Free Kinder in Victoria 2026: What Local Families Actually Get

The Victorian Government's Free Kinder program continues in 2026, removing out-of-pocket fees for funded kindergarten hours at participating services. Here's what it means if your child is starting Three or Four Year Old Kindergarten with us in Mooroolbark or Bayswater.

How many funded hours?

• Three Year Old Kinder: 15 funded hours per week (phased — confirm current allocation at enrolment).
• Four Year Old Kinder: 15 funded hours per week.

At a long-day-care service, those funded hours are embedded in your child's regular day — no separate pickup, no juggling two providers. Read more about how that works in our long daycare vs sessional kinder guide.

Who is eligible?

Children turning three or four by 30 April of the program year are eligible. There's no income test for Free Kinder itself. Families using long-day-care still claim Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for the non-kinder hours — Free Kinder reduces the kinder-hour portion of your fees.

What it looks like at Meraki

Our Four Year Old Kinder and Three Year Old Kinder programs are led by qualified Early Childhood Teachers and run inside our regular daily routine.

• 4YO Kinder Mooroolbark — serving Lilydale, Croydon, Kilsyth, Chirnside Park.
• 4YO Kinder Bayswater — serving Boronia, Wantirna, Heathmont, The Basin.

Next step

Book a tour and we'll walk you through fees, funded hours and what your child's week will look like.