Deliver 3-year-old preschool from 2026
3-year-old preschool is coming to long day care from 2026
Expressions of interest to partner with the government to deliver 3-year-old preschool have closed for 2026.
Rolling out 3-year-old preschool
We are progressively rolling out 3-year-old preschool from 2026 to improve outcomes for young children in South Australia. Our aim is for all children to have access to 2 years of a 15-hour a week preschool program by 2032. To do so, we are investing in quality preschool programs across a range of services.
The new preschool model for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds will include:
- a teacher-led quality preschool program
- support from allied health and other professionals
- early identification of a child’s developmental needs on site, with organised pathways to interventions
- organised family and community supports for those who need it.
Long day care services
Expressions of interest (EOIs) have now closed for services to partner with government to deliver 3-year-old preschool programs from 2026.
If you submitted an EOI by 28 February 2025, you will be notified of the outcome in writing from late May 2025.
Services that are contracted to partner with government to deliver 3-year-old preschool from 2026 will receive funding for workforce supports such as planning time and professional learning across all settings. Curriculum tools and resources will also be available.
If you did not submit an expression of interest by 28 February 2025, future opportunities to submit an EOI will be announced later in 2025 as the roll-out progresses.
Please note: if the OECD receives more eligible expressions of interest than the funding allocation allows, we reserve the right to prioritise approvals based on quality and location of services.
In the meantime, for future updates on 3-year-old preschool delivery, you can:
- subscribe to the OECD newsletter
- read the draft Policy and Funding Guide
- download our 3-year-old preschool fact sheet and FAQs for families and communities.
Government and other sessional preschool services
The roll-out of 3-year-old preschool in government and other sessional preschools will follow a geographic roll-out schedule – starting with regional and rural areas in 2026 and 2027, the greater Adelaide area in 2028, and metropolitan Adelaide in 2029 and 2030. Find out more about the 3-year-old preschool roll-out.
Three metropolitan government preschools will help shape the statewide roll-out of quality 3-year-old preschool across South Australia from 2026.
Ocean View College Children’s Centre, Brentwood Drive Kindergarten in Huntfield Heights and Riverbanks College Preschool will offer 3-year-old preschool programs to inform the roll-out of South Australia’s new preschool model.
Support the OECD can offer services to meet quality expectations
The Office for Early Childhood Development (OECD) is here to support you to prepare for the 3-year-old preschool roll-out. An outline of current and future initiatives is included below. Further details will be published on this webpage as soon as they’re available.
Growing and supporting the early childhood workforce
The government released the Early Childhood Workforce Strategy in June 2024, to support the recognition, growth and retention of South Australia’s skilled early learning professionals. Visit www.flyingstart.sa.gov.au to explore ways you can support early childhood staff to complete their existing study, upskill to the next level of qualification, undertake their practicum or traineeship with you, undertake professional development, and benefit from good leadership, management and support for wellbeing in your service.
Professional development and networking opportunities
Work will begin in 2025 on providing professional development and networking opportunities across the early childhood education sector. Services will be regularly updated so educators and teachers across the system have access to the latest evidence-based information and professional learning opportunities to support high quality teaching and learning. Subscribe to the OECD sector newsletter to find out when opportunities are available.
Preschool toolkit
A new Preschool Toolkit will be released in mid-2025 to support early childhood services that are partnering with the government to deliver quality 3-year-old preschool from 2026.
The toolkit will offer contemporary, evidence-based resources, tools and professional development to support teachers and educators with the skills and knowledge to deliver high quality, culturally responsive preschool programs.
The OECD has partnered with Gowrie SA to design and develop the toolkit.
Toolkits will be delivered to government and non-government preschools offering quality 3-year-old preschool programs, and resources will be publicly available through the Department for Education Learner Management System, PLINK. Face-to-face and online professional learning sessions will also be held to support early childhood teachers and educators in using the resources effectively.
Quality Uplift program
The OECD has engaged national authority ACECQA to deliver a quality uplift program for early childhood services to support their quality improvement journey.
Commencing in March 2025, the free, 6-month program is designed for services rated as Working Towards the National Quality Standard, that are approved to deliver 4-year-old preschool or are intending to deliver a 3-year-old preschool program.
For more information, visit Quality Uplift Program (SA) | ACECQA.