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:
What’s changing from 2026–27
From 2026–27, the professional development subsidy will support completion of national child safety training only. Other professional development activities previously supported by the subsidy will no longer be funded.
When applications will open
Applications are expected to open in Quarter 2 of 2026.
We will publish grant guidelines ahead of applications opening. The guidelines will include detailed information on:
- eligibility
- subsidy rates
- application requirements.
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Who can apply
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.
How applications will be prioritised
If demand for the subsidy exceeds available funding, we will:
- prioritise applications from small and medium providers (operating fewer than 25 services) on a first come, first served basis
- only consider applications from large providers if funding remains available.
What the subsidy will cover
The subsidy is designed to help cover wages while staff complete national child safety training.
Specifically, the subsidy can be used to:
- backfill staff while they undertake the training during work hours, or
- pay staff to complete the training outside their usual work hours.
The number of hours per educator that can be claimed will be outlined in the grant guidelines.
How subsidy amounts are calculated
The subsidy will be based on current award rates and include a 25% casual loading. Rates will be included in the grant guidelines and updated following any award increases.
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.
Using service closure time
We encourage providers to use service closure time to support all staff to complete national child safety 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.
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.
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 |
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.