The Australian Government will support a 15% wage increase, over 2 years, for early childhood education and care through a new Worker Retention Payment that providers will need to apply for. The payment will start in December 2024 and run for 2 years.
The payment will support a wage increase of:
- 10% on top of the current national award rate in the first year
- 15% above the current national award rate in the second year.
The payment is on top of the 3.75% increase to award wages that started on 1 July 2024 following the 2024–25 annual wage review.
Providers will need to apply for the payment. It will be paid in the form of a grant. Grant guidelines will be made available soon.
Timing
Grant applications are expected to open in October 2024, with the wage increase taking effect from December 2024.
Eligibility
ECEC workers who work in a Child Care Subsidy (CCS) approved service will benefit from this funding. More details on the eligibility requirements will be available soon.
We will consult with the Family Day Care and In-Home Care sectors to understand how support can be extended to their workforce.
Conditions
The payment will be conditional on the providers:
- limiting fee growth from 8 August 2024
- engaging staff through a workplace instrument that meets grant conditions
- passing on all funding to eligible workers through increased wages.
Fee growth
Funding will be conditional on providers agreeing to limit fee increases. This maintains affordability for families.
Providers cannot increase their fees annually by over a set percentage for 2 years.
For more information: Early Childhood Wages
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