Enrolment FAQs

In Victoria, all three and four-year-old children are eligible for free kindergarten, regardless of whether they attend sessional kindergartens or long day care centres.

A child can only access one funded kindergarten program. If a child is enrolled at two services, the parent/guardian must nominate which service is to receive the kindergarten funding for the child.  If you elect to receive free kinder at another service, then unfortunately we won’t be able to offer you a place at Holy Trinity Kindergarten.

You may apply for 3YO kindergarten once your child has turned two years of age. However applications are not accepted at Holy Trinity Kindergarten until our Open Day each year.

At Holy Trinity Kindergarten application forms for the following year go live on our website on our Open Day.  In 2025 it was Saturday, 29th March, however this changes each year.  Although we are not part of the Bayside Central Registration and Enrolment Scheme, we hold our Open Day on the same weekend as the kindergartens in this scheme.  Our Open Day is advertised on billboards around the area and on our website leading up to the day.

Children may commence 3YO kinder if they turn three years of age by the 30th April in the year they wish to attend.  However, they may not commence until their third birthday.

Children may commence 4YO kinder if they turn four years of age by the 30th April in the year they wish to attend, and may attend from the beginning of the year.

The application form remains on our website for approximately two months.  After this, you may contact the kinder directly to check availability.  Phone 9598 8836 or email admin@holytrinitykindergarten.com.au

First round offers are usually sent out at the beginning of June and second round offers at the beginning of July. 

There is no cost to enrol, however if your child is offered a place you will need to pay an administrative fee when accepting.  This fee is refunded at the start of the year when your child commences kinder.  If you accept a place and then withdraw prior to your child commencing, the fee is not refunded.  This fee is currently $200 and is reviewed at our AGM held in November of each year.

If you don’t receive an offer, we will advise you by email and ask you to advise whether you wish your child to remain on the waitlist or if you’d prefer your application to be withdrawn.  Your child will remain on the waitlist for the remainder of the year, unless you advise otherwise.

The order of priority is listed below.  It is wise to apply as soon as possible after applications open, as once places are offered using the following criteria, any remaining places are prioritised by the date and time the application is received.

OFFERS MUST FIRSTLY BE PRIORITISED BASED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA WHICH IS MANDATED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:

·        Children at risk of abuse or neglect.

·        Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children.

·        Asylum seeker and refugee children.

·        Children eligible for the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy (eg Health Card Holders)

·        Children who are triplets, quadruplets or more.

·        Children with additional needs.

Once these criteria have been met, places are then offered in the following order:

·   Children who are repeating

·   Children who currently attend Holy Trinity Kindergarten (HTK)

·   Children who have a sibling who has previously attended HTK

·   Children who live within 5 kms of HTK

·   Date and time application is received

Every child is different, however if your child turns three in the first four months of the year you wish them to attend, they will not be able to commence until after their third birthday.  In this instance, you may like to consider the following:

·       Will their attendance be impacted if they need to wait until their 3rd birthday to begin the year?

·       How will this affect their transition to kindergarten?

·       Will they be impacted by the reduced amount of time they will have at 3YO kindergarten? e.g. possibly missing much of Term One.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON KINDER READINESS  

Please be aware that it is not a parent decision to repeat 3YO or 4YO kindergarten - it is by teacher recommendation only, and the decision to repeat must meet certain criteria from Department of Education guidelines. Parents and guardians need to consider and be aware of the difficulties in gaining funding for a child who requires a second year of 3YO or 4YO kindergarten.

The Department of Education encourages families to understand that once a child begins a funded 3YO program, it effectively sets them on a path: 4YO kindergarten the following year, then school the year after.

• Age of Cohort: Some of their peers could be up to 16 months older.

• Community and School Sport: Most sports group children by their age as of January 1st. This could mean you child might either compete with younger children or need to play above their age group to be with their peers.

• School Readiness: The transition from kinder to school comes with a significant leap in expectations.  Feedback from primary teachers advise that it's helpful when a child's age isn’t a contributing factor to classroom or learning challenges.

• High School Consideration: Starting kinder earlier means starting Year 12 at 16 and turning 17 during that final year, which can bring its own set of challenges.

Of course, every child is unique, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to kinder or school readiness. Our goal is simply to ensure that families who have the opportunity to choose when to start their child’s education feel informed and supported in making the best decision for their child.

While the majority of children starting kinder are toilet trained, some may still require some support from staff in this area.  Our educators are able to encourage independence and assist with toileting accidents but are unable to take full responsibility for toilet training.  This is a family responsibility.

HELPFUL INFORMATION TO ASSIST WITH TOILET TRAINING

In Victoria, Four-Year-Old Kindergarten is becoming Pre-Prep, starting with six local government areas in 2025 and then being rolled out over a ten year period.  This means that between 2026 and 2036 Four-Year-Old Kindergarten in Victoria will transition to 30 hours per week. Eligible children can access up to 25 hours per week from 2026.  There is no difference between the program offered for Four-Year-Old Kindergarten and Pre-Prep. Pre-Prep offers children more hours to learn and socialise through play. Pre-Prep will be delivered through standalone (sessional) kindergartens and long day care centres and will also be part of Free Kinder.

From 2026 the following priority groups will be eligible for Pre-Prep at all Victorian Kindergartens:

2026 priority groups:

• children who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander

• children from a refugee or asylum seeker background

• children who have had contact with Child Protection or are in out of home care

• children who were supported by Early Start Kindergarten or the Access to Early Learning program for Three-Year-Old Kindergarten.

Pre-Prep hours for 2026 priority groups:

• between 16 and 25 hours per week from 2026

• between 16 and 30 hours from 2028.

Pre-prep for children who do not fit into the above categories will be rolled out over a ten year period.  See the link below for the full roll-out schedule.

https://www.vic.gov.au/pre-prep-roll-out-schedule

If you think your child meets one of the eligibility criteria for Pre-Prep, please email admin@holytrinitykindergarten.com.au and we will be in touch to advise of the next steps.

If the above hasn't addressed all your questions, please don't hesitate to contract Trish, our Administration Manager.  Trish works at the kinder on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9.00 am - 2.30 pm.  You may phone her during those hours on 9598 8836 or email her anytime at admin@holytrinitykindergarten.com.au

Further information on Free Kinder in Victoria can also be found on the Department of Education website:

https://www.vic.gov.au/free-kinder