Early childhood educators get an increase in pay, but who missed out?

The Federal Government has announced a wage increase for early childcare educators across Australia. 

The Government said it is hoped the 15 per cent wage increase will address staffing shortages. 

The wage boost will be implemented over a two-year period. A 10 per cent increase commencing this December and a further five per cent in December 2025. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 92 per cent of early childcare workers are women. 

Early Childhood Education Minister Anne Aly said the pay increase will significantly benefit the industry as the “highly feminised workforce has been long neglected and taken for granted.”

Childcare centres that want access to the funding are tied to a commitment not to raise their fees by more than 4.4 per cent over the next year. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the wage increase and price cap would make childcare available to more parents. 

He said: “Early educators shape lives and change lives. We can never thank them enough for what they do but we can make sure they are properly valued and fairly paid.”

While childcare centres have welcomed the pay rise, Adriana Xavier, an education assistant who works at St. Columba’s Primary in Bayswater, said: “Why should only early childhood educators get the pay increase when we all deserve one.”

Miss Xavier said there was a distinct shortage of EAs in the education department and added: “Our job is just as challenging as theirs … we work just as hard and go through our own challenges, just as early childhood educators would too.”

A representative for the Education Minister Jason Clare said: “Typical early educators paid at the award rate, would receive a pay rise of at least $103 per week in December this year, increasing to a minimum of $155 per week from next year. That’s around $7800 a year.” 

The representative said it’s about respect and the fact that early educators have been asking for these benefits for decades.

Mr Clare said in a speech on September 12: “The Productivity Commission told us if we want a universal early education system which makes early education and care affordable and available for more families, the first thing that we need to do is this.”

Elley Willis is an early childcare educator who leads children at Little Buckets in Warwick. She will reap the benefits of the Governments’ incentive this December.

Miss Willis conveyed her gratitude for being recognised for the hard work of early childcare educators, saying:“It means a lot … we are known for not having good wages, so it feels nice to be recognised.”

She said there were big celebrations at her workplace when the Government launched its plans. 

“My boss told us the good news and she was jumping around. There were a lot of smiles on that day.” 

She added that parents of the centre also extended their congratulations to the staff who are the carers of their children. 

Miss Willis said she hopes this is the first step for more people who work with children to be acknowledged in the future.