This guide has steps for early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers to get ready and apply for the worker retention payment.
On this page:
Read and understand the grant guidelines
The grant guidelines outline important details about the worker retention payment.
The guidelines do not constitute business, investment, legal or tax advice. You may wish to seek independent professional advice before applying.
Download the grant guidelines on GrantConnect.
Read a summary of the grant guidelines on our website.
Check your eligibility
Are you approved for Child Care Subsidy?
To get the payment you must be approved for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).
Do you operate Centre Based Day Care (CBDC) or Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services?
To get the payment you must operate at least one CBDC or OSHC service.
Family Day Care (FDC) and In Home Care (IHC) providers are not currently eligible. Preschools and kindergartens are also not eligible.
Are your workers covered by the right award?
The payment will cover workers at your services who:
- are covered by either the Children’s Services Award 2010 or the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020, or
- primarily undertake the duties covered in either of these awards but are covered by a different award or instrument, like a state industrial instrument.
This may include early childhood teachers, educators, cooks, coordinators, room leaders, support workers, trainees and apprentices.
Have you established a workplace instrument?
To get the payment you must engage workers through a workplace instrument that is compliant with the grant conditions.
We cover this requirement in more detail below.
Have you limited your fee growth?
To get the payment you must agree to limit your fees.
You must not increase your fees by more than:
- 4.4% between 8 August 2024 and 7 August 2025
- 4.2% between 8 August 2025 and 7 August 2026.
Send your workers information about workplace instruments
You must provide information to all eligible workers on the types of compliant workplace instruments.
A factsheet on workplace instruments is available on GrantConnect. You are to provide this information to your employees.
If we deem you eligible for the payment, you’ll need to sign a declaration confirming you have done this.
Prepare your workplace instrument
You must engage workers through a workplace instrument that meets grant conditions.
A workplace instrument is a legally enforceable document that sets out the terms and conditions of employment.
There are many different types of workplace instruments. Selecting the right workplace instrument depends on your individual business’s specific needs.
See our information about the types of workplace instruments you may use.
To be compliant with grant conditions, the workplace instrument must:
- include an obligation to pay workers at least 10% above current award rates
- provide for an additional 5% above applicable award rates from 1 December 2025
- apply until at least 30 November 2026.
See the minimum rates that you must pay all eligible workers and include these in your workplace instrument.
Be ready to show us your workplace instrument
You must include your workplace instruments in your application.
You can provide:
- an attachment, or
- a link to the registered instrument on the Fair Work Commission website.
If you are using individual flexibility arrangements (IFA), you must attach a copy of the IFA for each eligible worker.
You may apply with a draft workplace instrument if it is currently in the process of being approved by the Fair Work Commission. This will allow us to assess the rest of your application while you are finalising your workplace instruments.
We cannot approve an application until we receive the registered and workplace instrument. You can send the instrument to CCShelpdesk@education.gov.au.
Identify who needs to apply
The application must be completed by a person with management or control (PMC).
Before you apply, you must:
- identify the PMC who will be completing the application
- check their details are correctly listed in the Child Care Subsidy System.
You can check your PMC details via the Provider Entry Point (PEP) or your third-party software.
See our task card on how to update PMC details via the PEP. If you use third-party software, you’ll need to contact your software provider for help.
Please check these details carefully. If the person who applies is not listed as a PMC in the Child Care Subsidy System, we won’t be able to process your application quickly.
Gather provider and service details
The application will ask for details about you, the provider, and each service included in the application. It is critical that you provide correct details so we can identify you.
We outline the details you’ll need on hand below.
The details you provide must match what is in the Child Care Subsidy System. You can check your details via the Provider Entry Point (PEP) or your third-party software.
Please check your details carefully. If they don’t match or are not correct, we won’t be able to process your application quickly.
| Details | What it means | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| CCS provider name | The full legal name of your provider as listed in the Child Care Subsidy System. | Find your CCS provider name:
|
| Provider Australian Business Number (ABN) | An ABN is a unique 11-digit number that identifies your business or organisation to the government and community. | Find your ABN via ABN Lookup. |
| Provider customer reference number (CRN) | The provider has one unique CRN. It is different to the service CRNs. A CRN is 9 numbers and ends with a letter. For example, 123 456 789A. | Find your provider CRN:
|
| Provider Australian Company Number (ACN) | An ACN is a 9-digit number. It has 3 blocks of characters, each block separated by a blank. For example, 123 456 789. | If you are a registered company, find your ACN: |
| Organisation details | You must select the organisation types as assigned in the Child Care Subsidy System. You must select all that apply. | Check your organisation details in the Child Care Subsidy System via the PEP or your third-party software. |
| CCS service names | The full legal name of each service as listed in the Child Care Subsidy System. | Find your CCS service names:
|
| Service CRNs | Each service has its own unique CRN. A CRN is 9 numbers and ends with a letter. For example, 123 456 789A. | Find your service CRNs:
|
Gather financial and staffing information
The application will ask for financial and staffing information. You must only provide this information in relation to the services included in your application.
We outline the information you’ll need to provide below.
Please ensure the information you provide is accurate. If you provide incorrect details, we won’t be able to process your application quickly.
| Information | What you need to provide |
|---|---|
| Financial information | For each service in your application, you must provide your total expenditure on wages and on-costs for the 2023–24 financial year. |
| Staffing information | You must include the total number of eligible workers across your services. Do not include unfilled staffing positions or projected staff numbers. If you are unsure about the exact numbers, an estimate is acceptable. You must also provide a breakdown of:
|
| Historical leave liability payment | If applying for a historical leave liability payment, you must provide a breakdown of the following amounts:
You must provide a valid financial statement or balance sheet that:
Historical leave liabilities can include leave accrued prior to 2 December 2024. |
Complete and submit the application
Submit your application via the online application form.
You must be registered to use the application form. Registration is free.
You can submit a single application for up to 100 services. If you have more than 100 services, you will need to submit multiple applications.
If you’ve applied previously, you’ll need to include any previous application numbers. These are found on the submissions page and begin with ‘WRP’ followed by 5 numbers.
When submitting, you must declare any conflicts of interest that could affect the performance of the worker retention payment. If you do, you must provide any relevant details.
Get help
We encourage you to read our information about the worker retention payment in the first instance.
If you have questions after reading the information, or you need specific advice about your situation, you can contact ccshelpdesk@education.gov.au.
For technical support with the application, check out the SmartyGrants help guide and frequently asked questions.
If you find an error in your application after submitting, contact us immediately at ccshelpdesk@education.gov.au.