Early childhood workforce

The Australian Government has a range of initiatives to support the early childhood education and care workforce. The initiatives aim to attract, develop and retain high-quality early childhood teachers and educators.

Professional development

There are new measures to support the early childhood education and care workforce.

The professional development subsidy, paid practicum subsidy and practicum exchange are designed to strengthen skills and professional experience, improve staff retention and supply, and increase capacity.

Learn about the new early childhood workforce measures

National Workforce Strategy

A 10-year National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy aims to foster a sustainable and high-quality workforce of early childhood teachers and educators.

Learn more about the National Workforce Strategy

National Workforce Census

The National Workforce Census provides quality information for developing and measuring policies and programs for the sector. The census collects data about:

service use
children with extra needs
access to preschool programs
staffing.

Learn more about the National Workforce Census

Child care discount for early childhood workforce

Providers can choose to offer a discounted fee to educators or cooks they employ whose children are enrolled at one of their services. The discount will not affect the employee’s Child Care Subsidy (CCS) entitlement. This measure will support providers to attract and retain their early childhood workforce.

Learn more about discounts for the early childhood workforce