Faced with stubborn inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, many young families are struggling to make ends meet. That is why the Minns Labor Government last year made a record $430 million investment to help families with three-, four- and five-year-olds, with the cost of early childhood education and care.
New Department of Education data shows:
- This investment helped the families of around 200,000 children last year, with parents or carers receiving a subsidy to reduce the costs of early childhood education and care.
- Families of more than 64,000 three-year-old children attending long day care were eligible for fee relief for the first time in 2024, under an initiative introduced by the Minns Labor Government.
- In 2025 the families of at least 200,000 children will be eligible to access fee relief.
Families can now apply for fee relief at their chosen early childhood education and care service for this year. Eligible services will pass on the savings as a weekly reduction in fees.
From January 1, 2025, NSW families can receive:
- Up to $4,347 a year for three- to five-year-olds attending eligible community and mobile preschools
- Up to $2,174 a year for children aged four and above attending eligible preschool programs in long day care services. This can be received on top of the Australian Government Child Care Subsidy payment.
- Up to $515 a year for three-year-olds attending eligible preschool programs in long day care services, on top of their Australian Government Child Care Subsidy payment.
Research shows that children who attend quality early childhood education and care for two days a week, or 600 hours a year in the two years before starting school, gain lifelong benefits. This supports their social, emotional, and cognitive development, with these benefits evident throughout their schooling years and into further study or the workforce.
The Minns Labor Government is also investing an additional $40 million in 2025 to drive improved quality in long day services delivering preschool programs for three-year-olds. Funding can be used by the services to pay salaries of early childhood teachers and educators, buy educational resources and develop quality early childhood education programs.
The Minns Labor Government is prioritising quality education in the early years of a child’s life, with $1.82 billion invested in early education and care as part of the 2024-25 NSW Budget.
In addition to fee relief, the Government has made the largest ever investment in public preschools. The Government will also build 100 new public preschools in public schools by 2027, the largest ever expansion in NSW.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:
“High-quality early childhood education and care should be affordable and accessible for all children across NSW, no matter their postcode or background.
“That is why we are making a record investment in fee-relief – so more families can access quality preschool and long day care, where they can develop their language and social skills before starting school.
“More affordable preschool means more support for parents to return to work, which can make a big difference to hardworking families.”
More information on Start Strong fee relief is available on the Department of Education website.
