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Child Safe Organisation logo featuring colourful hands forming a star shape, symbolizing support and protection for children in early childhood education.
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Three and Four-Year-Old Kinder · Melbourne

Funded Kindergarten in Melbourne at Starfish ELC

Our funded kindergarten program draws on multiple highly regarded early learning philosophies, combining them with incursions by experts in fields such as physical education, animals, dance and indigenous culture.

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Children enjoying a creative art activity at Starfish Early Learning Centre.
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Funded Kindergarten Program

Enrolments Open for 2027

Enquire for current availability in Three-Year-Old and Four-Year-Old Kinder at each centre.
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What is funded kindergarten in Victoria?

Children in Victoria can attend two years of government-funded kindergarten before school — Three-Year-Old Kinder and Four-Year-Old Kinder. Both are play-based programs led by a qualified early childhood teacher.

What it costs

The Victorian Government's Free Kinder program funds kindergarten at participating services. At a standalone sessional kinder, there are no compulsory fees for the funded program. At a long day care service like Starfish, it arrives as an annual fee offset applied to your invoice across the year, after your Child Care Subsidy.

So funded kinder inside long day care isn't free childcare — it's a real reduction in what you pay for a full day. You don't have to claim it, and you can take up Free Kinder at one service at a time.

Eligibility is universal. You don't need a Health Care Card, Australian citizenship, or proof of address, and you don't need to be eligible for Child Care Subsidy to receive Free Kinder.

Want a real number for your days?

Our subsidy calculator gives you an estimate in a couple of minutes. Your Centre Director can give you an exact figure on a tour.
Estimate your gap fee
Eligibility, funded hours and government contributions are set by the Victorian Government and are subject to change. Confirm at vic.gov.au or ask your Centre Director. Out-of-pocket cost depends on your family's Child Care Subsidy entitlement, determined by Services Australia. Long day care fees apply. Places are subject to availability.
Estimate your gap fee

Why choose a Starfish kindergarten?

Selecting a Starfish kindergarten offers children an engaging, respectful, and enriching environment that celebrates curiosity and nurtures a lifelong love for learning. This approach aligns with children’s natural development and curiosity, setting a strong foundation for their future learning experiences.
One place

One drop-off, one pick-up

No leaving work at 2:30 to move a four-year-old from kinder to care. Same building, same rhythm, same car park.
Same faces

The same educators all day

Your child's kinder teacher is in the room they're already in, with the friends they already have. No second orientation.
Year-round

Term breaks are just weeks

Sessional kinder runs to school terms. We're open year-round, so January doesn't become a problem to solve.
Included

Meals, garden and incursions

Chef-prepared meals, the kitchen garden, and visiting specialists are part of the day — not extra-cost add-ons.

Continuity

Nursery to kinder, in one centre

If your child was here at two, the Centre Director who knew them then knows them now. Siblings stay under one roof.

Independent

Privately owned, not a chain

Five centres, one philosophy, run since 2009 by the family who started them.

What the program works towards

Our program is aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework — Belonging, Being, Becoming — across five outcomes:
  • Children have a strong sense of identity
  • Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
  • Children are confident and involved learners
  • Children are effective communicators
  • Children are connected with and contribute to their world
The program

What's inside the funded kindergarten program

Starfish has been running kindergarten programs for over a decade. The program is approved by the Victorian Department of Education, draws on several early childhood philosophies with Reggio Emilia at the centre, and is taught by qualified early childhood teachers.
Teaching

Qualified early childhood teachers

No leaving work at 2:30 to move a four-year-old from kinder to care. Same building, same rhythm, same car park.
Reggio Emilia

The Three Teachers

Reggio recognises three teachers in a child's learning: the parents, the educators, and the environment. It's why our buildings are purpose-built for natural play, and why families here are partners rather than customers.
Curriculum

EYLF and VEYLDF

Planned against the national and Victorian frameworks, documented for each child, and reviewed by teachers in dedicated planning time off the floor.
Literacy & numeracy

No worksheets

We don't drill the alphabet on paper. Counting seeds into a row, reading a seedling label, writing their name on the drawing they want to take home — it's embedded in what children are already doing.
Garden & kitchen

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program

Children choose seeds, prepare beds, plant, weed, harvest and then cook with what they've grown. A real kitchen garden, not a token herb pot. See the garden program →
Specialists

Incursions, included

Physical education, dance, music, animals and Indigenous culture, brought into the centre by specialists as part of the program. No opt-in form in the bag.
“Our role is to create a space where children, unburdened by the distractions of screens, can discover themselves deeply and fully. In a world free from digital noise, they climb their own mountains, developing a stronger sense of self and a curiosity that knows no bounds.”
Tonii Tran
B.Bus (B&F), GD.Edu (EC) — Founder of Starfish
Enrolling

When to enrol

Most Victorian councils run a central kindergarten registration round for the following year in autumn — commonly opening around 1 May and closing 30 June, though dates vary by council.

You don't need to wait for a council round. Starfish enrols directly, at any time of year, for both Three-Year-Old and Four-Year-Old Kinder. Our kinder rooms fill earliest of any room in the centre, so families who tour in autumn get the widest choice of days.

