Portfolio — 22 April 2026

Education Minister Jason Clare announced $49.94 million in federal funding to deliver five new and expanded not-for-profit early learning services across outer suburban and regional Queensland, drawn from the $1 billion Building Early Education Fund [TA-260422-educat-143484492dfb]. The five sites — Rosewood State School, Yarrabilba State School, Clermont State School, Yorkeys Knob State School, and Chinchilla South — will all be built on state-owned land and are projected to create at least 352 early childhood education and care places by the end of 2028 [TA-260422-educat-143484492dfb].

The federal investment is structured as a partnership with the Queensland Government, which is contributing a parallel $20 million directed at workforce development, covering scholarships, Kindy Uplift, and Kindy Inclusion Support, with the state's Free Kindy program to extend into each of the new services [TA-260422-educat-143484492dfb]. Clare framed the investment explicitly around access equity — the co-location of early learning services at existing school sites is presented as reducing travel burdens for families and easing children's transition into formal schooling, with the policy signal directed at communities where distance and service gaps have historically constrained access.

The geographic spread of the five sites — spanning the Lockyer Valley, Logan growth corridor, Central Highlands, Far North Queensland coast, and Darling Downs — reflects a deliberate targeting of outer suburban growth areas and regional centres rather than metropolitan service gaps.