Preschool Attendance

Latest release

Experimental statistics on preschool attendance for children in their year before full-time schooling.

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Reference period
2024
Released
9/05/2025
Next release Unknown
First release

Key statistics

In 2024, there were a total of 287,494 children attending preschool. Of these there were: 

  • 19,547 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
  • 52,862 children residing in the most disadvantaged areas (Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD) quintile 1).

About this release

This release presents experimental statistics about preschool attendance in the year before full-time schooling. Statistics in this release are provided at the national and state and territory levels.

Together, this data provides a national picture of preschool student attendance, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and disadvantaged children (residing in Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD) quintile 1).

Experimental statistics

The statistics in this publication are being presented for the first time and are deemed by the ABS to be experimental. They use a new methodology to count children in the expected year before full-time school. Not all providers were able to provide the full scope of requested data for this cycle. This is expected to be addressed in future cycles. Users of this data should exercise caution in interpreting and drawing conclusions from the results. For more information, refer to the Methodology.

The ABS will continue to collaborate with the Australian Government and state and territory education departments to improve and develop the quality and range of data available over time. The ABS acknowledges the work and expertise of the data providers in developing this first release. 

Key population and scope

The statistics in this publication are produced from administrative data sourced from the Australian Government and state and territory education departments. 

The scope of the data is children aged 3 to 6 years (inclusive) who were enrolled at the enrolment reference point and attending preschool for at least one hour during Term 2.

The data focuses on children who attended preschool:

  • in the year before they are expected to commence full-time schooling
  • in program(s) offering 600 hours or more per year

Term 2 attendance data was extrapolated to produce estimated annual attendance for each child. For more information, refer to the Methodology.

Children

In 2024:

  • there were 287,494 children attending preschool, of which 70% (201,131) had an estimated annual attendance of 600 hours or more.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

In 2024:

  • there were 19,547 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children attending preschool, of which 57% (11,207) had an estimated annual attendance of 600 hours or more.

Disadvantaged children

In 2024:

  • there were 52,862 children residing in the most disadvantaged areas (IRSD quintile 1) attending preschool, of which 62% (32,838) had an estimated annual attendance of 600 hours or more.

Service type

Preschool programs are delivered through centre based day care services or through dedicated preschools. In 2024, of the 287,494 children attending preschool:

  • 28% (80,301) attended only a dedicated preschool, of which 31,630 (39%) had an estimated annual attendance of 600 hours or more.
  • 59% (169,876) attended only a centre based day care, of which 133,514 (79%) had an estimated annual attendance of 600 hours or more.
  • 13% (37,318) attended both a dedicated preschool and a centre based day care, of which 35,986 (96%) had an estimated annual attendance of 600 hours or more.

Data downloads

Preschool Attendance, 2024 (Tables 1-3)

Data files
Download xlsx [48.03 KB]

Methodology

Scope

Data on children in their year before full-time schooling who, at the enrolment reference point, were enrolled in preschool program(s) offering 600 hours or more per year and attended for at least one hour in Term 2.

Geography

Data available for:

  • Australia
  • States and territories

Source

The National Preschool Attendance Collection (NPAC) is an administrative data collection sourced from the Australian Government and state and territory education departments. 

Collection method

Data on preschool education and service providers are collected from administrative data collections and collated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) through the NPAC. 

Concepts, sources and methods

The NPAC is based on administrative data collected from Australian Government, state and territory education departments.

The reference period is Term 2 of the schooling year for each jurisdiction; that is 15 April to 19 July 2024. 

History of changes

Not applicable for this release. 

View full methodology