A step forward, yes. But we must keep advocating for reforms to improve the wellbeing, status, conditions and pay of early childhood educators, writes Associate Professor Marg Rogers
Despite challenges for early childhood educators and parents during cost-of-living pressures, there was some good news for the sector on Tuesday. The Government announced another two years of funding to support continuing the 15% wage rise for educators in services that limit fee increases.
As the thirteenth-lowest-paid workers in Australia, educators will welcome this continuation of the funding. More than 90% of educators are women, who make up most of the caring sector.
How much extra?
Combined with the rise to the national minimum wage from July, this is equivalent to $255 more per week for an average full-time educator (certificate- or diploma-qualified). This rises to $410 more per week for early childhood teachers (degree-qualified), compared to their 2024 wages.
That said, some of this will be eaten up by inflation because the buying power of our wages has declined. For women who are degree-qualified, this will be especially welcome as they have often racked up student HECS debts. Women take longer to pay off these debts due to the gender pay gap and because they often take time off or work part-time while caring for family members. A longer debt means they pay more, as it is indexed each year.
It should be noted that educators who were already working for services on the package will receive the same pay they have been receiving since 2024, plus the additional national minimum wage increase. However, the Government is extending the package to include those working in Family Day Care and In-Home Care services.
Quality standards
Participating services must meet the National Quality Standard by July 2027, or they will either lose the funding package or have it suspended. This builds on reforms to strengthen the safety in early education and care. This comes after shocking findings about the lack of safety and child abuse found within some services, and questionable, fast-tracked qualifications.
Since the introduction of the 2024 wage rise package, the number of services has increased, with 95% currently meeting the standards. However, this means 5% are not, so more work is needed.
The Government cited improvements since the wage package’s introduction in 2024. These include:
- An additional 20,000 more educators (about an 8% rise);
- A decrease in job vacancies by 30%;
- Services using the package have been increasing their fees at about half the rate of those services that are not;
- A reduction of services with staff waivers (to exempt them from having the required educator or qualification numbers) by over 3%; and
- A reduction in the use of casual and agency staff in some services.
Attracting and retaining educators
The Government are hoping these measures will help improve the ability to attract and retain educators, who had previously been leaving the sector in droves due to being underpaid, undervalued, overworked, overwhelmed and burned out. Attrition can create its own spiral, as educators are left to cover extra work within services, and much time is spent finding and training new staff.
High turnover reduces children’s ability to bond with educators. This is essential for quality education.
More support is needed for regional, rural and remote educators
One of the biggest challenges for the sector is the lack of educators in regional, rural and remote areas. A lack of staff and early learning services means they almost all live in ‘childcare deserts’, where three or more families compete for one space.
This has a profound effect on children’s learning, especially for those children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Additionally, it affects parents’ wellbeing, income, and relationships, as well as family businesses. It also means some businesses in these communities cannot operate because staff cannot access early learning services.
A lack of services in communities can mean that other essential workers cannot live and work there. Communities thrive when there is well-staffed, quality early learning.
One of the biggest challenges for educators in these areas is finding affordable accommodation. They may be competing with well-paid mine workers and holiday rentals.
Is this two-year funding package enough?
This is certainly a step in the right direction for the Government, which has promised to improve the system. That said, there are many arguments for them to go further. Allan Kholar, an economist at the ABC, put forward a sound case for nationalising early learning, so that it becomes like our school system. Others argue for universal care, which is three days of free early childhood per week.
Whatever happens, we all need to keep advocating for reforms to improve the wellbeing, status, conditions and pay of our educators. Our children, families, communities and the economy need educators who want to work and stay in the sector.
Associate Professor Marg Rogers works in the Early Childhood Education team at the University of New England and is a Research Fellow with the Manna Institute.