Enrolling your child can be stressful for some families, especially if it’s your first time. Our enrolments team are working through the process as quickly as possible and we’re here to help. But some handy tips might help you before you start. Here are answers to some of the most common questions families are asking as they begin the online application process.

How does the enrolment process work?

In all but four of our services, your first step is to contact the Council of your preferred kindergarten. You register for a placement and submit your details with the Council. The Council develops the enrolment list. The order of the Council’s enrolment list is determined by when you applied to them plus the Council’s priority of access policy. The Council will have provided you with the priority of access policy. Some Councils will allocate group preferences and send an offer to families. Other Councils will send the enrolments list to ECMS and we then allocate group preferences and send an offer to families.

The four exceptions are: Doncaster Park Kindergarten, Templestowe Valley Preschool, Yarra Valley Preschool, and St Mary’s Kindergarten North Melbourne. For these services you can contact us directly, by choosing the centre on our website and following the enrolment prompts.

What happens when the Council allocates my child’s group?

If the Council allocates your child’s group they will do a round of offers to families and contact you. If you accept the Council’s offer the information is then sent to ECMS. We enter the information into Kidsoft and send an enrolment offer to you via email with an SMS reminder. Click the ‘view enrolment offer’ link in the email to create your Kidsoft account. Complete the enrolment form and send it back to us. If everything is ok your child is enrolled.

What if the Council does not allocate my child’s group?

If the Council doesn’t allocate the groups, they send the enrolment list to us. We send you a group preference form which you have 7 days to complete and return. We then allocate the groups based on the enrolment list provided to us by the Council and the capacity of the service. The order of the Council’s enrolment list is determined by when you applied to them plus the Council’s priority of access policy. The Council will have provided you with the priority of access policy. Once we allocate the groups, we send you an offer of enrolment. You have the choice of accepting that offer or, if you didn’t receive your required group preference, go on to a wait list.

I have already completed an enrolment form with Council. Why do I have to complete it again?

Even though some Councils require a full application, including birth certificate, this is a separate process and it’s a legal requirement for you to complete the enrolment from with ECMS, which is then provided to your kindergarten.

Why do I have to complete education and occupation details on the enrolment form?

This information is super important. It helps the Department of Education and Training determine the amount of School Readiness Funding each centre will receive to support better outcomes for children.

I’m trying to fill in the form but I’m having trouble creating my password

When you create your password remember you’ll need to include a capital letter, a symbol and a number.

Once I log in to Kidsoft it doesn’t show any enrolments to be completed.

This may happen if you received your email from ECMS but instead of clicking ‘view enrolment offer’ in the email, you clicked on the Parent Portal. Some returning families might go straight to Kidsoft to re-enrol, rather than going to the email and clicking ‘view enrolment offer’.

If this happens, log out of Kidsoft and go back to the email. Click on ‘view enrolment offer’ and follow the prompts.

How do I get an immunisation statement?

If you don’t have an up to date immunisation record statement in your MyGov account you can contact the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) on 1800 653 809.

What if my child was immunised overseas or not eligible for Medicare?

You can get overseas immunisations added to the AIR. To do this, take a translated copy of your child’s overseas immunisation history to a general practitioner (GP) or immunisation nurse.

The GP or nurse will check which vaccines your child has received and tell you if any additional vaccines are required in Australia. They’ll record on the AIR any vaccines given overseas as well as any new vaccines they give your child.

When your child’s immunisations are registered on the AIR (this can take about five days), you can ask the GP nurse to print an Immunisation History Statement from the AIR which you can give to your childcare or kindergarten service.

You can also contact the AIR on 1800 653 809 to check if your child’s immunisations have been recorded.

What if my child has missed important vaccines for their age?

If your child has missed important vaccines for their age, or their immunisation history is unknown, they may commence a “catch-up immunisation schedule”. This is a plan made with their immunisation provider to complete their recommended vaccination schedule for their age in the shortest but most effective time frame.

