Preschool education in VIC

[loobeelu]

Hi,
We are moving to Melbourne from Auckland in March, I am trying to get to grips with the schooling system for my 3 kids, which covers preschool to highschool :eek:
Can someone please tell me how preschool education works in VIC. Are there public kindergartens with low fees or is everything private? At what age do kids start generally?
I realise there will be various private options, including Montessori at which you can be quite flexible with hours etc and which charge various fees, but I am particularly interested in the public system...if any.
TIA!

[stellaj]

hi, my son is starting kinder this year. This is what i know- there are private and public pre-schools, the enrolment for the public ones is through the local council. The cost for my son is $210 per term, which i think is about average (4 terms in a year). Umm,trying to think of what else i know...i'll get back to you if i think of anything.:)

Oh there is 3 year old and 4 year old groups at kinder.

[loobeelu]

So is 3 year old kinder council run?
Are there any parent-run co-operatives?