More hours of 4-Year-Old Kinder in Monash
The Victorian Government is gradually rolling out more funded hours of 4-Year-Old Kinder across the state from 2025 to 2036.
Under the planned roll-out, eligible families can access more funded hours for 4-year-olds enrolled in funded kindergartens. Understand funded hours.
This initiative is sometimes referred to as ‘Pre-Prep’.
Is my child eligible for more hours of 4-Year-Old Kinder?
In Monash, your family can access more hours of 4-Year-Old Kinder if you belong to one of these priority groups:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
- Children from refugee or asylum seeker backgrounds
- Children who have had contact with Child Protection services
- Children supported by Early Start Kindergarten or Access to Early Learning programs
More priority groups will be added as the roll out continues.
If your family is not in these priority groups, you can still access 15 funded hours per week under the Victorian Government's 4-Year-Old Kinder program.
Check your family's eligibility
Timetables for eligible families
2027 Kindergarten timetables for 4-Year-Old Kinder priority groups(PDF, 412KB)
Funded 4-Year-Old Kinder hours for 2026 priority groups
If your child belongs to one of the priority groups listed above, your family can access:
- Between 16 and 25 hours per week from 2026
- Between 16 and 30 hours from 2028.
Funded hours apply differently to standalone (sessional) kindergartens and kinder programs in long day care (integrated).
Monash Council does not manage enrolments for kindergartens in long day care or independent schools. Please contact these directly about more hours of 4-Year-Old Kinder.
What to do if your child is eligible
Attending in 2028 or later (enrolments not yet open)
If you belong to a priority group and your child will attend 4-Year-Old Kinder in 2028 or later, you can select your priority group if you submit an Expression of Interest form.
You can do this under the section of the form: "Additional information about your child".
This helps our enrolment team and kindergarten service providers better manage hours across services.
Alternatively, you can select your priority group when enrolment applications open in June the year before your child attends kindergarten.
When can all families in Monash access more hours of 4-Year-Old Kinder?
For the most current information, check the Victorian Government’s roll-out schedule.
Under the Victorian Government’s schedule, more hours of 4-Year-Old Kinder will roll out in Monash from 2034. This also applies to all other local councils in Metropolitan Melbourne.
The staged schedule allows time to grow the workforce, build the infrastructure and prepare services for expanded programs.