Central Registration Policy

The aim of this policy is to ensure the fair allocation of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten and Four-Year-Old Kindergarten places for those services participating in the Greater Shepparton City Council Central Registration scheme.

The policy ensures allocations meet the following regulatory requirements:

Please direct all enquiries to the Central Registration Officer:

Central Registration Officer
Greater Shepparton City Council
Telephone: (03) 5832 9700
Email: central.enrolment@shepparton.vic.gov.au

Definitions

  • Kindergarten: two years of funded kindergarten consisting of:
    • Year 1 (Three-Year-Old) Kindergarten (Two years before school)
    • Year 2 ( Four-Year-Old Kindergarten) (Year before school)
  • Funded kindergarten: 15 hours of kindergarten paid by Department of Education and no charge to parent/guardian
  • Long day care kindergarten: kindergarten operating in a long day care centre where fees apply

Kindergarten Guidelines

  1. Year 1 (Three-Year-Old) Kindergarten children must turn 3 years old by 30th April to register and must be 3 before they are able to commence.. – (not all services offer Three-Year- Old Kindergarten)
  2. Year 2 (Four-Year-Old) Kindergarten children who will have their fourth birthday by 30 April in the year of attendance at a state funded kindergarten are eligible for registration.
  3. Early Start Kindergarten applications are available to children who turn three (3) years old by 30 April in the year they are attending kindergarten and who:
    • are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, OR
    • have current or a history of involvement with Child Protection, including those in Out-of-Home Care, OR
    • have been referred by Child Protection to Child FIRST, Integrated Family Services or Services Connect.
    • are a Refugee or Asylum Seeker
    For further information, visit the Victorian Department of Education and Training website.
  4. Applications close on 11 August of the year prior to the year of attendance at kindergarten, for the initial allocation.
  5. Only registrations made on the current Kindergarten Central Registration Form will be accepted. If you require assistance, please contact the Central Registration Officer on (03) 5832 5123.
  6. An email confirming that your registration has been submitted correctly will be sent to you. This is not a ‘Letter of Offer’.
  7. For Council owned Services - Parents/Guardians will be notified by the Greater Shepparton City Council's Kindergarten Central Registration Officer of successful placement by 31 August in the year of application.
  8. For Non-Council owned Services - Parents/Guardians will be notified directly by the Service of successful placement by 31 August in the year of application.
  9. Where confirmation to accept the place is not received by the due date, the service will notify Greater Shepparton City Council's Kindergarten Central Registration Officer and  the place will be offered to the next child on waiting list. This will be based on applications received by the Kindergarten prior to 11 August and in accordance with the Priority of Access Criteria Guidelines
  10. After 11 August, where vacancies occur at a service, a place is offered to the first child on that kindergarten’s waiting list, based on the priority of access criteria.
  11. Children transferring from areas outside the Greater Shepparton region after 11 August are considered under the same conditions as late enrolments.
  12. ‘No Jab, No Play’ Legislation
    • To finalise enrolment for your child, you will be required to upload a copy of your child’s current immunisation history statement from the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) that shows your child is up to date with all their immunisations due or able to receive for their age, OR
    • is eligible to enrol under the 16 week ‘support period’ (also known as the ‘grace period’) while the service works with you to obtain the necessary immunisations /documentation. 
    • For additional information refer to health.vic.gov.au.
  13. Deferring your placement is not an option. If you wish to withdraw your child you will need to complete a new Central Registration Form the following year.
  14. To cancel or withdraw your child’s registration, please visit the Greater Shepparton City Council website and complete a Change of Preference or Withdrawal form, or contact our office on 5832 5123. This will assist us to update our records and offer the place to the next child on the waiting list. All changes to your child’s registration must be notified in writing.
  15. Due to the State Government Kindergarten Funding Guidelines, Kindergartens can only offer one year of funded (Three-Year-Old) Kindergarten, and one year of funded (Four-Year-Old) Kindergarten. If exceptional circumstances exist and PRIOR approval is granted by the Department of Education an additional year of funded four year old kindergarten may be approved. Further information regarding this can be found on vic.gov.au.
  16. Kindergarten for Three- Year-Old and Four-Year- Old kindergarten is now funded by Department of Education and is free for children to attend.
  17. Where your child is accessing a funded three year old or four year old funded kindergarten in a long day care centre, fees may apply.
  18. For information on fees for kindergarten in a long day care service, contact the relevant service directly.

Enquiries regarding the central registration process should be directed to:

Criteria of access for Two-Years of Funded Kindergarten

The following criteria for priority of access will be considered with each application.

In instances where more eligible children apply for a place at a kindergarten service than there are places available, services must: 

  • prioritise children based on the criteria listed below;
  • work with other local kindergarten services and the regional Department of Education office to ensure all eligible children have access to a kindergarten place; and
  • ensure criteria is used by service providers when prioritising registrations. Further information can be found on vic.gov.au.

Priority 1 families will be given first placement priority at all services.

Priority 1A

Families are requested to select all that may apply. Please note, multiple selections of the criteria will not increase your position on the kindergarten list.

