The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has recommended significant pay rises for early childhood educators, as part of a landmark decision to try to fix gender imbalances in low-paid, female-dominated industries.
The FWC expert panel, led by president Justice Adam Hatcher, found rates for more than 150,000 early childhood educators should rise by up to 28.4 per cent to help ensure their work was “free from assumptions based on gender”.
More than 9 in 10 early childhood workers are women, according to the advocacy group The Parenthood. Hourly rates as little as $24 have caused many workers to leave the sector, with some finding higher wages in areas like administration and retail.
“We want our childcare and early learning centres to be attracting talented early education professionals, because that’s what it is – a profession,” said The Parenthood’s Campaign Director Maddy Butler, addressing the new FWC recommendation.
“Too often the work that is usually performed by women is unrecognised and undervalued. It’s 2025 and it’s high time feminised workforces receive respect and proper pay.”
“The Parenthood welcomes a bigger role for government in funding childcare that is affordable and accessible for families, and delivered by fairly-paid and highly-respected educators. It’s an essential service for parents, especially in a cost-of-living crisis where most two-parent families need two incomes to survive.”
The FWC’s pay rise announcement on Wednesday follows last year’s commitment from the federal government to fund a 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood workers over two years. The wage rise is dependent on centres committing to not lift fees by more than 4.4 per cent over 12 months.
Many business groups are concerned the rulings will cause dramatic wage spikes in the early childhood care industry where operators are already struggling with costs. The government’s workplace tribunal has also warned parents will face higher childcare fees unless the federal government commits more money towards the recommended increases.
A government spokesperson told the AFR that if the Albanese government is re-elected, they would “engage positively” with the commission and “manage any changes in a fiscally and economically responsible manner”.
Butler said it was clear the government had a reform agenda for early childhood that takes both wages and fees into account.
“The Government has signalled that a cap on daily fees is part of their agenda should they win a second term, which would mean a much-overdue shake-up of how government funding for childcare and early learning works,” Butler said.
“Parents have no further room to give on out-of-pocket costs, which we hear can be upwards of $50 a day. Australia needs a new funding model that delivers the wages educators should be paid while offering parents affordability relief.”