Table 5.
Documented universal services offered in each of the Australian jurisdictions prior to school
| Child, health and parenting schedule of universal services |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 months | 4–12 months | 1–5 years | Preschool attendance in 2008 (%) | Preschool staff to child ratio | |
| New South Wales (NSW) | <2 weeks (HV) | 6 months | 18 months | 60.4 | 1:10 |
| 1–4 weeks | 12 months | 2 years | |||
| 6–8 weeks | 3 years | ||||
| 4 years | |||||
| Australian Capital Territory (ACT) | 1–4 weeks (HV) | 6–9 months | 18–21 months | 88.3 | 1:11 |
| 6–8 weeks | 3–3.5 years | ||||
| Queensland (QLD) | No universal service delivered | 26.6 | 1:12 | ||
| South Australia (SA) | <2 weeks (HV) | Available by request | Available by request | 87.9 | 1:10 |
| Tasmania (Tas) | 2 weeks (HV) | 4 months | 18 months | 101.6 | 1:10 |
| 4 weeks | 8 months | 3.5 years | |||
| 8 weeks | 12 months | ||||
| Victoria (Vic) | <2 weeks (HV) | 4 months | 18 months | 95.8 | 1:15 |
| 2 weeks | 8 months | 2 years | |||
| 4 weeks | 12 months | 3.5 years | |||
| 8 weeks | |||||
| Western Australia (WA) | <10 days (HV) | 3–4 months | 18 months | 103.4 | 1:10 |
| 6–8 weeks | 8 months | 3 years | |||
Note: States provide aggregated data for their preschool attendance rates and the Australian Bureau of Statistics provides data for the denominator, which is provided as the reason for percentages being over 100% (references 42–50).
HV, home visit.