Questions for your committee’s 2027 budget meeting

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The Universal Preschool Funding program runs for the 2027 calendar year (section 2.5).

It follows Start Strong for Community Preschools, the 2026 funding (section 2.7).

These questions help a committee plan for 2027. They give no budget model and no figure for any service.

Our update, The 2027 preschool funding guidelines, in plain words, sets out what changed.

The department’s guidelines are the authority, so read them in full.

Enrolments

• Workforce funding is worked out from average daily enrolments (Appendix 1.1).
• It assumes enrolments are spread efficiently across the week (Appendix 1.1).
• Average daily enrolments come from the 2026 Annual Preschool Census (Appendix 3).
• Children aged 3 and over by 31 July 2027 can be eligible for funding (section 3.3).
• Enrolment decisions must still follow the priority of access order (section 4.2).

Questions to ask:

• What do our average daily enrolments fund under the staffing table?
• How do our enrolments spread across the week?
• Do we enrol in the priority of access order?

Pay

• From 1 January 2027, funded services must pay set increases to stay eligible (section 4.5).
• Teachers and directors under the Teachers Award must be paid at least 5% above the award (section 4.5).
• Educators on the Children’s Services Award must be paid the 30 June 2028 rates (section 4.5).
• The department says this is up to 10.07% above the award (section 4.5).
• Appendix 1.1.2 lists the minimum annual rates to meet or exceed (section 4.5).
• Each service must check it has the right award and rates (section 4.5).
• A service can choose to pay more than these increases (section 4.5).

Questions to ask:

• Does each person’s pay meet the 2027 rates from 1 January?
• Who checks each person’s award, classification and rate?
• If we are thinking about changing roles or hours, what do the awards require before we decide?

Fees

• Where out-of-pocket fees are $20 a day or less, the cap is $20 a day (section 4.4.2).
• Higher fees must not rise above those set from 3 to 14 August 2026 (section 4.4.2).

Questions to ask:

• What do our out-of-pocket fees look like under the cap?

Payments and the transition year

• Applications open on 1 December 2026 (section 2.5).
• Funding is not guaranteed until the application process is complete (section 2.5).
• The first quarterly payment is expected by 19 December 2026 (section 2.5).
• The department says these dates are indicative only and may change (section 2.5).
• Transition Arrangement funding is a one-off payment. It helps some services whose 2027 funding is less than 2026 (Appendix 1.4).
• It may not apply where the fall is wholly due to reduced operations (Appendix 1.4).
• The department tells those who can get it. It is for 2027 only (Appendix 1.4).

Questions to ask:

• Has the department told us we are eligible for the transition year?
• What is our plan for 2028?

Unspent funds

• Money not spent must be declared in the Financial Accountability Statement (section 6.1).
• It is returned to the department if the department directs (section 6.1).

Questions to ask:

• How will we track spending against the spending rules?

Who decides

• The guidelines say community preschools make their own staffing decisions (section 4.5).
• The pay increases are still a condition of funding (section 4.5).

Questions to ask:

• Which budget decisions sit with the committee, and which with the director?