Professional development subsidy

The professional development subsidy covers 1 day of training for qualified ECEC staff. 

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

The subsidy aims to:

• build capacity and skills in the early childhood workforce
• allow services to maintain educator-to-child ratios while staff complete training.

Who can get the subsidy?

Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approved providers can apply for the subsidy on behalf of:

• early childhood teachers
• early childhood educators
• centre managers.

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 at the service more than 40 hours in the last 3 months
• not have received a professional development subsidy in the 2024-25 financial year.

What can the subsidy be used for?

The subsidy covers 1 day, or up to 7.5 hours, of training per staff member.

You must use the subsidy to:

• supplement the cost of backfilling while staff engage in training
• pay staff a supplement for training undertaken outside of work hours.

Training can include:

• mandatory training such as first aid, child protection, induction training and food handling
• highly recommended training such as cultural competency, inclusion training, leadership, coaching and mentoring.

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)
• highly recommended training over mandatory training.