Preschool Education

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

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

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

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

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

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%)

This release previously used catalogue number 4240.0.