Federal Funding Guarantee for Preschools in Bradfield

Families in Bradfield will continue to have access to 600 hours of preschool per year (usually delivered as 15 hours per week) following the Abbott Government’s commitment of $840 million to extend the National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education.

Member for Bradfield, Paul Fletcher, said the Commonwealth Government will provide state and territory governments with another two years of preschool funding over the 2016 and 2017 calendar years, in addition to the 12 month extension provided last year.

“This announcement gives Bradfield families and preschool providers certainty,” Mr Fletcher said. “It’s welcome news for children, parents and preschool providers.”

“We want families to be able to access early childhood education right across Bradfield whether that is through a government or standalone preschool, or long day care service,” Mr Fletcher said.

Mr Fletcher said that Commonwealth funding under this National Partnership Agreement would for the first time be indexed to ensure that Australian families do not lose out in real terms.

“This Government has now provided three years of funding certainty for Australian families and preschool providers. Bill Shorten and Labor short-changed Bradfield families when they failed to provide any funding after 2014,” Mr Fletcher said.

“This $840 million in preschool funding highlights this Government’s commitment to support high-quality early childhood education for Australian families,” Mr Fletcher said.