Autumn

Tours for the following year. Register interest. Council rounds typically open.

Winter

Council rounds typically close. Starfish places continue to be offered as they're confirmed.

Spring

Places confirmed, enrolment packs completed, orientation booked.

Summer

Two one-hour orientation play sessions before the first day, with more if your child needs them.

Term 1

The kinder year begins.

Starting mid-year?

Children can join a funded kinder program partway through the year, with funding applied on a pro-rata basis, subject to a place being available. Call us — mid-year is more workable than most families expect.

Get Started With Starfish!

Contact our team to learn more or secure your child’s place at Starfish today!
We Are Now Taking Enrolments
Interested Centre/s?*

Have further questions about our 
Funded Kindergarten Program?

Simply fill in the form and our Centre Director will be in touch to discuss your needs & answer any questions you may have. You can also contact us on 1300 168 881 if you would like to have a chat.

Find your nearest centre

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Starfish ELC Blackburn South childcare centre exterior with fenced entrance and landscaped surrounds
Exceeding the NQS

Blackburn South

  • 168 Canterbury Rd, Blackburn South
  • Phone (03) 9877 3930
  • Monday to Friday: 7:00 am–6:00 pm
Nearby locations: Blackburn South, Box Hill, Forest Hill, and surrounding suburbs
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Entrance and colourful exterior of Starfish ELC Essendon childcare centre
Meeting the NQS

Essendon

  • 1 Melfort Avenue, Essendon VIC 3040
  • Phone 1300 168 881
  • Monday to Friday: 7:00 am–6:00 pm
Nearby locations: Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Aberfeldie, Strathmore, Niddrie, Ascot Vale and Flemington
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Front entrance and outdoor area of Starfish ELC Nunawading
Exceeding the NQS

Nunawading

  • 28 Mountain View Road, Nunawading
  • Phone (03) 9894 1688
  • Monday to Friday: 7:00 am–6:00 pm
Nearby locations: Nunawading, Mitcham, Vermont and Box Hill North
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Founder of Starfish Early Learning Centre leading a team and creating nurturing environments for children
Exceeding the NQS

Reservoir

  • 17 Rosenthal Crescent, Reservoir
  • Phone (03) 9460 8200
  • Monday to Friday: 7:00 am–6:00 pm
Nearby locations: Reservoir, Thomastown, Fawkner, Bundoora, Macleod and surrounding northern suburbs.
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Exterior of Starfish ELC Springvale childcare centre
Meeting the NQS

Springvale

  • 28 St Johns Avenue, Springvale VIC 3171
  • Phone (03) 9574 2888
  • Monday to Friday: 7:00 am–6:00 pm
Nearby locations: Springvale, Keysborough, Dandenong, Clayton South, Clarinda and surrounding areas
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FUNDED KINDERGARTEN · FROM OUR BLOG

Kindergarten guides for families

Helpful reads on learning, development and getting ready for the kindergarten years.
People also ask

Common questions

The Free Kinder program funds kindergarten at participating services. At a standalone sessional kinder that means no compulsory fees for the funded program. At a long day care service like Starfish it arrives as an annual fee offset applied to your invoice across the year, after your Child Care Subsidy — long day care fees still apply.

Fifteen hours per week. Pre-Prep will increase this to as much as 30 hours, but it's rolling out region by region and is scheduled to reach metropolitan Melbourne from 2034. Some children can access more hours across Victoria now, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and children from a refugee or asylum seeker background.

Three-Year-Old Kinder is for children who turn three by 30 April in the year they attend; Four-Year-Old Kinder for children who turn four by 30 April. Children born between January and April can start in the year they turn three, or wait until the year they turn four.

Yes. Funded kindergarten is delivered at standalone kindergartens, long day care centres, children's centres and some schools. The program and the funding are the same. At Starfish the funded program runs inside our long day care, so the kinder hours sit within a full day of care.

The funded program is the same and both are led by a qualified early childhood teacher. Sessional kinder runs in set sessions during school terms and you arrange care around it. Kinder in long day care runs inside a full day, year-round.

No. Neither year is compulsory. Both are funded and available, and there's good evidence that two years of kinder benefits children more than one — but it's your choice.

A child can be enrolled at more than one service, but funded kinder and Free Kinder can only be taken up at one service at a time. You'll be asked to sign a letter naming which one. Hours at the second service are charged normally.

Most councils run a central registration round for the following year in autumn, often opening around 1 May and closing 30 June — check your own council, as dates vary. Starfish enrols directly at any time of year. Our kinder rooms fill earliest, so autumn is the best time to tour for the following year.

At long day care, yes. Free Kinder reduces your fees through an annual offset applied across the year, on top of your Child Care Subsidy — it doesn't replace long day care fees. Our subsidy calculator gives an estimate, and your Centre Director can give you a real figure for your days.

Not a dedicated bush kinder program. Bush kinder is a model where the program runs regularly outdoors in a natural setting, in all weather. At Starfish, nature-based learning is built into the ordinary week instead — walking excursions to local reserves and creek trails, and outdoor yards designed so children get outside in most weather.
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