The Albanese Government has introduced legislation to permanently lock in a 15% Worker Retention Payment for early childhood education and care (ECEC) workers. HRD reported, as the government moves to strengthen pay, retention and safety standards across the sector.
The bill, introduced to Parliament on August 12, would direct a further A$3.6 billion towards the payment. It would also make compliance with the National Quality Standard (NQS) a condition for receiving the funding.
Pay boost tied to quality standards
The 15% increase currently gives a typical full-time educator an additional A$255 a week. Early childhood teachers receive about A$410 more a week compared with pre-program rates.
More than 80% of eligible services currently receive the payment.
The government will also require participating services to limit fee increases passed on to families. It estimates the measure could save families an average of A$1,500 over the next two years.
Funding linked to child safety
The legislation would introduce tougher safety requirements from July 2027.
Services that fail to meet NQS requirements covering child health and safety could have their Worker Retention Payment reduced or suspended.
The government said 95% of services currently meet the safety standard, the highest level recorded.
"Nothing is more important than the safety of our children," Minister Clare said. "This will help to make sure safety and quality in early education is what parents expect and what our children deserve."
Government points to workforce gains
The government said the wage support has coincided with stronger workforce numbers. The sector has added 20,000 early educators since the payment began, while job vacancies have fallen by more than 31%.
At Goodstart Early Learning, agency staff usage reportedly fell 69% in the first year of the programme.
Minister Rishworth said, “Early childhood educators have one of the most important jobs in Australia and their hard and highly skilled work deserves to be properly valued," she said.
"Labor's backing for wage rises means early childhood teachers are now earning $410 more per week, compared to December 2024 when the government first implemented the pay rise,” he added.
Minister Walsh said, "It's also providing more certainty and stability for the children in their care," she said. "It is helping build and retain the stable, dedicated workforce that children deserve."
The proposed changes would make the wage support a longer-term feature of Australia's early childhood sector while tying government funding more closely to workforce quality, affordability and child safety.