Families are set to save thousands of dollars on their preschool costs thanks to more than $ 1.4 billion allocated over four years in the 2022-23 NSW Budget .

From 1 January 2023 , all NSW families will be eligible for :

• up to $ 4000 per year in fee relief for 3 , 4 and 5-year-olds attending a community or mobile preschool ;

• up to $ 2000 per year in fee relief for 4 and 5-year-olds attending preschool in a long day care setting ;

• the equivalent of 5 days a fortnight of affordable preschool fee relief for all children in Department of Education preschools .

The NSW Government will also invest $ 64.1 million for a two-year pilot to support more 3-year-olds attending preschool in long day care services .

Premier Dominic Perrottet said the program will ease cost of living pressures for families and ensure more children receive high quality early education .

“ Preschool is where the building blocks for lifelong success are established so it is vital that quality early childhood education is more accessible for families in NSW , no matter what their circumstances or where they live ,” Mr Perrottet said .

Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said that one of the biggest impacts we can have on educational outcomes at school is to improve early childhood education .

“ A significant body of research shows that children who participate in quality preschool programs have improved lifelong educational , social and economic outcomes ,” Ms Mitchell said .

“ I ’ m so delighted to be continuing our support for community and mobile preschools . Families using these services are not eligible for the Child Care Subsidy , so NSW ’ s commitment to long-term funding relief is significant and genuinely needed .

“ We are also extending support to NSW families whose children attend preschool in a long day care setting , because at the end of the day what ’ s important is our littlest learners having access to great quality preschool programs .”

Once-in-a-generation childcare cost relief Families will also save on childcare costs with the landmark investment of up to $ 5 billion over the next decade to expand access to high quality , affordable care .

Under the reforms , a middle-income Sydney family with one child in fulltime childcare that benefits from the investment is expected to save up to $ 3900 a year , while the equivalent family living in regional NSW with two children in childcare is expected to save up to $ 7800 .

“ We know that childcare places are scarce in some postcodes , making it difficult for parents to return to paid work when they want . Improving accessibility

Picture : Monica Sedra .

to childcare by investing in supply will provide practical assistance to families with young ones ,” Mr Perrottet said .

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said investment in childcare is the best way to improve women ’ s economic opportunity , increase female workforce participation and close the gender pay gap .

“ Childcare costs impede the dreams of women across NSW because many women are only able to keep about 30

cents in each dollar they earn when they return to work ,” Mr Kean said .

“ This investment , delivered alongside the Commonwealth ’ s childcare reforms , is expected to see up to 95,000 women enter the workforce or take on more hours , driving down the gender workforce participation gap by up to 14 per cent within a decade .”

Further details are at : treasury . nsw . gov . au / childcare-fund .