Play-Based Learning in Australian Kindergartens: What Parents Can Expect

Play-based learning is a core part of early childhood education in Australia. It sits within the national framework that guides early learning programs, and it shapes how educators plan kinder programs. This article explains how the approach works in Australian kinder, and how families can support play at home.

A quick note on terms: in Victoria and several other states, kindergarten refers to an early learning program in the years before school. In New South Wales and the ACT, Kindergarten is the first year of primary school, and the program before school is called preschool. This article uses kindergarten in the before-school sense.

What Play-Based Learning Means in Australia

The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia, known as the EYLF, is one of Australia’s national approved learning frameworks. Its current version, V2.0, was published in 2022 and approved for use from 2023, and it includes play-based learning and intentionality among the practices educators draw on. The framework describes this kind of learning as building on children’s natural inclination to be curious, to explore and to learn.

The EYLF is built around five learning outcomes, and educational programs based on the framework must contribute to meeting them. The outcomes are that children have a strong sense of identity, are connected with and contribute to their world, have a strong sense of wellbeing, are confident and involved learners, and are effective communicators.

In V2.0, the practice previously called “play-based learning” was renamed “play-based learning and intentionality”. Under this practice, educators are expected to be intentional in all aspects of their work.

Play With a Purpose: The Educator’s Role

Intentionality means educators are deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful in their decisions and actions. Under the EYLF, they plan play-based experiences around children’s interests and curiosities, and they treat routines, rituals and transitions as part of the curriculum too.

Intentionality also includes observing children’s spontaneous play and providing scaffolding and support. The EYLF recognises the intentionality of children as well as educators, and the roles both play in teaching and learning.

According to the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), learning through play with intentionality can expand children’s thinking and strengthen their desire to learn.

How Play-Based Learning Works in Victorian Kinder

Victoria also has its own framework, the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF), which covers children from birth to eight and was updated in 2026. The VEYLDF recognises play as essential to learning in the early years. The Victorian Government describes early childhood as a time of rapid brain development, when the foundations for learning, behaviour and wellbeing are formed.

Children in Victoria can attend kinder at three and four, either at a standalone service or through long day care. In both settings, qualified teachers and educators lead the program.

Families can consider which setting best suits their routine, depending on availability. For example, parents in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs who are looking for a kindergarten in Blackburn have the option of a kinder program offered through long day care, where kinder is included in a full day of education and care. For parents who need longer hours, that means kinder does not have to be arranged separately from childcare, and children can attend both at the same centre.

Different Types of Play in the Early Years

The NSW Department of Education describes play-based learning as giving children opportunities to learn as they discover, create and imagine. The Raising Children Network, which is supported by the Australian Government, describes play as central to a child’s learning and development. It notes that variety in play is good for children’s learning and development, and lists types such as unstructured and structured play, indoor and outdoor play, solo and group play, and craft and creative play.

Unstructured play is play that happens depending on what catches a child’s interest at the time. The network notes that it lets children use their imagination and move at their own pace.

Play-Based Learning and Getting Ready for School

Does a program built around play prepare children for school? The Victorian Government describes two years of kindergarten as helping children build important skills for school and for life. The year before school also remains play-based. Four-Year-Old Kinder hours are gradually increasing, and from 2036 children across Victoria will be able to access up to 30 hours a week of teacher-led play.

The VEYLDF also gives early childhood professionals guidance on supporting children and families through transitions in the first eight years of life, with a focus on continuity of learning.

Supporting Play at Home and Choosing a Kinder

According to the Raising Children Network, child-led play simply means following your child’s lead: watching your child and responding to what they say or do. The network explains that all a child needs for this kind of play is whatever they are interested in at the time. It also notes that children learn best when they are interested in an activity, and that leading play helps them build communication skills.

The network’s examples of unstructured play include creative play such as art or musical games, and imaginative games like building cubbyhouses from boxes or blankets, dressing up and playing make-believe.

The VEYLDF includes partnerships with families among its practice principles. Families can ask their child’s educators what their child has been exploring at kindergarten.

Questions families may choose to ask when visiting a kindergarten include how educators plan play around children’s interests, how children’s learning is observed and shared with families, what a typical day looks like indoors and outdoors, and who leads the program and what qualifications they hold.