Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas announced Macedon Ranges Council would be one of 39 recipients sharing in $5 million worth of Building Blocks Planning Grants of up to $150,000 each.

"Congratulations to the Macedon Ranges Shire Council for their Planning Grant - I can't wait to see their projects come to life to provide more kindergarten places for our three and four years old," she said.

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The grant will support council's early years team to conduct scoping, feasibility and pre-planning work in preparation for applying for Building Blocks Grants.

The funding will be used in two ways:

Grants can support the preparations for a project, or a pipeline of projects, that might seek future Building Blocks construction grant funding.

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The grants can be used for work such as planning scope development, design preparation, soil investigations or construction costing works.

"The new planning grants will help kinders plan projects that increase places for more kids, while removing the financial burden of planning costs that may be a barrier to important projects getting started," Minister for Early Childhood Ingrid Stitt said.

In an Australian-first, the state government has invested almost $5 billion to deliver a full 15 hours of Three-Year-Old Kinder to children across the state over this decade, with the roll-out beginning in selected areas in 2020 and expanding in 2022 to support five hours of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten statewide.

To find out more, visit schoolbuildings.vic.gov.au/Pages/Building-Blocks-Grants-Planning

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