Kindergarten Central Registration

The easiest way to register for three- and four-year-old kindergarten in Hobsons Bay is via the online Parent Portal. On the Parent Portal, you will be able to create your family profile and register your child(ren), update your personal details and change your kindergarten preferences.

If you prefer, you can download a hard copy registration form:

• HBCC_3yo-Kindergarten-Registration-Form.pdf(PDF, 661KB)
• HBCC_4yo-Kindergarten-Registration-Form.pdf(PDF, 758KB)

You will need the following supporting documents with your registration:

• your child’s birth certificate or passport
• evidence of residency or rate payer (if applicable)
• evidence for Priority of Access criteria (if applicable)

Completed paper registration forms (with supporting documents) can be returned to Council:

• in person,
• by mail to Hobsons Bay City Council PO Box 21, Altona 3018, or
• by email to kindergarten@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au.

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Priority of Access

We use priority of access (PoA) when there are more eligible children seeking a place in a kindergarten than there are places available. The Priority of Access was last updated in December 2024.

Priority one - High priority children (Department of Education criteria)

• Children at risk of abuse or neglect, including children in out-of-home care
• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children
• Asylum seeker and/or refugee children
• Children known to Child Protection or the child’s family has had contact with Child Protection
• Children with additional needs, defined by the Department of Education as children who:
  • have an identified specific disability or developmental delay
  • require additional assistance in order to fully participate in the kindergarten program
  • require a combination of services which are individually planned
  • children that meet the eligibility criteria for the kindergarten fee subsidy

Priority two

Hobsons Bay Residents:

• where the parent/guardian or child has a life-threatening or debilitating illness / disease.
• where a parent/guardian has a disability.
• who have attended or have a sibling who previously attended the families preferred kindergarten program.
• where a sibling has already been allocated a place 
• children of staff at a CRS kindergarten 

(Families who select their closest service as a first preference will be prioritised over those who do not.)

Priority three

• Resident/ratepayer of Hobsons Bay.
• Parents/guardians who currently (or soon will) live in Hobsons Bay.

(Families who select their closest service as a first preference will be prioritised over those who do not.)

Priority four

Non-resident children of staff at a CRS Kindergarten

Priority five

Non-resident children who have a connection to Hobsons Bay and meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Child’s parent/guardian is working or studying within Hobsons Bay (minimum of 2 days per week).
• Child is attending formal or informal care in Hobsons Bay (minimum of 2 days per week).
• Child is within a school zone for a school located in Hobsons Bay

Priority six

• Non-residents of Hobsons Bay

Where multiple children meet the same Priority criteria and there are limited places available, registrations will be weighted based on the number of PoA criteria (within priority one, two and three) that the registrant meets. In the event that multiple children are weighted equally for a limited number of places, we will operate a random ballot for the equally ranked children to determine allocation.

Kindergarten CRS - Policy & Procedures

This document outlines the criteria, processes and priorities used when registering a child for funded three and four-year-old kindergarten programs through Hobsons Bay City Council’s Kindergarten Central Registration Scheme (CRS).

 Kindergarten CRS - Policy & Procedures(PDF, 382KB) 

From 2025, four-year-old kindergarten will gradually transition to pre-prep, with programs across Victoria increasing from 15 to 30 hours each week.

Led by qualified teachers, pre-prep will give four-year-old children greater opportunities to socialise and learn through play. Pre-prep will be delivered through standalone (sessional) kindergartens and long day care centres.

By 2036, all children across Victoria will have access to 1,800 hours of funded kindergarten before school, including 600 hours of three-year-old kindergarten and 1,200 hours of pre-prep.

Both pre-prep and three-year-old kinder are part of the Free Kinder program.

Pre-Prep Priority Groups

There are two priority groups who will get access to increased hours of pre-prep earlier than the rest of the population.

From 2026, children who:

• who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
• from a refugee or asylum seeker background
• who have had contact with Child Protection

will be able to access between 16 and 25 hours per week across Kindergartens Hobsons Bay. This will increase to 30 hours per week by 2028.

From 2028, children:

• who have (or have a parent or guardian who has) a Commonwealth concession card
• from a multiple birth (triplets or more)

will be able to access between 16 and 25 hours per week across Hobsons Bay. This will increase to 30 hours per week by 2030.

Launch of Pre-Prep in Hobsons Bay

Pre-prep will be available for all children in Hobsons Bay from 2034 initially with 20 hours of funded kindergarten per week. This will increase to 25 hours in 2035 and then to 30 hours in 2036.

See the Victorian Department of Education’s website for more information about pre-prep: vic.gov.au/preprep

Council's CRS team allocates new 2025 registrations to kindergartens on Mondays and Wednesdays.

In each allocation round, the CRS team reviews the preferences of registrations who are waiting and allocates them to any available vacancies.

In instances where more eligible children are seeking a place in a kindergarten than there are places available, the CRS team will use the Priority of Access procedure to determine the allocation. 

The CRS team will then send through offers to families via email and SMS. After a family has accepted an offer the CRS team will send through their details to the kindergarten service, who will contact them to start enrolment.

Attending a participating sessional kindergarten in Hobsons Bay requires registering through the Central Registration Scheme. Families can be registered for three-year-old kindergarten from the age of one and for four-year-old kindergarten from the age of two years old.

For allocations to three- and four-year-old kindergarten for 2026, we will follow the 2026 Application timeline(PDF, 143KB) which includes the following key dates:

For more information, please download the Kindergarten Application Timeline 2026.pdf(PDF, 143KB)