When should I enrol my child in childcare for 2027

Most families ask this question about six months later than they meant to.

There is no single right answer, because it depends on your child's age, the days you need, and how flexible you can be if your first choice is full. But there is a pattern to how places move through the year, and knowing it makes the whole thing far less stressful.

‍Here is how enrolment timing works, what happens once you get in touch, and why the youngest rooms need the most notice.

How far ahead do Brisbane families usually enrol?

Families looking at a January start tend to begin their search around the middle of the year before. That gives them time to visit a few centres, compare what is included in the fees, sort out Child Care Subsidy, and settle on days without rushing.

Parents returning to work after parental leave often start much earlier again. It is common for a family to enquire while they are still pregnant, particularly when they know their return to work date and want a specific number of days. That is not overplanning. For a baby who needs to start at six months old, the place has to exist at the right moment, and the room has to have the space when that moment arrives.

If you want a mid year start rather than January, the timing shifts but the principle holds. Enquire around a term ahead, and be clear about the earliest date you could begin.

Why do nursery places go first?

Two reasons, and they compound.

The first is ratios. Under the national regulations, babies under two need one educator for every four children, so a nursery room simply cannot hold as many children as a preschool room in the same space. Fewer places, same demand.

The second is that nursery families rarely leave. A baby who starts at six months usually stays in that room for a year or more, then moves up through the centre rather than out of it. Places open up when children age up, which happens on a fairly predictable schedule, not whenever a family enquires.

Toddler rooms sit somewhere in the middle. Preschool and kindy rooms turn over the most, because a full cohort leaves for prep every December. Even then, the good ones fill through the middle of the year, and Free Kindy places in particular tend to be spoken for well before the year begins.

How does a waitlist actually work?

A waitlist is not a queue in the way people imagine. Centres are not simply working down a list in date order.

What a centre is actually doing is matching. If a Tuesday and Wednesday place opens in the toddler room, it goes to a family who needs Tuesday and Wednesday, not to whoever enquired first. A family wanting five days may wait longer than a family wanting two, or the other way around, depending entirely on what comes free.

That matters for how you approach it. Be specific about the days you need, but also tell the centre what you could accept if your ideal week is not available. Families who can start with three days and add a fourth later often get in months ahead of families holding out for a perfect five day match. Keep your details current too, because a place that opens in October is offered to the family the centre can actually reach.

What happens between your enquiry and your child's first day?

The process is shorter than most families expect.

It starts with the enrolment enquiry form or a phone call on (07) 5512 0910. Someone from the team gets in touch to arrange a tour, and the tour is worth doing in person even if you have watched the walk through video. Mid morning is usually best, because the rooms are running and you can see how educators talk to the children rather than how the place looks when it is quiet.

After the tour you receive an enrolment pack with the paperwork. Once that is completed and a place is confirmed, we arrange orientation, which is normally two shorter visits so your child can meet their educators and spend time in the room before their first full day. Families tell us this is the part that makes the first morning easier, for the child and for them.

Before your child starts, two weeks of fees are payable, and after that fees are paid weekly or fortnightly in advance. If you have not sorted your Child Care Subsidy by then, do it early rather than late. Centrelink assessments take time and the subsidy cannot be backdated indefinitely, so it is worth reading through how Child Care Subsidy works while you are still comparing centres. Our team can walk you through the parts that are confusing.

Is it too early to enquire for 2027?

No. Enquiring early gives you information, and information is what makes the decision easy later.

You will know whether your days are realistic, roughly what you will pay after subsidy, and whether the centre feels right when you walk into the room. If your circumstances change, you tell us and we adjust. Nothing is locked in by asking.

2027 places are open across our nursery, toddler, preschool and Free Kindy rooms. Call (07) 5512 0910 or send us an enquiry and we will find a time for you to come through.