children from families with multiple births	Multiple birth children (i.e. triplets or more).
Children and/or families with additional needs who require additional assistance to fully participate in the kindergarten program	Child and family with additional needs who meet one of the following.Child:is eligible under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) or undergoing a continuing assessment of a disability under the NDIS (supported by a letter from a medical practitioner or specialist)is eligible for Early Childhood Intervention Service Continuity of Support (ECIS COS)is diagnosed with a disability or developmental delay or are undergoing diagnosis (supported by a letter from a medical practitioner or specialist)presents with developmental concerns that presents barriers to accessing a kindergarten program (supported by a letter or other evidence from a MCH nurse or similar practitioner such as an allied health practitioner)has complex medical needs that presents barriers to accessing a kindergarten program (supported by a letter from a medical practitioner or specialist)holds a Disability Health Care Cardpreviously accessed the Kindergarten Inclusion Support Program, Commonwealth Inclusion Support Program or another similar programthe child is referred by one of the following: the National Disability Insurance Scheme Early Childhood Intervention Service Continuity of Support (ECIS COS) Preschool Field Officer program, or MCH nurse or similar professional such as an allied health specialist, where developmental concerns have been identified. Parent or carer:is eligible under the NDIS or undergoing a continuing assessment of a disability under the NDIS (supported by a letter from a medical practitioner or specialist)has complex medical needs that present barriers to accessing a kindergarten program (supported by a letter from a medical practitioner or specialist)holds a Disability Health Care Card.
Children accessing an additional year of Three- and Four-Year-Old Kindergarten or Pre-Prep	Children assessed with delays in two or more areas and are identified as eligible for an additional year of funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten, Four-Year-Old Kindergarten or Pre-Prep.
Tier 2
Children currently attending the service	Children attending the service in the Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program and seeking to access Four-Year-Old Kindergarten or Pre-Prep at the same service for continuity of learning.Priority should be given to these children to remain at the same service for their Four-Year-Old Kindergarten or Pre-Prep year.

Services in Pre-Prep rollout LGAs

The department’s PoA criteria apply to all enrolments for 2027, including Pre-Prep.

Children that meet the Pre-Prep priority cohort criteria also meet the Tier 1 PoA criteria. These children must be given priority over children who do not meet the Tier 1 criteria.

For services located in Pre-Prep rollout LGAs:

apply Tier 1 and Tier 2 PoA criteria first
then give priority to children who live in the LGA, and to those who live outside the LGA but whose nearest service is located within it, ahead of other children from outside the LGA.

Locally agreed criteria

Service providers and CRES can apply locally agreed criteria after applying PoA and, if relevant, Pre-Prep criteria for Pre-Prep roll-out.

Examples include:

how close a family lives to the service
whether they have a connection to the service.

These criteria must be documented and shared with families.

Kindergarten places must be allocated in line with anti-discrimination and human rights laws.

Getting ready for 2027 enrolments

Services should start planning for how the new PoA will apply in 2027. This includes:

considering how your program model will support children who meet PoA criteria
preparing to answer questions from families about who is eligible and what has changed.

Further resources will be available. This includes advice for families, parents and carers in Term 1 2026. The aim is to support enrolment processes for 2027.

If you need help with the PoA criteria and support with local planning, contact your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch (ECIB).

Priority of access for early childhood education

This criteria must be used by service providers when prioritising enrolments for 2026.

Education & training

Updated 26 March 2026

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Priority of Access for 2027

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What’s new in 2027

When services must use Priority of Access

Priority of Access criteria

Services in Pre-Prep rollout LGAs

Locally agreed criteria

Getting ready for 2027 enrolments

Priority of access for early childhood education

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