Purpose
Funding is provided to the Brisbane School of Distance Education (Brisbane SDE) to:
- deliver a distance kindergarten education program (eKindy) to children who cannot easily access a centre-based kindergarten program due to distance, a medical condition or itinerant family lifestyle
- deliver the eKindy program for 15 hours per week, 40 weeks per year, at no cost to eligible children
- ensure alignment of the eKindy program to the Queensland kindergarten learning guideline and the Early Years Learning Framework
- provide eKindy registration data to a third-party provider delivering the eKindy pod program both prior to the commencement of the school year and as required throughout the year, on request of the Early Childhood, Regulation and Communication (ECRC) Division.
Duration of program
Ongoing
Eligibility
To access eKindy, kindergarten children must meet the eligibility criteria specified under Part 1A, distance education kindergarten learning program under the
Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (EGPA).
The child must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident (or the child of an Australian citizen or permanent resident), and either:
- live at least 16km from the nearest centre-based service catering to kindergarten aged children
- be unable to attend a centre-based service for more than 10 consecutive weeks due to the child's state of health
- have an itinerant lifestyle, as defined in the EGPA.
Note: The
Education (General Provisions) Amendment Act 2025 came into force on 24 October 2025 and included amendments to clarify the eligibility criteria for eKindy. Changes to the eligibility criteria will take effect in 2026 (implementation date to be confirmed).
Allocation of funds
eKindy funding is based on the following funding formula:
- SDE school allocative model, category A for Year Level Prep and Years 1 to 3 applied to eKindy at 0.55 full time equivalent (FTE) per registration
- A one-off administration payment of $3,200 to support provision of registration data to ECRC Division and a third-party provider delivering the eKindy pod program
- ICT subsidy for families of kindergarten children (flat rate of $750 per child if registered for a continuous 6 months)
- Support Teacher – Learning Support contribution (based on eKindy FTE enrolments divided by number of Brisbane SDE FTE enrolments to 1 FTE Brisbane SDE Learning Support Teacher)
- Teacher Aide contribution (Classification Level TAOO2) (based on eKindy SDE Classroom Teacher Allocation for Prep and Years 1 to 3 x 1.9 x 40 weeks)
- Administrative Assistance Education Program (AAEP) annual contribution (based on AO3 (Paypoint 1) x base rate 20 hours per week x 40 weeks)
- Operational funding based on eKindy FTE enrolments.
Costs associated with eKindy activity days are to be met within Brisbane SDE’s existing early years school budget for 2026.
Service delivery requirements:
- Teacher-led delivery of individual and/or group kindergarten sessions for a minimum of 1 hour per week, with teacher support provided to parents to deliver the remaining eKindy learning program at home (e.g. up to 14 hours per week).
- Cancel registrations where a family has not participated in eKindy for 10 consecutive weeks by not engaging in distance education sessions.
- Delivery of eKindy activity days once per term for up to 3 consecutive days in agreed state school locations (not eKindy pod host schools) to enable groups of eKindy registered children to learn and interact with peers.
Note: Families of children attending eKindy pods in regional locations remain supported to travel to attend eKindy activity days provided by eKindy teachers.
- Provide child transition statements with parental consent, in accordance with the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority to schools in Term 4 to support a child's entry into Prep.
- Data reporting as required by ECRC Division and third-party provider delivering the eKindy pod program.
- Participation in quarterly meetings with ECRC Division to review and discuss eKindy program implementation, including addressing emerging trends, risks, opportunities and solutions to improve early learning and development outcomes for children.
Payment details
| Semester 1 | March
| - eKindy registrations (actual)
- eKindy pod administration payment (one-off)
|
| Semester 2 + Round 1 ICT | September
| - eKindy registrations (actual)
- ICT grant Round 1 (actual)
|
| Semester 1 reconciliation | September
| - Semester 1 adjustment—negotiated as required
|
OneSchool revenue account 1130 and expense account 2079 are to be used for payment and expenditure of funds under this appropriation.
Data requirements
| eKindy registrations and activity day locations | OneSchool data extraction and Brisbane SDE | February (Day 20, Term 1)
August (Term 3)
Ad hoc reporting as required |
| End of Semester eKindy registration data | OneSchool data extraction | August (Semester 1)
October (Semester 2) |
Recoupment
eKindy payments may be adjusted against end of semester registration data for the 2026 calendar year. Any funding adjustments will be negotiated with Brisbane SDE and progressed as part of the September or November payments, as required.
Further information
Brisbane School of Distance Education
Contact
K–2 Strategy
Early Childhood, Regulation and Communication
Phone: (07) 3513 5265