Childcare and kindergarten

Find out about services and fees for childcare and kindergarten and how to find a place for your child.

The City of Port Phillip has Council-managed, community-managed, not-for-profit, and privately managed childcare and kindergarten services.

Find childcare or kindergarten where you need it

Three ways to help you find services:

Local childcare centres with integrated kindergarten

Fees

The fee at Council-managed services is $147 per day.

All other childcare centres and kindergartens set their own fees.

Subsidies

Go to the Services Australia website to find out about the:

Subsidies are means tested. Contact Centrelink online or call on 136 150 to find out more.

Kindergarten (sessional and integrated)

Kindergarten is free in Victoria for 3- and 4-year-old children at participating services. Families can access Free Kinder funding at all Council childcare and kindergarten services.

Find out more about the different types of kindergarten, and local services, on our Kindergartens web page. Both types of kindergarten are free.

Vaccination

All children need to be up to date with their vaccinations to access childcare or kindergarten in Victoria. You will need to provide proof of vaccination before your child can start. Read more about No Jab No Play.

Children can be on a catch-up vaccination program when they start. Speak with your centre coordinator.

How to get a place for your child

We can help you find a place at Council and some community managed service. Contact other centres and services directly.

Register here

How are places allocated?

We try to find places for children at their preferred centres and services. We also follow the Victorian Government’s priority of access (PoA) criteria. This means we prioritise placing children experiencing vulnerability.

We also have our own set of PoA criteria. The criteria were developed with our community. We review these criteria annually.

Choosing the right care for your child

National quality ratings and frameworks can help you choose the best option for your child. The National Quality Framework provides a national approach to regulation, assessment and quality improvement for early years services. In Victoria, the Department of Education manages the applications, approvals and assessments of all services.

All the services listed operate under the National Quality Standards Framework. Eligible families can access the Child Care Subsidy at each service. We encourage families to research different services and visit ones they are interested in.

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