Families across East Gippsland will soon have a simpler and more streamlined way to register their children for kindergarten, with East Gippsland Shire Council introducing a new Kindergarten Central Registration Service.

The new service creates a single, central point for families to register their interest in state-funded 3 and 4-year-old kindergarten, helping to remove confusion and make the process clearer and fairer for everyone.

Council supports local families by coordinating the central registration process for kindergarten across East Gippsland, helping make enrolment simple and streamlined. While kindergarten programs are delivered by independent providers, Council works closely with participating services to manage registrations and allocate places on their behalf — ensuring families have a clear and easy pathway into local kinder programs.

Key dates:

1 April: formal registrations open

30 June: First round closes

Families can now complete a pre-registration form via Council’s website, allowing parents and carers to register their interest in kindergarten at any time after their child is born. The pre- registration form may also be submitted by services such as Maternal and Child Health or Child Protection to ensure a child’s details are captured in the Central Registration Service, enabling Council’s Early Years team to follow up and support families to complete the registration process. Hard copies of the form are also available through our Customer Service Centres and libraries.  

Formal registrations will open from 1 April this year and families who have submitted the pre- registration form will be contacted and invited to complete their registration when the period opens, generally in the year before their child is due to begin kindergarten.

Kindergarten places will be allocated using priority criteria set by the Victorian Department of Education and agreed to by participating kindergarten providers, ensuring the process is consistent, transparent and equitable for all families. Once a place is offered and accepted, families will then work directly with their chosen kindergarten service to complete enrolment.

East Gippsland Shire Council Mayor Jodie Ashworth said the new system was designed to make an important milestone easier for local families.

“Kindergarten plays a vital role in a child’s early development and starting that journey should feel exciting, not stressful.” Cr Ashworth said.

“Families have been looking for a clearer and more consistent way to navigate kindergarten registrations, and this new central system delivers that.

“I want to reassure families that Council is not taking over the operation of kindergartens. Our role is simply to support families by coordinating registrations, while local providers continue to deliver high-quality kindergarten programs in our communities.”

Funded 3- and 4-year-old kindergarten is provided by the Victorian Government. More information about funded kindergarten programs is available at www.vic.gov.au/kinder.

Families are encouraged to visit Council’s Children’s webpage, eastgippsland.vic.gov.au/community/children to see the full list of participating services within the region, complete the pre-registration form, learn how the process works and view frequently asked questions.

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