Preschool Education, Australia

In 2019

• the number of children aged 4 or 5 years old enrolled in a preschool program increased by 0.7% compared with 2018 (up to 335,804 children)
• the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 4 or 5 years old enrolled in a preschool program increased by 9.5% compared with 2018 (up to 19,577 children)
• almost 40% of children enrolled in a preschool program in remote/very remote areas were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
• almost 21% of all children enrolled in a preschool program resided in the fifth SEIFA quintile (least disadvantaged) while 17% resided in the first quintile (most disadvantaged)

• there were 335,804 children aged 4 or 5 years enrolled in a preschool program, an increase of 2,272 (0.7%) since 2018
• preschool program enrolments increased in Victoria (1.9%), the Northern Territory (1.0%), the Australian Capital Territory (1.0%), New South Wales (0.8%), and Queensland (0.7%) and decreased in South Australia (2.7%), Tasmania (0.8%) and Western Australia (0.5%) between 2018 and 2019
• four in five children enrolled were aged 4 years and one in five were aged 5 years
• over 83% of all 4 year old and 21% of all 5 year old children were enrolled in preschool programs
• over 95% of children enrolled were enrolled for 15 hours or more per week

• there were 19,577 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 4 or 5 years old enrolled in a preschool program, representing 5.8% of all children enrolled in preschool programs
• the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 4 or 5 years old enrolled in preschool programs increased by 9.5% compared with 2018
• increases in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children enrolments were seen in Queensland and Tasmania (both 16%), Victoria (13%), New South Wales (9%), the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory (both 8%), and South Australia (1%). Enrolments decreased in Western Australia (1%)
• over 95% 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 (39%) and remote and very remote areas (14%)
   

• there were 168,105 children enrolled only in preschool programs in centre based day care services representing 50% of all children enrolled, compared with 49% in 2018
• there were 135,301 children enrolled only in preschool programs in dedicated preschools representing 40% of all children enrolled, compared with 43% in 2018
• there were 32,402 children enrolled in preschool programs across more than one provider type representing 10% of all children enrolled, compared with 9% in 2018
• in dedicated preschools 39% were enrolled in government preschools, 59% were enrolled in non-government preschools and the remaining 1% were enrolled in more than one preschool
• enrolments across service delivery models varied by state and territory. Western Australia (75%), the Northern Territory (65%) and Tasmania (64%) had the highest proportion of children enrolled in dedicated preschools, while Queensland (68%), New South Wales (66%) and Victoria (46%) had the highest proportion of children enrolled in preschool programs in centre based day care services
   

• there were 254,075 children enrolled in preschool programs who paid $4 or less out of pocket per hour after subsidies were deducted, of these 73,729 children paid no fees
• there was a slight decrease in the number of children who paid $4 or less per hour, declining from 77% in 2018 to 76% in 2019
• there were 81,651 children (24%) enrolled in preschool programs who paid $5 or more per hour compared with 77,424 (23%) in 2018
   

• there were 110,813 children enrolled in dedicated preschools who paid $4 or less per hour, of these 60,706 paid no fees
• there were 116,830 children enrolled in preschool programs in centre based day care services who paid $4 or less per hour, of these 11,555 paid no fees
• 45% of all children enrolled in dedicated preschools paid no fees, 37% paid $1-$4 per hour, and 18% paid $5 or more per hour
• 7% of all children enrolled in preschool programs in centre based day care services paid no fees, 63% paid $1-$4 per hour, and 30% paid $5 or more per hour
• of children who attended more than one provider type, 5% paid no fees, 77% paid $1-$4 per hour, and 18% paid $5 or more per hour

• there were 11,990 service providers delivering a preschool program to children aged 3 to 6 years, an increase of 2.5% compared with 11,695 in 2018
• almost 36% of preschool program providers were dedicated preschools
• nearly two-thirds (64%) of 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 79% and 72% of preschool program providers respectively). Dedicated preschools made up the highest proportion of providers in Tasmania (63%), the Northern Territory (61%) and Western Australia (59%).

This release previously used catalogue number 4240.0.