South Australia's Preschool Infrastructure Strategy
Focus areas and actions: Infrastructure delivery
Delivery of preschool in government settings
The South Australian government will invest directly to expand government preschool facilities, where needed, and ensure each setting is appropriate for 3-year-old learners.
Public education is for every child and young person in every community across our state and our preschools and schools are the heart of local communities.
The Department for Education holds a substantial infrastructure portfolio, maintaining more than 380 preschools and children’s centres. In 2024, government sites supported about 14,000 preschool enrolments, more than 40% of these in regional South Australia.
The government’s 20-year infrastructure plan for South Australian public education and care, Every School a Great School, outlines how the Department for Education prioritises infrastructure investment to ensure that facilities are inclusive, fit-for-purpose, meet community and family needs, and provide engaging environments for children to learn and thrive
Government infrastructure funding decisions for government preschools will align with the roll-out schedule for 3-year-old preschool, prioritising fit-for-purpose facilities and capacity to accommodate an increase to government preschool enrolments.
The Department for Education is committed to ensuring that all children in South Australia have equitable access to high-quality preschool education and will continue to prioritise infrastructure investments in preschools that is informed by evidence-based planning and considers local enrolment forecasts, asset condition, site capacity and readiness, population growth and community need.
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| Why we are taking action | What we are doing |
|---|---|
| Facilities will be configured to support the different developmental and support needs of 3-year-olds, including spaces for rest and nappy changing. | 2.1 We are building on the initial preschool infrastructure audit in 2023 to consider and plan for changes to facilities that are required. |
| Additional capacity will be required to support all eligible 3-year-old and all 4-year-old children to attend a government preschool. | 2.2 We will identify likely demand, consider locations where additional space is required and work with identified sites to expand capacity. We may need to build a small number of new preschools. |
| Where the Department for Education partners with the OECD to deliver an integrated hub, facilities may need to be expanded or configured differently | 2.3 We will identify locations for the Department for Education-delivered integrated hubs, and work with those sites to ensure suitable infrastructure. |
Delivery of preschool in non-government settings
Our early childhood sector is diverse and vibrant. To ensure families can access services that meet their needs, this diversity is important. We want to support parts of the sector that have not grown in recent years.
The grants program and associated supports has been designed to reflect recommendation 21 of the Royal Commission. This states that investment in capital works should be predicated on the nature and quality of the the early childhood system it envisions.
What we heard
- There is strong support for a grants program for not-for-profit early childhood providers.
- Many communities and providers would like to expand but cost is a barrier.
- Access to land, particularly adjacent to existing services can be difficult.
- Complying with state and local planning requirements and seeking development
approval can be complex and time consuming. - Many providers would need support to undertake an infrastructure project, including developing a quality grant application.
- Timing of grant rounds is important. Providers need adequate notice to submit a grant application and, if assessment processes take too long, quotes can expire, and costs can escalate.
- There may be service disruptions for a service’s children and families, if they choose to expand.
If you're reading this page on a mobile device, scroll across to read the full table.
| Why we are taking action | What we are doing |
|---|---|
| Our partners need co-investment to deliver the volume of expansions and new builds required to create capacity for universal 3-year-old preschool by 2032. | 2.4 A grants program for new and expanded site facilities will be rolled out to help build capacity in services to undertake such projects. The first round will open in early 2025. |
| We want to support quality providers with limited infrastructure experience to plan and deliver infrastructure projects in areas of demand for preschool. | 2.5 Guidance will be developed for services to undertake an end-to-end infrastructure project. Comprehensive written resources will be available and for smaller providers that need additional support, an advisory service by referral will be tested. |
Preschool Infrastructure Grants Program
We are investing $40 million over 4 years to support new and expanded preschool capacity. Click or tap the headings below to expand information.
The organisation applying for the grant must be:
- a not-for-profit organisation registered or incorporated in Australia
- a South Australian local government entity, or
- a South Australian non-government school.
Project eligibility
The project must:
- be for a facility operated by a provider that partners with the South Australian government to offer a preschool program
- create additional preschool places
- be able to be delivered without further financial support by the state government following the provision of grant funding.
