Diploma Qualified Educator Wages In Early Childhood Services

When working as a Diploma Qualified Educator your pay rate is from the Children's Services Award 2010. This Award states your minimum rate of pay based on the completion of your Diploma Qualification. The following will provide information for Diploma Qualified Educators on minimum wages including full time and casual, job responsibilities and more.

Level 4 Classification

In the Children’s Services Award 2010, Educators with a Diploma qualification who are working as Room Leaders within the room will be Level 4. Each level for childcare wages gives a definition of what is expected of the employee, the qualifications required and the duties the employee should perform in order to be paid at that particular level.

According to the Children's Services Award:

Level 4

This is an employee who has completed a Diploma in Children's Services or equivalent (e.g. Certificate IV in Out of School Hours Care) as recognised by licensing authorities and is appointed as the person in charge of a group of children in the age range from birth to 12 years or an employee who is appointed as an Authorised Supervisor (as defined in the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW)). An employee at this level will also take on the same duties and perform the same tasks as a CSE Level 3.

Indicative duties For Level 3:

Assist in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of developmentally appropriate programs for individual children or groups.
Record observations of individual children or groups for program planning purposes for qualified staff.
Under direction, work with individual children with particular needs.
Assist in the direction of untrained staff.
Undertake and implement the requirements of quality assurance.
Work in accordance with food safety regulations.

Indicative duties for Level 4:

Responsible, in consultation with the Assistant Director/Director for the preparation, implementation and evaluation of a developmentally appropriate program for individual children or groups.
Responsible to the Assistant Director/Director for the supervision of students on placement.
Responsible for ensuring a safe environment is maintained for both staff and children.
Responsible for ensuring that records are maintained accurately for each child in their care.
Develop, implement and evaluate daily care routines.
Ensure that the centre or service's policies and procedures are adhered to.
Liaise with families.

Level 5 Classification

This is an employee who has completed a Diploma in Children's Services or equivalent and is appointed as:

Assistant Director of a service
A Children's Services coordinator
A Family Day Care coordinator
A Family Day Care Trainee Supervisor or
School-Age Care coordinator
An Assistant Director will also take on the same duties and perform the same tasks as a CSE Level 4.

Indicative duties for Level 5:

Coordinate and direct the activities of employees engaged in the implementation and evaluation of developmentally appropriate programs.
Contribute, through the Director, to the development of the centre or service's policies.
The coordinate centre or service operations including Occupational Health and Safety, program planning, and staff training.
Responsible for the day-to-day management of the centre or service in the temporary absence of the Director and for management and compliance with licensing and all statutory and quality assurance issues.
Generally, supervise all employees within the service.

As a Diploma Qualified Education, you are required to work in a team to provide high-quality early childhood education development, learning and care to children. Key responsibilities and duties include:

Actively support every child to participate in the program and ensure that the program promotes children’s agency, choices and influence.
Ensure staff and children utilise effective health and hygiene practices, including meeting all regulations relating to food safety and preparation, medical management plans, risk management plans, policies and procedures.
Develop and maintain respectful, supportive, collaborative and responsive relationships with children and their families.
Complete any collection of data, medical or other records required in a timely manner, and in accordance with the service’s policies and procedures and the NQS.

Pay Rate

For a Diploma Qualified Educator, your diploma childcare pay rate falls under the Children’s Services Award 2010. This award states the minimum amount that an employer can pay you based on your qualification and your position while working in an early learning centre.

Full Time/Part-time

Level 3.4 - (for a Diploma Qualified Educator working as an assistant Educator).

$30.59 per hour
$1162.40 per week

The casual pay rate, is $38.23/per hour

Level 4.1 - (for a newly qualified Diploma educator who begins working for the first year with their qualification).

$32.00 per hour
$1216.00 per week

The casual pay rate, is $40.00/per hour

Level 4.2 (for the second year of your Diploma qualification)

$32.49 per hour
$1234.60 per week

The casual pay rate, is $40.61/per hour

Level 4.3 (for the third year of your Diploma qualification)

$32.97 per hour
$1253.00 per week

The casual pay rate is $41.25/per hour

Level 5.1 (on commencement)

$33.46 per hour
$1271.60 per week

The casual pay rate, is $41.82/per hour

Level 5.2 (for the second year)

$33.95 per hour
$1290.00 per week

The casual pay rate, is $42.43/per hour

Level 5.3 (for the third year)

$34.43 per hour
$1308.30 per week

The casual pay rate, is $43.03/per hour

Note: These pay rates are the minimum pay rate as per the Children's Services 2010 (correct as of 01/07/2024). The casual pay rate is determined by adding 25% casual loading to the full-time hourly rate.