If a child is on an approved catch-up schedule this will be documented on their immunisation history statement. When their statement is generated, the AIR will consider their catch-up schedule, and if they have had all vaccines they can have at the time, their status will read “up to date”.

I’m having trouble uploading my child’s immunisation statement.

Downloading the Kidsoft app to your phone is a way to make the process easier for you. You can complete the enrolment form on the Kidsoft app, use your phone to take a photo of your immunisation statement, and follow the prompts to upload it to your enrolment form.

If you still have difficulties, you can email your immunisation statement to the Enrolments Team and we can upload it into Kidsoft. On the enrolment form where you were asked to submit your immunisation statement, select ‘No’ and continue completing the enrolment form.

I submitted the form but I want to make a change.

If the Enrolments Team have imported your enrolment form into Kidsoft, you’ll be able to see and update your details by going into the Parent Portal. If we haven’t yet loaded your form, contact us and we can send the form back to you.

I’ve received my email from ECMS, I clicked the ‘view enrolment offer’ link and submitted my form but I haven’t heard from you.

We ask for your patience – we’re working through a large volume of enrolments. You’ll receive confirmation as soon as possible. You won’t lose your spot in the service.

What happens once we have enrolled?

You’ll receive information about starting kindergarten and you’ll be invited by your service to an information session.

I’ve received the email confirming my child is enrolled, but I log in and I can’t see my booking details.

This generally happens when you have remained logged in to the Parent Portal. Log out and log back in to Kidsoft. Your booking details should be updated.

Do I need to complete an enrolment form for next year if my child is already attending the service?

Yes. This is a new enrolment period and we require all families to complete a new online enrolment form.

When I try to log in and click ‘confirm details’ it says my username is already in use.

This means you have already registered with Kidsoft. Go back to the email we sent you, click on ‘view enrolment offer’ and select ‘Already have an account? Log in here’

If you’re a returning family and you type in a different email address to the one we already have in our database, you’ll receive the ‘username already in use’ message. If you can, try to remember the old email address you used. If you want to use a new email address you will need to contact us.

I chose the pre-fill option but it didn’t complete the form.

For returning families there is a prefill option to make it easier. The system identifies that we already have information from the family. So you can choose the pre-fill option, but this won’t complete all the required information, just some of it. It’s only the first page, family name, child’s name and date of birth – you will have to complete the rest.

I didn’t choose the pre-fill option and I can’t finish my application.

If the pre-fill option pops up, you must select it. If you don’t click on pre-fill, you’ll get to the end of your application and it won’t be complete and won’t let you progress. It will be 93% complete and not submitted, which means you’ll have to go back to page 1, complete the ‘guardian and child’ section, then return to the last page, complete the terms and conditions, then submit.

Can my child repeat 3-year-old kindergarten?

Please note that there is no option for children to repeat 3-year-old kindergarten. All children enrolled in 3-year-old kindergarten will transition to 4-year-old kindergarten the following year.

However a child can repeat 4-year-old kindergarten. The Service Leader would need to approve the funding for the second year.

Can I send my child to an unfunded kindergarten program?

If the Service Leader does not approve the funding for a second year in the 4-year-old program, you have two options. Send your child to Primary School or send your child to an unfunded kindergarten program.

An unfunded kindergarten program for this year is approximately $7,000. There will be an increase in 2025. Children who are eligible to receive free kindergarten funding will have first priority, so in some cases this could mean your child might be placed back on the waiting list during the year.

Are there fees for kindergarten?

Kindergarten is free for all families but you can only receive free kindergarten funding from one centre.

My child is attending childcare and I want to enrol my child in a sessional kindergarten program.

If your child is attending child care you will need to inform your Centre Director that your child’s kindergarten will be receiving the kindergarten funding. You will then need to pay the fees for your child care.

When will my child start the kindergarten year?

Kindergarten dates follow the school calendar. From there your child’s first day will depend on the service and your child’s schedule. Your service will provide more information.