Source: Murray Darling Basin Authority
The Albanese Government is strengthening the early childhood education sector by upskilling workers through a new round of paid prac subsidy and professional development opportunities.
Applications open today for the next round of the Professional Development Subsidy, Paid Practicum Subsidy and the Practicum Exchange Living Allowance grants.
Professional development not only helps early educators build skills and knowledge but also contributes to safe, high-quality education and care.
The Professional Development Subsidy enables positions to be backfilled while early childhood educators, teachers and centre directors undertake professional development opportunities, or allows staff to be paid for undertaking these opportunities outside of work hours.
Professional development opportunities can include highly recommended training, such as additional child safety and quality training, inclusion training and/or leadership training, and mandatory training such as First Aid and/or CPR training.
The Paid Practicum Subsidy helps early learning providers to give existing educators paid leave while they undertake the practicum placements required to complete their early childhood education and care qualifications.
The Paid Practicum Subsidy is available for educators undertaking a Diploma of Early Childhood Education or relevant Early Childhood Teaching qualifications, including post-graduate Early Childhood Teaching qualifications.
To assist with living and travel costs while educators undertake a practicum placement in a rural or remote area organised via the Practicum Exchange Network, applications will also open for the Practicum Exchange Living Allowance.
The subsidies and Practicum Exchange Living Allowance are part of the Government’s $72.4 million Early Childhood Education Workforce Package, introduced in 2023 to support the training and development of the Early Childhood Education and Care workforce.
Over the past two years, the Government has supported approximately 2,850 student educators through the paid practicum subsidy and more than 86,000 educators have benefited from the professional development subsidy.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth, Senator Dr Jess Walsh:
“I want to ensure that children have a positive, rewarding and safe early education experience so they get the best possible start in life.
“These grants help to build and retain our existing highly skilled early learning workforce.
“Creating a stable workforce also paves the way for our plans to continue expanding access to quality early education, starting with our 3 Day Guarantee that comes in from January next year.”