How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Discussions on Childcare Wages. Are you getting paid the right amount? Just started a new position and not sure of your wages? Ask here and you'll find your answers.
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Lorina
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How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by Lorina » Mon Sep 05, 2011 8:04 pm

Hey Everyone,

As a childcare worker in Australia what are you expected to be paid? How do you determine your pay rate? What is your current childcare wage?

I know a lot of you may be wondering how much that you, as a childcare worker should be paid. At times I’m sure most of us feel that we should be paid more than what we get. I’m, also wondering the same… ever since the new modern award wage set in I feel as if I’ve kinda lost out and actually getting paid less than I would of previously. I was overseas at the time the new modern award wage set in so I don’t know a lot about it. But from what I understand with the new modern award wage, it states the minimum hourly wage that you can receive. So, if the minimum hourly wage is $15 an hour then your employer has a right to pay that.

In the previous award as a diploma trained, each year that you hold your diploma you will receive a pay increase every year for upto 4 years. As far as I am aware I don’t think this is the case with the new modern award. I also have heard about the transitional period. I think this means that if you were working at a centre when the modern award wage kicked in, you will be given a different hourly wage (which the government worked out) before you received the new award. My question is how an employer determines how much to pay you… For instance, I’ve had my diploma since 2007 and I’ve been working in childcare for over 7 years and at the moment I am getting around $23.50 per hour. With the new modern award wage it states that the minimum wage for a diploma with a level 4 is around $22 per hour. So this is actually less than what I got previously. I am actually losing out with this new modern award. Has anyone of you experienced this? The thing is there is no set amount that we are to be paid which makes it so difficult in knowing how much we are actually supposed to be getting. Also thinking about it, this also sounds very unfair for people who have had many years of experience. Over my time I’ve worked with great staff who have been working in childcare for a certain number of years but was never able to do a qualification…from what I see experience is invaluable, if you are under these circumstances how can you benefit?

If you don’t mind me asking, I would actually like to hear from you how much you are getting at your current centre. You don’t need to disclose your name or the centre you are working at but I would be very interested in hearing the hourly wage you receive. If you are an employer, I would like to hear about how you deal with pay and how you determine what amount to pay the employees. This topic is an open discussion and Please share your thoughts and views on this issue as I’m sure a lot of us have many questions about our wages in childcare. I am hoping the discussions in this topic will also help all us childcare professionals understand more about negotiating wages when applying for a new job as well as to get an idea of how much we are expected to be paid.

Looking forward in reading your comments,

Cheers :geek:,
L.A


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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by fchaudari76 » Mon Sep 05, 2011 9:08 pm

Well since I have NO idea yet what I will be paid in my current job I cannot say though the Director is saying about the same ($22/hr), but who knows as she keeps avoiding telling me the exact figure so I am not holding my breath but wont be happy if its anything less than $22
My previous job I was getting paid $22.99/hr but that was only with a Cert III but they gave us 10% more if we had a Montessori Qualification (since it was a Montessori Childcare) and 10% more for working for them (they were privately owned) ... had I remained their I would have probably been nearing $25/hr with a Diploma completed
I personally just wish finding out what we should be paid should be easier .... and I also think we should be paid more, I have 15 yrs of experience in Education yet all that gets counted is having my Cert III & now my Diploma???!!! why?? that is insane.
If you are in another profession and you have X amount of years experience usually your salary will reflect so, why is childcare so weird in the way they structure the pay scale???
And we should be paid a heck of a lot more, considering we are helping guide and develop future generations of our nation.
I would like to have some negotiating power when I get offered a job and say "sorry I think I am worth more than $22/hr and would be happy to work for $X/hr could you give me that?"
I too would be very interested to see what everyone is being paid

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by dulciean » Tue Sep 06, 2011 8:39 am

good morning- well this subject could potentially be a sensitive issue, as you know that people are reticent to discuss their earnings! i don't mind sharing- i am CERT III qualified with 2 years full time Centre based experience, plus 5 years part time as a preschool assistant.I am currently earning $21.50 per hour as a full time ( 38 hour ) employee. I think our Diploma earns $23.50, and the ECT $25.50. This is at a private Centre in inner-city Sydney. Come on folks- let's share the info so we know where we stand and we can negotiate better pay- we all know we're worth it!!! :D

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by fchaudari76 » Wed Sep 07, 2011 5:36 pm

lol obviously not many people wishing to share

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by Lorina » Wed Sep 07, 2011 6:53 pm


Thank you Fefe and Dulciean for sharing your thoughts on this issue.

by dulciean » Tue Sep 06, 2011 9:39 am
well this subject could potentially be a sensitive issue, as you know that people are reticent to discuss their earnings!


