The paid practicum subsidy supports early childhood teachers (ECTs) and educators in training to complete the practicum components of their degree.
On this page:
❌ This opportunity has now closed. We will notify all applicants of the outcomes shortly.
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 type | 2026-27 | 2025-26 | 2024–25 | 2023–24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | $1,389.50 | $1,203.10 | $1,162.40 | $1,120.04 |
How to apply
Applications are closed for the 2026–27 financial year.
Due to high demand in round 1:
- we are prioritising applications from First Nations educators, educators from regional and remote locations and small providers on a first come, first served basis
- we will not proceed with a second round in 2026–27.
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.
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 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.
When is the deadline?
| The financial year you received funding | Acquittal deadline |
|---|---|
| 2025–26 | 14 July 2026 |
| 2026-27 | 14 July 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.