Queensland families are eligible to save thousands of dollars in kindergarten fees from next year.

The $1 billion state government program is also aimed at solving the childcare staffing shortage.

Mum Kylie Caso, whose daughter Gigi goes to Love Street nursery and will start kindergarten next year, is one of 40,000 families who will be able to access free or cheaper childcare from January 1.

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She said she would save about $1500 a year.

"It's just that little bit harder to pay for everything that we need," she said.

The program promises to make kindergarten free for 14,000 vulnerable and disadvantaged children, and cheaper for another 26,000.

Education Minister Grace Grace said a big portion of families with kids in the state would be helped by the move.

"There's about 58,000 families so 70 per cent of them will benefit from this program," she said.

The program was announced in February but the website to check eligibility and calculate savings is now live.

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A family that earns about $60,000 annually and holds an Australian Government Health Care Card will be eligible for free sessional kindergarten, saving an average of $4500 each year.

If a child attends a long-daycare centre it will be cheaper.

A family with an income of up to $130,000 could save up to $500 a year.

It's another measure to help Queensland families with cost of living pressures, on top of the federal government's $4.5 billion childhood subsidy scheme announced in the budget.

The kindergarten program also includes $38.5 million to attract more early childhood teachers to remote areas.

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The opposition had criticised the state government of keeping Queenslanders in the dark about the details just last week, saying Labor failed to prioritise kindergarten investment.

Additional security measures will feature on the roughly one million new licences which will be issued to Victorians following the Optus data breach.

VicRoads said victims would be issued new cards with an additional security number on the back, which will operate in a similar way security codes are used on credit and debit cards.

More than 942,000 Victorian licence holders had their details compromised in the Optus data breach, a Department of Transport spokesperson said.

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"The Victorian government is fast-tracking protections for licence holders in response to the Optus data breach through the introduction of two-step verification and the free replacement of nearly one million licences," the spokesperson said.

"The Optus data breach is the biggest in Australia's history and Victorian licence holders have been impacted more than any other state."

About 342,000 Victorians flagged as directly affected by the breach will receive their new cards by the end of the year.

This group will also have their licence flagged on the Victorian Licensing Registry and also move to the new two-step verification approach to protect their identity.

The new process will require both the new card number and also the original licence number for identity confirmation to prove their identity for services such as opening bank accounts, loan applications, phone contracts and real estate transactions.

The second card number would eventually become a feature of all new and replacement Victorian driver's licences.

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The spokesperson said in the coming weeks, the redesigned licences will begin to be re-issued to affected people for free.

These individuals will receive their new licence cards before the end of the year.

"The Victorian Government will continue to seek reimbursement of costs from Optus for the replacement of the nearly one million licences of Victorians impacted by the largest data breach in Australian history," the spokesperson said.

There are fears for a French-Australian veterinarian who has been kidnapped in Chad.

Dr Jerome Hugonot has been managing a conservation program for the Sahara oryx, a species of antelope that was once widespread across North Africa.

He was abducted on Friday.

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A spokesperson for the Chadian government said the Western Australian's kidnappers were yet to be identified.

Spokesman, Aziz Mahamat Saleh said in a statement the kidnapped man is an environmentalist who manages an oryx park on behalf of the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) conservation group, according to Reuters

"The government has mobilised all security and human means in order to get hold of the kidnappers and find (the man)," Saleh wrote.

Dr Hugonot has previously worked in Africa, as well as across Australia, according to a 2019 Facebook post from his former employer, Murray Veterinary Services, south of Perth.

It said he moved to Australia from France in 2002 and graduated from Murdoch University.

He then worked as a flying vet in Katherine, Northern Territory, as well as working in South Australia, NSW and WA before heading to central Africa for three years with his wife.

The post said the expert in horse reproduction and foal medicine had a young daughter.

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The first steps towards Australia becoming a republic have been revealed, with a consultation tour to begin early next year.

The federal government will ask people their thoughts on whether the nation should cut its ties with the monarchy.

That will help form a campaign ahead of an expected referendum sometime after the next election.

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Australians voted no to becoming a republic in 1999.

Nine Political Editor Charles Croucher said it will be 2024 or 2026 before anything happens.

He said MP Matt Thistlethwaite, the Assistant Minister for the Republic of Australia, will go on the "listening tour" to get the views of the public.

But Croucher said there are two major hurdles the campaign has to tackle.

"To change the constitution you need a majority of people to vote yes and a majority of states. That is four of the six states," he told Weekend Today.

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"That's a big challenge.

"That is one of the reasons that, of the 44 referenda we have had, only eight passed.

"The bigger challenge on top is what model do we replace the monarchy with?

"This is what saw the vote go down in 1999.

"Polls showed a majority of Australians want to see change. Because they couldn't get a consensus on the model to change it, do people vote for a president, do politicians vote for the president, is it a combination."

In a press release, the Australian Republic Movement said it had elected nine directors to its national committee.

It claimed the movement had seen a "resurgence of support with thousands of new volunteers and members joining the campaign in recent weeks."

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Former Socceroo and respected human rights activist Craig Foster is among the body's new board members.

Olympic and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Nova Peris, presenter and University of Sydney mathematics ambassador Adam Spencer, and author Marina Go are also among those elected to the board.

CEO Sandy Biar said the election has brought "fresh new energy, experience and diversity" to the campaign, claiming there was a "once-in-a-generation opportunity over the coming years to lay the foundation for this historic step forward as a nation".

"With these outstanding directors leading the campaign, we'll have every chance of securing and winning a referendum so that Australia can finally have an Australian Head of State that is chosen by Australians and represents us," Biar said.

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