The Australian Government will support a wage increase for the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce.
The government will provide funding through a new worker retention payment.
The payment 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 will start in December 2024 and run for 2 years.
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. It will be paid in the form of a grant.
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 by no more than 4.4% from 8 August (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.
We will consult with the Family Day Care and In Home Care sectors to understand how support can be extended to their workforce.
This wage increase recognises the value and importance of the ECEC workforce in delivering high quality ECEC to children.
We will provide more details, including grant guidelines, over the coming weeks. To get information and updates: