Early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers can get a subsidy to support early childhood teachers (ECTs) and educators in training to complete the practicum components of their degree.
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This opportunity is closed. Round 2 applications open 13 January 2025.
About the subsidy
The paid practicum subsidy allows providers to give staff paid leave while undertaking practicums.
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. Funding is paid to each eligible service’s bank account.
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.
In 2024–25, all ECEC providers can apply. Subsidies are no longer limited to regional and remote areas and First Nations educators.
Who can get the subsidy?
The subsidy is for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approved providers.
Providers may 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 can the subsidy be used for?
The subsidy covers up to 8 weeks of practicum per staff member, per semester.
You can apply twice a year for an individual staff member, once each semester. Priority may be given to staff who have not yet been supported by the subsidy.
You must use the subsidy to give staff paid leave while undertaking their practicum.
How much is the subsidy?
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 | 2024–25 | 2023–24 |
|---|---|---|
| All | $1,162.40 | $1,120.04 |
Providers must cover any gap between the subsidy amount and the employee’s full salary during the practicum period.
How to apply
We have engaged Deloitte to manage the 2024–25 application process. Providers can apply through the grants portal below.
Apply for the paid practicum subsidy
A person with management or control must complete the application.
You will need details about the practicum, such as the number of weeks and approximate dates, when applying.
If you don’t have these details in advance, we encourage you to apply in a subsequent round after the practicum has occurred.
Staff cannot apply themselves. If you work in the sector and think you’d benefit from this subsidy, please talk to your provider about applying.
If we receive a high volume of applications, we will prioritise:
- educators in regional and remote areas
- First Nations educators.
Scenarios
The below scenarios can help guide you when applying for the paid practicum subsidy.
Example 1
Jane and Sam work at the same service and are both completing ECEC qualifications. They must each complete a practicum as part of their studies. They’ve heard about the paid practicum subsidy. Can they apply?
Jane and Sam cannot apply for the subsidy directly. They must ask their provider to apply on their behalf.
A person with management or control (PMC) at their provider lodges the applications in the portal, one for each educator. In the applications, the provider includes details about their qualifications and intended practicum dates.
The provider’s applications are successful. Jane and Sam can now undertake practical placements at another service while receiving wages from their home service.
Example 2
Aman is studying to become an early childhood teacher (ECT). She works part time at a Centre Based Day Care looking after 0- to 3-year-olds. To complete her degree, she needs to do a practicum working with older children at another service.
Aman’s university requires her to complete 4 weeks of practicum. Since she works 3 days a week, she needs to complete her practicum on her 2 non-working days. To comply with the university requirement, Aman will need to complete her practicum over 10 working weeks. How many weeks of paid practicum subsidy can her provider apply for?
As Aman will complete 20 days of practicum, her provider can apply for 4 weeks of paid practicum subsidy on her behalf. Her provider must note the intended practicum period of 2 days across 10 weeks in the application.
The provider’s application is successful. The provider uses the grant to pay Aman for the 2 days she is undertaking her practicum.
Aman sends her university transcript and a statutory declaration from the service where she completed the practicum to her current provider. This helps her current provider document the completion of practicum when acquitting the funds.
Example 3
Ali wants to apply for the paid practicum subsidy through his provider to complete his Diploma of Early Childhood Education. His registered training organisation (RTO) requires him to complete 80 hours of practicum at a different service. How much subsidy can his provider apply for?
80 hours of practicum equates to 10.6 working days (7.5 hours per day), or just over 2 weeks.
In this case, Ali’s provider can apply for 2 weeks of paid practicum subsidy. The provider would need to cover the remaining hours.
Example 4
Shinjung’s university mandates 100 hours of practicum at an ECEC service as part of completing her degree. How much subsidy can her provider apply for?
100 hours of practicum equates to 13.6 working days (7.5 hours per day). This is more than 2 and a half weeks. So, Shinjung’s provider can apply for 3 weeks of paid practicum.
The application is succcessful. Shinjung’s provider can use the subsidy to pay her wages as she completes her practicum. The provider can use the additional funding to cover the additional time Shinjung spends at the placement service:
- preparing lesson plans
- reviewing the feedback notes from coworkers.
Key dates
Applications will be processed in 2 rounds.
Round 1 applications open
23 July 2024
Round 1 applications close
20 September 2024
Round 1 payments expected to be made to successful applicants
November 2024
Round 2 applications open
13 January 2025
Round 2 applications close
14 March 2025
Round 2 payments expected to be made to successful applicants
May 2025
Guidelines
The subsidy guidelines have more details about:
- the purpose of the subsidy
- eligibility criteria
- how applications are considered and selected
- how subsidy recipients will be monitored and evaluated
- responsibilities and expectations.
Acquittals
Providers must acquit funding received under the paid practicum subsidy.
Learn about the 2023–24 acquittal process
We will provide details about the 2024–25 acquittal process soon.