On 8 August 2024, the Australian Government announced it will support a wage increase for the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce through a new worker retention payment.
The payment, which starts in December and runs for 2 years, will support a wage increase of:
- 10% on top of the current national award rate in the first year
- 15% above the current national award rate in the second year.
The payment is on top of the 3.75% increase to award wages that started on 1 July 2024 following the 2024–25 annual wage review.
Providers will need to apply for the payment. Grant applications are expected to open in October 2024, with the wage increase taking effect from December 2024.
The payment will be conditional on providers:
- limiting fee growth to no more than 4.4% over the next 12 months
- engaging staff through a workplace instrument that meets grant conditions
- passing on all funding to eligible workers through increased wages.
ECEC workers who work in a Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approved service will benefit from this funding. More detail on the eligibility requirements will be available soon.
This wage increase recognises the value and importance of the ECEC workforce in delivering high quality ECEC to children.
Minister for Early Childhood Education, the Hon Dr Anne Aly said:
“Properly valuing the early childhood education and care workforce is crucial to attracting and retaining workers and vital to achieving the quality universal early learning sector Australian families deserve.
“A quality early childhood education sector is necessary to support children's learning and development as well as workforce participation in the broader economy.”
The department will consult with the Family Day Care and In Home Care sectors to understand how support can be extended to their workforce.
Find out more at Early childhood wages.
Read the joint Pay rise for early educators while keeping fees down for families media release.