Early childhood educators will welcome the announcement of a 15 per cent wage rise, but they are starting from a low starting base. They are currently the 13th lowest-paid workers in Australia.
Will all educators get a wage rise?
While the wage rise is available to all early childhood and outside hours educators, in short, not all educators are guaranteed a rise. These increases are not an improvement in the award wage; rather, they are $3.6 million in grants that will be awarded to early childhood services who agree not to increase their fees by more than 4.4 per cent per year. Previously, increases in Childcare Subsidy rates or the July 1, 2024 tax breaks resulted in hikes in fees by services. While some modest increases were necessary due to the increased costs of running a business, price gouging was reported.
This means that services have to sign up to the grant scheme to pay for the wage increases. If they don’t, educators can move to other services providing an incentive for services to sign up. This might be a challenge for rural and remote towns and communities where there is only one provider.
Will this stem the tide of educators leaving the sector?
Educators will still struggle for another four months in a cost-of-living crisis, with a staged rollout of the increases. On December 1 this year, they will receive a 10 per cent (or about $100 a week) increase and another 5 per cent increase on December 1, 2025.
For many educators, it will be tough to afford to stay in the industry over the next four months during a cost-of-living crisis. Most can only survive on such low wages if they are supported by a partner on a higher wage or by a parent through in-kind funding, such as low-cost accommodation.
Why are they making the announcement now?
There are a few reasons the Government is taking action now.
Firstly, the Final Report from the Productivity Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care is currently with the Government, and the sector is waiting for their response and the release of the findings. The 2023 Interim Report highlighted the need for universal care, that is, free or nearly free access to 15 hours per week of early learning for all children before they start school.
This is seen as the gold standard of education worldwide due to the benefits of early learning, which are part of the Nurturing Care Framework developed by the World Health Organisation, World Bank Group, and UNICEF. This framework outlines the importance of opportunities for early learning as a way to support brain development and the best chance of lifelong learning.
Secondly, the sector is in crisis, with many services having closed or reduced their capacity in the last few years. Additionally, all of regional, rural, and remote Australia and 30 per cent of metropolitan areas (generally lower-income suburbs) are part of the ‘childcare desert’.
This is where three or more families compete for one place, leaving many families choiceless, according to The Parenthood’s report. This has a severe impact on the economy, as parents struggle to access work, and businesses and services are unable to employ workers, mainly mothers.
The Interim Report outlined some of the barriers to achieving universal care, including the major challenge of educators leaving the sector in droves and a failure to attract new educators.
These wage rises will go some way to improving the challenges; however, during high employment levels, many educators have already left and are enjoying higher pay and status elsewhere. When the Aged Care sector previously got a 15 per cent wage rise, some educators went into that sector.
Thirdly, the Fair Work Commission is examining the plight of those in the feminised care industries, such as early education. They have written reports outlining the implications of low pay in early childhood, including high turnover rates. This has major implications for the children’s relationships with educators, which is the hallmark of quality learning. Additionally, it impacts the support given to families as trust and relationships take time to build.
Other issues need to be addressed
While pay and poor status are both linked to burnout in educators, other issues need to be addressed. This includes the highly regulated and overburdened systems in which educators work. Another is the need for support such as peer support and counselling.
In our study into the work and well-being of educators in five countries, including Australia, we found that Australian educators had a much lower rate of job satisfaction than other countries and a much higher rate of unpaid hours. Additionally, in a 2021 survey of educators, those who planned to leave the sector early said the reason was pay, overwork and burnout.
The Government should be congratulated on taking the first step, but there remains much work to be done in such an important sector.