Preschool Education

Latest release

Statistics about preschool education, including enrolment, attendance, fees and service providers

Reference period
2023

Key statistics

In 2023

  • the number of children aged 4 or 5 years old enrolled in a preschool program was 337,305, a 0.9% increase compared with 2022
  • the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 4 or 5 years old enrolled in a preschool program was 22,716, which was 5.6% higher than in 2022
  • more than three-quarters (78%) of children enrolled in a preschool program paid $4 or less per hour for preschool programs after subsidies were deducted

Children

In 2023

  • there were 337,305 children aged 4 or 5 years old enrolled in a preschool program
  • 80% of children enrolled in a preschool program were aged 4 years and 20% were aged 5 years
  • it is estimated there were 307,687 children aged 4 years and 310,777 aged 5 years resident in Australia as at June 2023. This indicates that 88% of all children aged 4 and 22% of all children aged 5 were enrolled in preschool programs
  • 20% of all children enrolled in a preschool program resided in the fifth Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD) quintile (least disadvantaged) while 18% resided in the first quintile (most disadvantaged). The largest group of children (21%) resided in the fourth IRSD quintile
  • over 96% of children enrolled were enrolled for 15 hours or more per week

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

In 2023

  • there were 22,716 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 4 or 5 years old enrolled in a preschool program, representing almost 7% of all children enrolled in preschool programs
  • over 96% of enrolled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were enrolled for 15 hours or more per week
  • 47% of enrolled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were enrolled in preschool programs in inner and outer regional areas followed by major cities (42%) and remote and very remote areas (12%)
  • 42% of children enrolled in a preschool program in remote/very remote areas were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

Enrolments by sector

Preschool programs are delivered through centre based day care services, or through dedicated preschools.

In 2023

  • there were 164,671 children aged 4 or 5 enrolled only in preschool programs delivered by centre based day care services, representing 49% of all children enrolled
  • there were 120,830 children enrolled only in preschool programs delivered by dedicated preschools, representing 36% of all children enrolled
  • there were 51,804 children enrolled in preschool programs across more than one provider type, representing 15% of all children enrolled
  • in dedicated preschools, 39% were enrolled in government preschools, 59% were enrolled in non-government preschools and the remaining 2% were enrolled in more than one preschool
  • enrolments across service delivery models varied by state and territory. Western Australia (67%), Tasmania (56%), and the Northern Territory (53%) had the highest proportion of children enrolled in dedicated preschools, while Queensland (70%), New South Wales (64%) and Victoria (42%) had the highest proportion of children enrolled in preschool programs in centre based day care services

Hourly fees

In 2023

  • there were 263,480 children (78%) enrolled in preschool programs who paid $4 or less out of pocket per hour after subsidies were deducted, of these, 104,889 children paid no fees
  • there were 73,627 children (22%) enrolled in preschool programs who paid $5 or more per hour

Hourly fees by sector

In 2023

  • there were 86,563 children (72%) enrolled in dedicated preschools who paid no fees, 22,266 (18%) paid $1-$4 per hour, and 11,984 (10%) paid $5 or more per hour
  • there were 15,076 children (9%) enrolled in preschool programs in centre based day care services who paid no fees, 97,069 (59%) paid $1-$4 per hour, and 52,344 (32%) paid $5 or more per hour
  • there were 3,256 children (6%) enrolled in more than one provider type who paid no fees, 39,256 (76%) paid $1-4 per hour, and 9,297 (18%) paid $5 or more per hour

Service providers

In 2023

  • there were 13,284 service providers delivering a preschool program to children aged 3 to 6 years
  • almost one in three (32%) preschool program providers were dedicated preschools
  • more than two out of three (68%) preschool program providers were centre based day care services
  • service delivery models differ across the states and territories. New South Wales and Queensland have largely centre based day care delivery models (accounting for 81% and 74% of preschool program providers respectively). Dedicated preschools made up the highest proportion of providers in Tasmania (60%), Western Australia (54%), and the Northern Territory (52%)

Data downloads

Preschool Education, 2023 - summary tables

Preschool Education, 2023

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 4240.0.

Methodology

Scope

Data on children aged 3 to 6 years enrolled in a preschool program, and service providers delivering a preschool program to these children.

Geography

Data available for:
 

  • Australia
  • States and territories
  • Remoteness areas
  • Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA)

Source

The NECECC is an administrative data collection sourced from commonwealth, state and territory education departments and the Catholic Education Office of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn.

Collection method

Data on preschool education and service providers are collected from administrative data collections and collated by the ABS through the National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection (NECECC).

Concepts, sources and methods

The NECECC is based on data collected from commonwealth and state preschool census collections. 

The annual census is held on the first Friday in August by each state and territory education department and commonwealth department of education systems.

History of changes

Not applicable for this release. 

View full methodology
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