I agree.. but now that we have started this discussion hopefully this should encourage others to understand that we are all in this together and we are just trying to help each other out.

by fefe76 » Wed Sep 07, 2011 6:36 pm
lol obviously not many people wishing to share


Patience... ;)

Cheers :geek:,
L.A

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by dulciean » Wed Sep 07, 2011 7:51 pm

aww c'mon people- it's not that big a deal! reckon we can all agree we are under-paid for the work we do!

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by fchaudari76 » Wed Sep 07, 2011 7:54 pm

I agree, we deserve to know the disparities between pays so we can put ourselves in a better position to know if what wages we are being offered are on par with what we should be getting

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by Rosie123 » Wed Sep 07, 2011 11:30 pm

Hi everybody
I work for a private childcare and I am casual. I get $25.70 per hour for a 1st year trained diploma. I have heard some caters receiving $30.00 hour. My centre pays the minimum.

Rosie

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by fchaudari76 » Thu Sep 08, 2011 5:10 pm

Rosie - obviously as a casual you would be getting more than a FT employee so I'd say if you were working FT you'd prob get around $22 unless your centre pays extremely well

Where do they get $30?? i want to work there!

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by Rosie123 » Thu Sep 08, 2011 10:37 pm

Hi fete,
I think it was one of the universities, they seem to pay higher rates.

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by catchmeifucan » Fri Sep 09, 2011 3:51 pm

Hi guys,

A very good topic!! its about time we discussed this issue!! I think sometimes understanding how the pay works is confusing...I always think, why are we paid so less??? Good to know that I am not the only one...

I finished my diploma about 4 years ago..I currently earn about $23.40. I have been following up with my director requesting for a pay rise because I did take over a lot of responsibilities for the centre. Not to mention the amount of paperwork I had to catch up on when the previous room leader left. Its now been about 6 months and after my recent request, I was offered a small pay rise. it isint much, but they made me an authorised supervisor and I get some allowances for this. I think its only like $10 - $15 bugs a week extra..I am not sure, I will check my next payslip..

I certainly think that childcare professionals are definetely underpaid!

"Over my time I’ve worked with great staff who have been working in childcare for a certain number of years but was never able to do a qualification…from what I see experience is invaluable, if you are under these circumstances how can you benefit? "


A very good point...I wonder the same!! What happens when someone has been working in childcare for like 20 years, do they still get underpaid if they dont have a recent cert 3 or diploma??

I wonder what others think?

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by fchaudari76 » Fri Sep 09, 2011 6:11 pm

I heard that there was going to be a decent pay rise for childcare professionals ... I think we should at least get the same as school teachers ....saying that I do not know how much they make but I am sure its more than what we get! I mean our jobs are as important if not more so why do we get such shabby pay? I find it disgraceful, no wonder most people prefer to teach primary or secondary and not even consider early childhood because it just doesnt pay well

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by Lorina » Sun Sep 11, 2011 1:21 pm

Hey Everyone,

I just went through my pay slip and I just realized I only get paid $23 per hour. I initially thought I was getting paid around $23.50 for some reason (I don’t know why)… so I am actually getting less than suspected. I compared this to the new modern award and the minimum hourly wage with a diploma step 4 qualification is only $21.92. So basically if you are a qualified diploma childcare worker in this industry you aren’t worth as much…honestly I feel as if I wasted all these years of study and experience for nothing. Just not fair…

I also went through my old pay slips back in 2008 when I had the opportunity to work as a Director at my centre. I was getting paid over $26.75 per hour (which is a hell of alot more) for being a director and I was only a diploma step 2 at this time. A director gets paid for “higher duties” but what about all of us childcare professionals who also have other duties besides teaching children. Where are our “higher duties”? Don’t get me wrong I am not blaming Directors, I just believe that we as childcare professionals should get higher pay for all the extra paperwork and planning that we have to do to meet the new EYLF and National Quality Standards that are now required.

