School Readiness Funding: supporting kindergartens

Designed to give Victorian children an equal chance to thrive by providing all kindergartens with extra resourcing to improve educational outcomes for children.

School Readiness Funding

In an Australian first, School Readiness Funding provides additional funding to kindergartens to enhance programs and improve outcomes for children, particularly children more likely to experience educational disadvantage. It is a new and permanent part of kindergarten funding in Victoria and is allocated to services on the basis of need, so children who need extra support get it.

For early childhood professionals

Funding information for kindergarten service providers and professionals.

A list of programs and supports that can be purchased using School Readiness Funding.

Getting the most out of kindergarten

One in five Victorian children start school ‘developmentally vulnerable’, according to the 2015 Australian Early Development Census, and the impact of this can be felt across a lifetime.

Quality early learning programs, especially kindergarten, make the world of difference when it comes to supporting children’s learning and development. School Readiness Funding acknowledges that children’s early learning experiences are crucial to their success in later life, and educators build and shape those skills that will see children flourish.

How School Readiness Funding will make a difference

School Readiness Funding is designed to give Victorian children an equal chance to thrive by providing all kindergartens with extra resourcing to improve educational outcomes for children.

Funding for kindergarten services ranges from $1,000 for those with the lowest level of need to above $300,000 for a small number of services with large numbers of children and very high levels of need.

The level of need of the kindergarten service is informed by the parental occupation and education data (Student Family Occupation and Education data) of the children attending the service. It is collected by the kindergarten service when children are enrolled, and helps ensure that kindergarten services that need the most funding, receive the most.

Kindergarten services will be able to use their funding to support the cohort of children in their kindergarten program, with focus on three priority areas that are essential for children’s learning and development:

communication (language development)
wellbeing (social and emotional)
access and inclusion.

A menu of evidence-informed programs and supports brings together items that support the three priority areas. Services can match the needs of their children and families with the menu items that are best suited to support them.

The funding will also enable services to access professional support such as speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and language and literacy experts who will support children’s development by building the capability of families and educators.

School Readiness Funding: Future Directions

The Victorian Government is committed to meeting the needs of educators, children and families across the state and recognises that to maximize the impact of School Readiness Funding, it is important to maintain its original purpose - to support children experiencing educational disadvantage.

Since the introduction of School Readiness Funding in 2019, the Victorian Department of Education has conducted a range of evaluation activities of the initiative. These activities have provided valuable information and feedback from kindergarten services about how they engage with and use School Readiness Funding, and areas that could be improved to ensure the School Readiness Funding funding achieves its objectives.

In response to this feedback, the Victorian Government is committing to reviewing and improving several key areas of School Readiness Funding. To read more about these changes and the future directions for School Readiness Funding, please see the attached statement from the Minister of Early Childhood and Pre-prep.

SRF_Reform_Directions_MinisterStitt_Statement (DOCX, 32KB)

SRF_Reform_Directions_MinisterStitt_Statement (PDF, 5MB)

Education & training

Updated 26 March 2026

Economic Growth Statement

Mini vic.gov.au

School Readiness Funding: supporting kindergartens

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