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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Sarah Lansdown

Labor promises to double hours for free three-year-old preschool

The number of hours of free three-year-old preschool would double if Labor wins the October election.

Currently three-year-olds are able to access 300 hours per year of preschool through existing early learning providers.

This would increase to 600 hours, the equivalent of 15 hours per week for 40 weeks, under Labor's proposal to expand the scheme.

The party claims this would save the average family more than $2600 per child.

The hours of public four-year-old preschools would also expand to include supervised before and after preschool care.

ACT Labor did not release any details on the total cost of either of these measures, nor when the they would begin.

Parents of three-year-olds have had some fee relief for early childhood education and care since the free preschool scheme began this year.

The ACT government paid providers to cover the gap between what parents received in the child care subsidy from the federal government and the centres' daily fees for up to 300 hours in a year.

The scheme covered the preschool portion of the day and required centres to have a qualified early childhood teacher.

Labor has promised to expand its free three-year-old preschool scheme if it is reelected. Picture by Shutterstock

It comes after the Productivity Commission's report on the early childhood sector recommended all children aged up to five have access to high-quality early learning for at least 30 hours or three days a week for 48 weeks of the year.

The report provided a roadmap for government towards a universal early childhood education system that was accessible and affordable for families.

The report urged the federal government to fund childcare for families with incomes up to $80,000 and scrapping the activity test for parents to access the child care subsidy.

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