Universal Three-Year-Old Preschool

In reply to the Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (26 June 2024). (Estimates Committee A)

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills): I have been advised of the following:

Archival documentation found by the Department for Education indicates that Aboriginal children were eligible to attend preschool from three years of age in 1995. However, anecdotal information indicates that this provision may have been in place as early as the late 1970s.

Children in care have been eligible to attend preschool from three years of age since 2006.

Of the average 19,000 three year olds in any given year, approximately 750 are entitled to a three-year-old preschool program.