Allowances

Clothing and Equipment Allowance - Where you're required by your employer to wear any special clothing or articles of clothing (such as a work uniform). You must be reimbursed for the cost of purchasing such clothing. This does not apply where your employer pays for the clothing required to be worn by you.

Where you're required to launder any clothing referred to above. You will be paid an allowance of $9.49 per week or $1.90 per day, or where the uniform does not require ironing, $5.98 per week or $1.20 per day.

Excess fares allowance - Where you're directed to work away from your normal place of work on any day, you will be paid an allowance of $16.86 per day to compensate for excess fares. This provision does not apply if your employer provides or offers to provide suitable transport free of charge to you.

First aid allowance - Where an employee classified below Level 3 is required by the employer to administer first aid to children within the employee’s care and the employee holds a current recognised first aid qualification such as a certificate from the St John Ambulance, the Australian Red Cross or a similar body they will be paid an allowance of 1.13% of the standard rate per day.

Where the employee is employed in out-of-school hours care, the allowance will be 0.15% of the standard rate per hour. Where an employee is required by an employer to act as a first aid officer and they do not have current qualifications, the employer must pay the costs of any required training.

Meal Allowance - An employee required to work overtime for more than two hours without being notified on the previous day or earlier that they will be so required to work will either be supplied with a meal by the employer or paid an allowance of $15.09. No meal allowance is payable where an employee could reasonably return home for a meal within the period allowed.

A meal break must be uninterrupted. Where there is an interruption to the meal break and this is occasioned by the employer, overtime will be paid until an uninterrupted break is taken. The minimum overtime payment will be for 15 minutes at any time in excess of 15 minutes being paid in minimum blocks of 15 minutes.

At times when you're required to remain on the employer’s premises, you will be entitled to a paid meal break of not less than 20 minutes or more than 30 minutes. This paid meal break is to be counted as time worked. By agreement with the employer you may leave the premises during the meal break, however, such time away from the premises will not be counted as time worked and nor will any payment be made for such time.

Higher Duties

At times you may be engaged in duties carrying a higher rate than your ordinary classification for two or more consecutive hours within any shift or day will be paid for the time so worked at the higher rate provided that:

the greater part of the time so worked is spent in performing duties carrying the higher rate
an employee who is required to undertake the duties of another employee by reason of the latter employee’s absence for the purpose of attending (with pay) an approved training course (including in-service training) will not be entitled to payment under this clause

Rest Pauses

When you're working four hours or more on any engagement you will be entitled to a paid rest period of 10 minutes.

Provided that you're working for seven hours or more, you will be entitled to two such paid rest periods of 10 minutes each unless you agree to forego one of these rest periods.

All rest periods must be uninterrupted.

Entitlement To Overtime Rates

You are paid at overtime rates for any work performed outside of your ordinary hours of work.

Overtime will be paid at the rate of time and a half for the first two hours and double time thereafter. In calculating over time, each day’s work will stand alone.

Where, due to a genuine and pressing emergency situation, an employee is required to remain at work after their normal finishing time such time will be paid at the ordinary rate for the employee’s classification. Provided that such emergency overtime does not exceed one hour per week. For the purposes of this subclause, an emergency situation may include a natural disaster affecting a parent, another employee or the centre/service, the death of a child or parent, or a child requiring urgent hospitalisation or medical attention.

Time Off Instead Of Payment For Overtime

Your employer may agree in writing to you in taking time off instead of being paid for a particular amount of overtime that has been worked by you.

Any amount of overtime that has been worked by you in a particular pay period and that is to be taken as time off instead of the employee being paid for it must be the subject of a separate agreement.

Public Holidays

When working full time and your rostered day off falls on a public holiday, you are entitled to either:

be paid an extra day’s pay
be provided with an alternative day off within 28 days
receive an additional day’s annual leave

It's important to ensure you are getting the entitlements that you deserve based on your Diploma education and care qualification. Please make sure you check your pay rates and if you have any concerns, talk to your employer about any payment issues.