The Queensland government is offering to cut the cost of kindergarten for thousands of families from next year.
By doubling the spend on an existing program, 40,000 kids will either get free or cheaper kindy classes, up from 20,000 this year.
The government has committed $1 billion to the plan over a five-year period and says most Queensland families with children in the kindergarten program will benefit.
Who is eligible?
The aim is to make kindy free or cheaper for the most vulnerable.
Families from low socio-economic areas who currently can't afford kindy for their young ones should ideally be the people who get it for free.
Others who qualify could save up to about $80 a week on the cost of kindy.
But the government can't yet say who will be eligible — that will have to be worked out between families, their kindergarten provider and government officials.
Education Minister Grace Grace says it will depend on things like where people live and what other family payments they're already eligible for.
"That will all be worked out. No-one will miss out on any benefit that they're entitled to."
How will it work?
There are around 13,000 families who will save between $16 and $80 a week," Ms Grace said.
Other eligible families will be offered subsidies on a sliding scale.
"Nearly 70 per cent of families who have kids at kindy will benefit from this landmark announcement," she said.
Goodstart Early Learning Centres said it was "great news", but also urged the Queensland government to follow the lead of Victoria and New South Wales and extend preschool programs to three-year-olds, "as the evidence was clear that two years of preschool provided more lasting benefits than just one".
When will the changes come into effect?
They're set to come into effect from the start of the 2023 school year.
So kindy providers and families have a little under a year to find out if they'll be eligible to save money and how much.
"It's a bit difficult to give automatic answers to these [questions] because it is complicated," Ms Grace said.
