The professional development subsidy will help early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers meet the cost of wages while staff complete national child safety training.
On this page:
Applications are open. Due to high demand, we are prioritising applications from small and medium providers. Applications close 3 July 2026, or earlier if funding is fully allocated.
What’s changing from 2026–27
From 2026–27, the professional development subsidy will support completion of national child safety training only. The subsidy will help providers pay staff to complete the training during or outside work hours.
Other professional development activities previously supported by the subsidy will no longer be funded.
Providers apply for the subsidy during set application rounds. If successful, the funded hours can be used to support training completion up until 13 March 2027 and within any legislated timeframes.
Who can get the subsidy
All Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approved providers can apply for the subsidy on behalf of their staff who:
- provide direct ECEC, or
- supervise children.
This includes centre directors, early childhood teachers and educators who work directly with children.
These staff must:
- be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or hold a valid work visa
- work at a CCS-approved service
- be part of the educator-to-child ratio
- work full-time, part-time or casual
- have worked more than 40 hours overall in the last 3 months.
You can apply for all eligible staff, even if they have:
- already completed the training before you apply, or
- received the professional development subsidy in earlier years.
The following staff are not eligible:
- those who complete the training during a service closure period
- those who complete the training under a different provider or service.
What the subsidy covers
The subsidy is designed to help cover wages while staff complete national child safety training. It will cover 5 hours per eligible staff member to complete the training.
How the subsidy can be used
You can use the subsidy to:
- backfill staff while they undertake the training during work hours, or
- pay staff to complete the training outside their usual work hours.
You can use the funding to support training completion up until 13 March 2027 and within any legislated timeframes.
How the subsidy is calculated
The subsidy is a flat daily rate. It is based current award rates and includes a 25% casual loading.
| Staff type | Payment rate per 5 hours |
|---|---|
| Early childhood teachers | $282.75 |
| Early childhood educators | $184.50 |
| Directors | $267.80 |
These rates are current as of 1 March 2026. We will update the table if award rates change.
The subsidy is not intended to cover the full cost of wages. Providers are responsible for any additional wage or employment on-costs above the subsidy amount.
Funding is limited and not guaranteed.
How to apply
Applications are now open. Providers must apply on behalf of eligible staff. A person with management or control (PMC) must complete the application. You can apply for staff who have already completed the training, but funding is not guaranteed until an application is approved.
Please read the grant guidelines before applying.
If you need help with your application, you can:
- email ececgrants@deloitte.com.au with your provider CRN
- phone the helpdesk on (03) 9917 7865 during the application period.
If you're applying for 100 or more educators at once, you will need to contact the helpdesk for support at least 15 business days before the round closes.
How applications will be prioritised
We are receiving a high volume of applications. As such:
- we will prioritise applications from small and medium providers (operating fewer than 25 services) on a first come, first served basis
- we are unlikely to support applications from large providers.
Using service closure time and other support
Services can close for up to 5 hours annually so staff can complete national child safety training while still claiming CCS. We encourage providers to use service closure time to support all staff to complete the training. You can only apply for the professional development subsidy for staff members who do not complete training during service closure periods.
Find out more about service closures to support national child safety training.
In addition to service closures and the professional development subsidy, providers may support staff to complete training through:
- paid professional development time (where included in enterprise agreements)
- staff meeting time, including reflective practice sessions.
Key dates
Due to high demand, we will not proceed with a second round in 2026–27. The subsidy will open again in 2027–28.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 28 April 2026 | Round 1 applications open |
| 3 July 2026 | Round 1 applications expected to close |
| September 2026 | Round 1 payments expected to be made to successful applicants |
Past subsidy rounds
Since 2023, the professional development subsidy has supported qualified staff to complete training that adds to their skills.
For more information about previous rounds of the professional development subsidy, refer to the grant guidelines for the relevant financial year.
Acquittals
Providers must acquit funding received under the professional development subsidy.
The information below applies to providers who received the professional development subsidy prior to 2026. We will publish updated guidance for acquitting the subsidy from 2026–27 onwards in due course.
What is an acquittal?
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.
What evidence do you need?
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 professional development subsidy, this could include:
- paid invoice or certificate of completion for named staff who attended training/course
- other documentation like confirmation email with date(s) of the professional development
- payroll records indicating the named staff or staff member backfilling them was paid on the day(s) of professional development.
For the 2026–27 professional development subsidy, this could include:
- certificates showing national child safety training was completed within the legislated timeframes
- payroll records indicating the named staff or staff member backfilling them was paid for their time spent completing the national child safety training.
When is the deadline?
| The financial year you received funding | Acquittal deadline |
|---|---|
| 2023–24 | 31 July 2025 |
| 2024–25 | 31 July 2025 |
| 2025–26 | 14 July 2026 |
| 2026–27 | 27 March 2027 |
How to acquit funds
Acquit your funding through the grants portal.
If you have questions about the acquittals process or need help, contact ECECworkforce@education.gov.au.