Paid practicum subsidy

The paid practicum subsidy supports early childhood teachers (ECTs) and educators in training to complete the practicum components of their degree.

On this page:

Applications will open 28 April 2026. Grant guidelines are available now to help you prepare. 

About the subsidy

The paid practicum subsidy supports providers to give staff paid leave while they complete practicums as part of an early childhood education and care (ECEC) qualification.

Practicums help teachers and educators in training gain practical, work-place experience in an early childhood educational setting. They are mandatory for most ECEC qualifications.

We pay the subsidy to providers. Providers must pass funding on to staff through paid leave.

The subsidy aims to help services:

  • support staff to complete ECEC qualifications
  • provide paid leave to staff completing practicums.

Who can get the subsidy

All Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approved providers can apply on behalf of staff completing:

  • a diploma-level qualification such as a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care
  • a degree-level qualification such as a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Care
  • a post-graduate ECT qualification such as a Graduate Certificate in Education (Early Childhood), a Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Teaching or a Master of Early Childhood Education.

Find information about qualifications on ACECQA’s website 

These staff must:

  • be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or hold a valid work visa
  • work at a CCS-approved service
  • work full-time, part-time or casual
  • have worked more than 40 hours in the last 3 months.

What the subsidy will cover

You must use the subsidy to give staff paid leave while they undertake their practicum.

The subsidy covers up to 8 weeks of practicum per staff member. It can be undertaken across one or more practicum periods.

The practicum must:

  • start between 29 June 2026 and 25 June 2027
  • be completed by 29 August 2027.

Providers will be responsible for covering any costs associated with:

  • backfilling staff during their practicum  
  • staff wages not covered by the grant.

How the subsidy is calculated

The subsidy is a flat weekly rate. This is because practicums are typically completed in groups of 5 working days.

The weekly rate is based on current award rates.

Staff type2026-272025-262024–252023–24
All$1,246.50$1,203.10$1,162.40$1,120.04

How to apply

Round 1 applications will open on 28 April 2026. We will provide a link to the application portal on this date.

Providers must apply on behalf of eligible staff. A person with management or control (PMC) must complete the application. The grant guidelines are available now to help you prepare.

Read the grant guidelines

If you need help with your application, you can:  

Educators cannot apply themselves. If you work in the sector and think you may be eligible, talk to your provider about applying on your behalf.

How applications will be prioritised

Applications will be considered on a first come first served basis. However, if we receive a high volume of applications, we will prioritise applications for:

  • First Nations educators
  • educators from regional and remote locations
  • educators by provider size (small, then medium, then large providers)
  • ECT qualifications (including post-graduate qualifications) over diploma-level qualifications
  • staff who have not yet been supported by the subsidy in a previous year.

Key dates

In 2026–27, applications will be processed in two rounds. We will open the second round only if funding is still available after the first round.

DateEvent
28 April 2026Round 1 applications open
3 July 2026Round 1 applications close
September 2026Round 1 payments expected to be made to successful applicants
12 October 2026Round 2 applications open (subject to funding availability)
11 December 2026Round 2 applications close
February 2027Round 2 payments expected to be made to successful applicants

Past subsidy rounds

For more information about previous rounds of the paid practicum subsidy, refer to the grant guidelines for the relevant financial year. 

Acquittals

Providers must acquit funding received under the paid practicum subsidy.

An acquittal is the process of reporting how you’ve spent your funding. It helps us confirm you’ve used the funding correctly.

An acquittal is done when:

  • you have no remaining funding, or
  • you have unused funding to be recovered.

You must acquit all funding that you received under the subsidy, even if your service has:

  • closed
  • transferred to a new provider
  • had its CCS approval cancelled.

We’ll recover any unused funds through the acquittals process. We’ll issue an invoice to recover these funds:

  • after you have completed an acquittal, or
  • once the acquittal deadline has passed.

You don’t typically need to attach evidence when acquitting funds. However, you must keep appropriate records for 24 months demonstrating correct use of funding in line with the guidelines. We may undertake audit and compliance checks from time to time.

For the paid practicum subsidy, this could include:

  • documentation confirming date(s) of practicum placement for named staff at another service
  • payroll records indicating the named staff was paid for the week(s) practicum placement was undertaken.

There may be instances where a staff member is required to complete their placement at their place of employment. In this case the evidence can be:

  • an email or letter from the higher education institution explaining why the placement is taking place at the same service
  • supporting documentation from the service or educator to show why the staff member conducted their placement at the same service.
The financial year you received fundingAcquittal deadline
2023–2431 July 2025
2024–2531 July 2025
2025–2614 July 2026
2026-2714 July 2027

Acquit your funding through the grants portal.

If you have questions about the acquittals process or need help, contact ECECworkforce@education.gov.au.