Victoria and NSW to announce overhaul of preschool education

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, and his NSW counterpart, Dominic Perrottet, will on Thursday announce the joint long-term policy commitment.

The NSW budget will set aside more than $5.8bn over 10 years to introduce universal pre-kindergarten by 2030.

In Victoria, the program will be rolled out from 2025 as part of a $9bn overhaul of early childhood education over the decade. This includes making kinder free for all three and four-year-olds from 2023, saving families up to $2,500 a child each year.

The Victorian government will also establish 50 childcare centres in the areas with the greatest unmet demand for childcare places, increasing overall supply of places by 3-5%.

The first childcare centres will open by 2025 and will charge a lower fee than many private childcare providers.

Based on the Mitchell Institute analysis, the Victorian government estimates that there are about 105,000 children in the state aged 0-4 who live in a childcare desert.

The policy also includes a $218m workforce plan to ensure centres that expand will be able to find staff, with money set aside for scholarships and tertiary education.