Children at risk of abuse or neglect or children in out of home care

The child is:

  • already attending a Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program through Early Start Kindergarten and going into the four year old Kindergarten;
  • referred by the following;
    • Child Protection
    • Child and family services e.g. Child FIRST
    • Maternal and Child Health nurse
    • Out of Home Care Provider

Family identifies the child as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

Early Start Kindergarten may be available to children turning three by 30 April in the year they'll start kindergarten if:

  • Children who are, or have been, in foster care, permanent care or kinship care (Out of Home Care)
  • Children who are on, or have been on, statutory orders from Child Protection anywhere in Australia
  • Children and families who have had involvement with Child FIRST and or Child Protection, Referred by Child Protection, Child and Family Services (Family Services Referral and Support Team, Child FIRST/Integrated Family Services/Services Connect care worker)
  • Families who self-refer to Child FIRST where child/ siblings have had involvement in Child Protection
  • Children of or who are a refugee or asylum seeker

Children of Asylum seeker and refugee children

Appropriate visa that identifies the child and/or parent as a refugee or asylum seeker.

  • Refugee visa (subclass 200)
  • In-country Special Humanitarian visa (subclass 201)
  • Global Special Humanitarian visa (subclass 202)
  • Protection visa (subclass 866)
  • Emergency Rescue (subclass 203)
  • Woman at risk (subclass 204)
  • Bridging visas A-E or ImmiCard
  • Temporary Humanitarian Concern (THC) visa (subclass 786).

Children of families who have a Concession Card or from a multiple birth (triplets or more)

Children or parents who hold:

  • Commonwealth Health Care Card (HCC)
  • Pensioner Concession Card (PCC)
  • Veteran’s Affairs Card
  • Or are from a multiple birth (triplets or more)

Children with additional needs who:

  • require additional medical or physical assistance in order to fully participate in the kindergarten program;
  • have an identified specific disability or developmental delay;
  • require a combination of services which are individually planned.

The child is:

  • assessed as having delays in two or more areas and is declared eligible for a second year of kindergarten;
  • approved for Kindergarten Inclusion Support Package (KIS);
  • referred by:
    • The National Disability Insurance Scheme
    • Early Childhood Intervention Service
    • Preschool Field Officer or
    • Maternal & Child Health nurse
  • holds a Child Disability Health Care Card

Children of parents who satisfy the work / training / study test

Children of a single parent who satisfies, or of parents who both satisfy, the work / training / study test under Section 14 of the "A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999".

Priority 1B

Kindergartens in a Long Day Care Setting charging fees

  • Tier 1. At risk of serious abuse or neglect
  • Tier 2. A child of a sole parent who satisfies, or Parents/Guardians who both satisfy, the activity test through paid employment.
  • Tier 3. Child already attends the long day care centre of kinder of choice.

Priority 2

Families are requested to select all that may apply. Please note, multiple selections of the criteria will not increase your position on the kindergarten list.

The following children will be given second placement Priority at all services.

Children with a community connection

  • Child currently attends Long Day Care at the kindergarten of first preference and is going into (Three-Year-Old) Kindergarten at the same Service
  • Your child currently attends Occasional Care or Playgroup at the service of first preference
  • Your child has a sibling at service of first preference or a sibling attended within in the past 2 years.
  • Your child has a sibling that attends a school with a co-located kinder/school of first preference
  • Your Child lives within 1km of the kindergarten of first preference (based on residential address in Google Maps)

Multiple Registrations

In the instance there are multiple registrations meeting the above criteria, preference will be given in the order listed by priority number

When all applications eligible for priority have been allocated and the service still has spaces, all remaining names will be allocated to the service by a random ballot conducted by the Central Registration Officer.

Where a service exceeds applications to places, the service will be contacted and made aware of partial ballot and asked where applicable to confirm proof of child criteria.

The ballot will occur within five (5) working days of 11 August.

The ballot will continue until all names are selected. Names selected after the available places are filled, will be placed in order of selection on the waiting list for that service.

Services will be required to provide information of past enrolments of previous attendance at a service.

Parents/Guardians  of children not allocated a place in their kindergarten of first preference will be notified by the Greater Shepparton City Council Central Registration Officer. At this time they will be notified of available places and given the option of accepting a place at an alternative kindergarten, or putting their child’s name on the kindergarten of choice waiting list. There is no guarantee of a place becoming available at the kindergarten of first preference.

It is not possible to accept a place at a kindergarten and remain on the waiting list for another kindergarten.

Late Applications

Applications received after 11 August are considered late and will be processed after initial registrations.

Late applications received for centres that have a waiting list will be prioritised after initial applications have been prioritised, following the criteria of access.

Change of Preference

If you wish to change your preference, you are required to complete a Change of Preference Form. Once you have completed this form, your new preference will be updated on the registration system.

Change of Preference forms submitted after 11 August are considered under the same conditions as late registrations.

Miscellaneous

Parents/Guardians  need to check with their preferred kindergarten as to whether a funded program is being offered for the year their child will attend.

At the time of writing, the kindergartens listed all comply with the National Quality Framework and are eligible for the Department of Education and Training Kindergarten Certificate and funding.

Greater Shepparton City Council complies with the Information Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic). For more information, see Greater Shepparton City Council's Privacy Policy.

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