Labor is putting kids' creativity front and centre – with free Prep Bags to be designed by the students that use them. 

Member for Melton Steve McGhie today announced local Prep students can enter a new annual design competition for Prep Bags, starting this week. 

Current Preps at Victorian public schools enter by submitting hand drawn or digitally designed artwork on this year's theme 'My Year of Prep'. 

The winning design will feature on the front of next year's Prep Bags. 

Preps at local schools including Binap Primary, Melton South Primary and Melton West Primary are encouraged to put pencil to paper and enter. 

This year 1136 Preps across Melton received a free Prep Bag on their first day of school.

The bags will be delivered to almost 52,000 Preps at over 1,300 schools on their first day of school. 

Prep Bags deliver real cost-of-living relief for families and make the first day of prep extra special. 

Since 2019, Labor's Books in Prep Bags initiative has provided more than 2.2 million free books to Prep students and their families. 

The initiative ensures no child misses out on high-quality books to kickstart their love of reading. 

This year's bags included five free books selected by a panel of experts, a jigsaw puzzle, colouring activities and resources to help families with the transition from kinder to school. 

Preps also received a free holder for the Youth myki – making it even easier for families to access Labor's free public transport for kids under 18. 

When Jess Wilson's Liberals were last in government, they cut cost-of-living support for families like the Young Readers Program. 

Only Labor is on the side of families – helping with the costs of school from day one. 

The competition runs from 16 July until 9 August 2026. 

More information can be found at engage.vic.gov.au/prep-bags-2027. 

Quotes attributable to Member for Melton Steve McGhie

"I can't wait to see the creativity of our local Preps on show – and one lucky student could see their artwork carried by every Prep in Victoria next year." 

"Prep Bags are one of the many ways Labor is helping local families in Melton with the costs of school – from free books to free public transport for kids." 

Quote attributable to Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll 

"Next year's Preps will carry a bag of free books thanks to Labor, designed by a student sitting in a Prep classroom today."