Kindergarten funding rates

Victorian government-funded kindergarten providers can find which funding rates are applicable to their services in the table below.

The same rates apply to funded three-year-old and four-year-old enrolments in programs of 15 hours per week. For services delivering a funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program less than 15 hours, child level funding will be provided on a prorated basis. Services in a 2025 Pre-Prep rollout area have received sperate advice on funding settings.

More information about each funding stream, including eligibility and how payments are made is available in the Kindergarten Funding Guide(opens in a new window).

Table 1 – Core funding rates

	2025 rate
Per capita – Services not operating under the Early Childhood Enterprise Agreements (EA)
Standard per capita	$3,831
Rural per capita*	$4,737
Independent schools Standard**	$3,831
Independent schools Type 1**	$672
Independent schools Type 2**	$2,181
Per capita – Services operating under the Early Childhood Enterprise Agreements (EA) (or approved equivalent agreement)***
EA Standard per capita	$4,339
EA Rural per capita*	$5,366
Early Start Kindergarten (ESK) and Access to Early Learning****
ESK Standard	$6,966
ESK Rural	$7,993

*All sessional rural services with 18 or fewer enrolments will receive a base funding amount that is equivalent to 18 enrolments at the relevant rural per capita rate and Free Kinder rate. All integrated long day care services with 18 or fewer enrolments will receive a base funding amount that is equivalent to 18 enrolments at the relevant rural per capita rate. Rural services with 19 or more enrolments will receive the relevant rural per capita rate for all enrolments up to 45 children, and where applicable, the standard per capita rate for the 46th enrolment and above.
**Non-government school managed kindergarten services in the Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) 1, 2 and 3 will receive the standard per capita rate.
***Services that are signatories to the Early Childhood Enterprise Agreements are services that operate under the Victorian Early Childhood Teachers' and Educators' Agreement (VECTEA) or the Early Education Employees' Agreement (EEEA) or an approved equivalent agreement.
**** Children funded under ESK/AEL receive this funding in place of per capita. From 2023, Free Kinder funding is included in the ESK/AEL funding rates. ESK/AEL enrolments at services that participate in Free Kinder will not be paid Free Kinder funding in addition to the ESK/AEL funding.

Early childhood

Updated 28 January 2025

Kindergarten funding rates

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Table 1 – Core funding rates