Australian Industry Group has been awarded an Australian Government grant to assist eligible Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) providers access funding under the ECEC Worker Retention Payment Program.
The Australian Government will fund a wage increase for early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce through a worker retention payment.
The payment will run for two years and will support a wage increase of 15% for the ECEC workforce.
Providers can apply for the payment through the Australian Government Department of Education website: Home Page – Department of Education.
Providers can apply at any time before 30 September 2026. See the Department’s guide on how to apply for the worker retention payment: How to apply for the worker retention payment – Department of Education, Australian Government
Providers must also meet the eligibility criteria and comply with the conditions to receive the grant payment.
One such requirement is that providers must engage workers through a workplace instrument that meets the grant conditions. A workplace instrument is a legally enforceable document that sets out the terms and conditions of employment.
Examples of workplace instruments include:
For more information about the types of workplace instruments providers may use, see: Workplace instruments, awards and supported bargaining – Department of Education, Australian Government.
For a summary of the grant guidelines, visit: Early childhood wages – Department of Education, Australian Government.
Providers wishing to apply for the grant should also read the full Early Childhood Education and Care Worker Retention Payment Grant Opportunity Guidelines.
Australian Industry Group has received funding from the Australian Government to provide free support to providers to engage with, apply for and meet the conditions of the worker retention payment.
The briefing sessions will address topics related to:
These factsheets are free to download:
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