Types of grants
- expansion grants for facilities that offer sessional preschool or preschool integrated with long day care
- new facility grants to build new services, which must offer preschool integrated with long day care.
We will prioritise projects:
- in areas identified by the OECD as having a need for additional preschool supply, but we will consider strong evidence of need based on local factors
- that support access for children who will benefit the most from preschool
- that represent good value for the government’s investment, based on a number of factors, including:
- cost-per-approved place created
- applicant’s ability to self-fund or access other sources of funding or finance
- level of co-contribution the applicant is able to provide.
Applications will be assessed in 2 stages:
Stage 1: Information required will include early designs and cost estimates, details around tenure, information on any known site issues and responses to assessment criteria.
Stage 2: Full application (if invited, following Stage 1 assessment by an internal government panel). Information required will include detailed designs and costings, full site reports and evidence of support for the project from all relevant stakeholders.
- The government will co-contribute up to 50% of preschool-related project costs (including shared and enabling spaces such as kitchens) for the majority of expansions and new facilities. Based on applicant size and capacity to co-fund,
government co-contributions of up to 80% may be considered (where this is assessed as representing good value for government investment). - Applicants will be required to fully cover the cost of spaces to be used mainly for the care of non-preschool-aged children.
- Where the project is for a new build, the purchase of land by the applicant may be counted towards their co-contribution.
- Applicants are encouraged to secure contributions from other sources, including grants from other local, state and federal agencies or philanthropic organisations.
Grant guidelines with full details of the grants program will be published in early 2025.
Sector supports for delivering preschool infrastructure projects
Planning and delivering infrastructure are complex processes and many high-quality providers have no experience in this area. We will provide sector guidance and support to help providers understand what is required and what services they need to contract at each stage of the process.
Written resources for the whole sector
These will include:
- ‘how-to’ guides for planning, development, procurement and delivery stages for infrastructure
- grant application guides
- design guidelines for quality early childhood facilities.
Advisory support
We will test a model of advisory support in 2025. Providers that need additional supports can apply to access guidance from infrastructure experts. This will be similar to coaching, with advice given, but no services undertaken on behalf of the provider.
Details on the full program of sector supports, including how to apply for advisory support will be published on the OECD website in early 2025.
Establish integrated hubs to offer preschool with other services
By 2032, the South Australian government will deliver 20 integrated hubs that bring preschool together with other health, wellbeing and education offerings.
Two demonstration sites in Port Pirie and Adelaide’s northern suburbs will be operating from term 4, 2025.
An evaluation will paint a picture of what has worked well, what could be improved and how best to continually improve. These lessons will inform the planning and delivery of future integrated hubs.
Integrated hubs will be a mix of newly built facilities and partnering with existing services. They will offer at least:
- high-quality early childhood education (sessional preschool or long day care)
- a 30-hour preschool program for 3-and 4-year-old children most at risk of developmental vulnerability
- child and family health services
- parenting programs and supports.
The Royal Commission found compelling evidence for the benefits of stacking evidence-based services in the early years. It recommended integrated service delivery and place-based approaches are effective ways to bring services to children and families, and scaffold support where it is needed most.
Early childhood settings can be places for connected service delivery across education, health, and community programs. They can offer supports such as parenting programs and playgroups. The ability to provide these services in addition to early childhood education will often require infrastructure changes at existing preschool locations.
Integrated hubs will be established across the state in areas where communities face high levels of developmental vulnerability, so that those in most need will benefit from the 3-year-old preschool initiative.
Roll-out planning
Community data and research is informing the statewide roll-out of integrated hubs. The results of the 2024 collection of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), released in early 2025, will provide further planning data. The roll-out will also consider the Department for Education’s broader infrastructure strategy and resource implications for the building sector, so that the construction industry is not overloaded, especially in regional areas.
Integrated hubs led by Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations
A co-design process is underway and may be used to inform the process of establishing 2 integrated hubs led by Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations. The local community will also be involved in designing these facilities.