Source: Reserve Bank of Australia
15 April 2025
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) wages have substantially improved under the Albanese government. Governments in three states are rolling out three- and four-year-old preschool programs and the introduction of multi-employer bargaining has revolutionised industrial relations.
These advances represent essential first steps to support children, teachers, educators and the sector as a whole. The AEU is addressing unsustainable workloads, further enhancing remuneration and conditions, and securing ongoing federal funding.
Cara Nightingale, Chair, AEU federal early childhood committee
Historic victory
There have been many positive changes in the ECEC sector. The 15 per cent wage increase for early childhood teachers and educators in one of Australia’s lowest paid sectors is a historic victory after many years of seeking wage justice for this feminised and undervalued workforce.
The pay rise goes some way towards achieving wage justice, but we’ll continue campaigning for the full 25 per cent we believe these underpaid workers need and deserve.
Industrial changes have also had a big impact on the sector. The Albanese government’s Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms include multi-employer bargaining, which has enabled us, for the first time, to bring employers to the table to bargain on behalf of members. It’s a very important win for members.
There is more to be done, however, on convincing the government to extend its promise to fund the wage increases for two years. An ongoing funding commitment is crucial to support sustainable wage levels into the future.
For example, we need to see this pay increase rolled out to the entire early childhood workforce. It currently applies to just the employers who have signed on to a Multi-Employer Agreement (MEA), covering some 30,000 teachers and educators. Employers who haven’t signed the MEA instead use Individual Flexibility Arrangements (IFAs) that don’t offer protection for members.
An MEA, a union bargaining agreement, provides protections and accountability measures that an IFA simply doesn’t. We’re finding high levels of non-compliance in IFAs. Plus, an employer can give 13 weeks’ notice to end the IFA, leaving workers at risk of returning to basic award rates.
Professional pay is a non-negotiable issue to recognise the importance of the work. However, members are telling us it’s just one piece of the puzzle. The second piece is addressing the crippling workload that’s associated with the job. Plus, we need funding to support new teachers and educators to thrive with professional development and mentors to help improve retention at a time of severe workforce shortage.
An overhaul of the funding system for early childhood and care is overdue to ensure appropriate levels of support and resources for vulnerable children and those with a disability or additional needs. Extra funding to build new centres in rural, regional and remote areas is also required to alleviate early childhood and care deserts.
The federal government must also prioritise universal access to quality preschool delivered by qualified teachers and educators for three- and four-year-olds across the country, a move already made by state governments in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.
The government’s Commonwealth Prac Payment for students undertaking mandatory placements, which will begin in July this year, will provide valuable financial assistance for students as they do their practicum placements.
The government is also providing scholarships for teaching students and Fee-Free TAFE courses.
Overall, the early childhood and care sector has seen substantial progress during the term of the Albanese government but there’s more to be done to build on those gains.
Georgie Dent, CEO, The Parenthood
Welcome changes
Over the past few years, early childhood education and care has been elevated as key to educational, social and economic policy.
One of the reasons for that shift is that we elected a federal government in May 2022, which said this policy mattered to it.
We have seen increased understanding of the importance of ECEC in the development and wellbeing of children, in addition to the economic reform it provides by enabling parents, particularly mums, to participate in the workforce.
Growing support for women’s rights and gender equity have also helped propel the issue.
There is a gender component to this because we know that when families can’t access or afford early childhood education and care, it tends to be women’s employment, their financial security and their safety that can be undermined.
The 15 per cent wage rise for teachers and educators also represents a win for women, who dominate the early childhood education and care workforce. They have been significantly underpaid compared to similar jobs with similar levels of qualification. Having that identified and rectified has had a substantial effect on teachers and educators and on their ability to achieve financial security. Having better paid teachers and educators is crucial to the quality of early education and care and to luring back some of the many who have left the sector in recent years.
We would like to see a commitment of access to at least three days a week of high quality, inclusive, early education and care – free for lower income families and a low-set fee for others – to every child in Australia.
Part of that means recognising the parts of the country where there is no provision of services. We need an investment and policy response to ensure that families who live in childcare deserts can access the early learning and care that their children need.
We want to see proper funding to ensure inclusion. Around one in 20 children using early education and care are accessing the inclusion support program, whereas in primary schools, around one in five children have an identified need for additional support. There are too many children and families being turned away from services because they’re not adequately funded.