I’m not sure how much a director gets paid now with the modern award wage. It seems like if you have any chance of making a decent income in this industry you will need to become a director because it seems that being a childcare worker the pay isn’t enough. I am attaching a copy of my pay slip so you can see the difference in your wages if you are a director… (I have deleted all my personal information).

[attachment=0]PaySlip_LA.jpg[/attachment]
Anyways, just wanted to update you all on my latest findings... I was just digging through my pay slips to get a better understanding of how this pay system works...

Cheers :geek:,
L.A
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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by fchaudari76 » Mon Sep 12, 2011 7:17 pm

Hopefully (fingers crossed) I will get paid this Friday so I can tell you exactly what I am getting then

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by catchmeifucan » Mon Sep 12, 2011 9:31 pm

Childcare workers are definitely underpaid! for sure! Just mentioning that L.A, you have a very valid point "It seems like if you have any chance of making a decent income in this industry you will need to become a director because it seems that being a childcare worker the pay isn’t enough". Agree with that 100%!

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by fchaudari76 » Tue Sep 13, 2011 6:49 am

I have been in teaching / education for over 10 years but none of that gets counted towards my pay which I find annoying as it is all experience why doesn't it get taken into account?
I came to Australia with a Montessori Diploma, was told after A LOT of flaffing about & sending docs off etc that it was not recognised and I needed to do a local qualification :o Montessori is recognised worldwide so that was a surprise.
When I began work I had to pretty much start at the bottom of the chain because obviously I did not have a "local" qualification and nothing from my 15 yrs previous experiences counted for anything :( its pathetic ... someone needs to make some changes to how early childhood carers/educators salaries are assessed for sure.

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by fchaudari76 » Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:49 pm

well i finally got my contract & got paid (after 5 weeks!!!!)
my pay is $23.40 / hr ...seems to be the standard for a GL with a completed Diploma....experience counts for nothing! since your pay goes up annually as experience seems to be judged from the time u got your qualification rather than previous work experiences! weird

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by darmodina » Sun Sep 25, 2011 5:30 am

Hi all,
i read all your views about the childcare wages, i just want to share mine, $24.87/hr permanent full time, diploma holder. I work in Montessori Preschool/Childcare school environment. This is a private school and when any increase of wages for teachers/non-teaching staff, i also get increased.
I am in this school for 5 1/2 years. My first 3 years i received an increase yearly. My classifiaction as permanent full time (76 hours/forthnight) in CCW level 4 is $49,155/pa. I am still negotiating my weekly allowance as a Coordinator of the LDC-Preschool. My assistant Cert 3, casual full time received $29.86/hr.
I really don't know what is the right award for Childcare Professionals. I heard different pay they received from other childcare professionals.
DA

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by Amanda Close » Sat Oct 01, 2011 7:09 pm

Hi...Family Day Carer here. My pay varies from day to day. I charge 5.10 per hour per child. My average day is 7hrs long and I average 3 kids a day, = 107.10. I work 4 days a week, = 428.40. Being in my early 50's this is quite enough for me. I do my own cleaning, paper work, programing, planning, documenting, finances...the list goes on! lol. :giggle: I put in extra hours making games (yes, home made games) re-setting my space and mowing lawns etc. The only reason I continue in my current employment is that I simply believe in small groups of children, a community need for intimate groupings and, having worked in varying styles of centres, a dislike for large institutional settings (even tho I know this last remark may be contriversial - each to their own.) Oh, I have cert 3 in child care and 13 completed diploma thingies.

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Re: How much do you get paid in Childcare? Open Discussion on Childcare Wages....

Post by LindyT » Wed Oct 05, 2011 9:35 pm

I get $32.50 (gross) an hour if all places are full (5 chn til 2014).
BUT as I'm self employed Scheme takes 50c/child/hour, plus a carer levy, then tax, then super and annual leave and business expenses.
Doesn't leave much think I worked it out to be about $12-15 an hour max!!

I'm cert III qualified

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