Preschool Education

In 2024:

• there were 341,568 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 304,899 children aged 4 years and 312,572 aged 5 years resident in Australia as at June 2024. This indicates that 90% 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 (22%) resided in the fourth IRSD quintile.
• 96% of children enrolled were enrolled for 15 hours or more per week.

In 2024:

• there were 23,206 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 4 or 5 years old enrolled in a preschool program, representing 7% of all children enrolled in preschool programs.
• 97% 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 (almost 12%).
• 42% of all children enrolled in a preschool program in remote and very remote areas were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

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

In 2024:

• there were 172,124 children aged 4 or 5 years old enrolled only in preschool programs delivered by centre based day care services, representing 50% of all children enrolled.
• there were 121,229 children enrolled only in preschool programs delivered by dedicated preschools, representing 35% of all children enrolled.
• there were 48,210 children enrolled in preschool programs across more than one provider type, representing 14% of all children enrolled.
• in dedicated preschools, 37% were enrolled in government preschools, 61% 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 (66%), the Northern Territory (56%) and Tasmania (55%) had the highest proportion of children enrolled in dedicated preschools, while Queensland (70%), New South Wales (64%) and Victoria (44%) had the highest proportion of children enrolled in preschool programs in centre based day care services.

In 2024:

• there were 265,721 children (78%) aged 4 or 5 years old enrolled in preschool programs who paid $4 or less out of pocket per hour after subsidies were deducted. Of these, 105,304 children paid no fees.
• there were 75,510 children (22%) enrolled in preschool programs who paid $5 or more per hour.

In 2024:

• there were 94,230 children (78%) aged 4 or 5 years old enrolled in dedicated preschools who paid no fees, 18,733 (15%) paid $1-$4 per hour, and 8,187 (7%) paid $5 or more per hour.
• there were 9,192 children (5%) enrolled in preschool programs in centre based day care services who paid no fees, 104,971 (61%) paid $1-$4 per hour, and 57,694 (34%) paid $5 or more per hour.
• there were 1,879 children (4%) enrolled in more than one provider type who paid no fees, 36,705 (76%) paid $1-4 per hour, and 9,619 (20%) paid $5 or more per hour.

In 2024:

• there were 13,570 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 thirds (68%) of 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 75% of preschool program providers respectively). Dedicated preschools made up the highest proportion of providers in Tasmania (59%), the Northern Territory (53%) and Western Australia (52%).

This release previously used catalogue number 4240.0.