Albanese Government delivers pay rises for early educators

The historic agreement to deliver a 15 per cent wage increase for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) workers has been formally signed and lodged today with the Fair Work Commission.

The agreement signed today initially covers at least 12,000 ECEC workers across 60 employers.

This is the very first supported multi-employer agreement signed since the Albanese Government changed Australia’s workplace laws to allow more multi-employer bargaining, especially in undervalued, feminised sectors of the economy.

The previous low paid bargaining stream failed to deliver any agreements. The successful conclusion of this multi-employer agreement covering thousands of ECEC workers shows how important the Albanese Government’s changes to multi-employer bargaining have been.

The Albanese Government is providing $3.6 billion to deliver pay rises, available to up to 200,000 ECEC workers, providing them with important help to deal with cost of living pressures.

The wage increase is tied to a requirement for early childhood education and care services to limit fee increases. We want to make sure workers can be fairly paid without the costs being passed on to families. 

Pay rises of 10 per cent above the award rate will start hitting worker pay packets this month, and a further 5 per cent increase from December 2025.

This means a typical ECEC educator who is paid at the award rate will receive a pay rise of at least $103 per week, increasing to at least $155 per week from December 2025.

For a typical early childhood teacher, they’ll receive an additional $166 a week from December this year, increasing to $249 from December of next year.

Since coming to Government, the early learning workforce has grown by more than 30,000 workers, but we recognise we need more.

This investment from the Albanese Government will help retain our existing early childhood educators, who are predominantly women, and help attract new workers to the sector.

ECEC workers are some of the most important workers in the country and they deserve to be paid properly.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:

“Our early educators do some of the most important work in the country and are some of the most underpaid workers in the country.

“This is about changing that. This pay rise will mean an extra $100 in their pocket every week from this month.

“It will help to encourage more people to stay in the job they love and come back to the job they love.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Murray Watt:

“ECEC workers deserve to be fairly paid and feel properly valued and that’s why the Albanese Government is delivering this much needed pay rise.

“This is another example of the Albanese Government’s efforts to help Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn.

“Importantly, we’re making sure that our early educators are getting fair wages without putting cost of living pressure on families.

“This wage increase will encourage existing ECEC workers to continue in the sector and help to attract even more.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth Anne Aly:

“This is a wonderful outcome for a highly feminised workforce that has for far too long been neglected and taken for granted.

“We’re securing the essential early childhood education workforce that families rely on every day, while keeping out-of-pocket costs low for families.

“Only an Albanese Labor Government will build the universal early childhood education system our children deserve and Australian families need.”

Quotes attributable to National President United Workers Union Jo Schofield:

“This is a fantastic moment for early educators, where they finally see the fruits of their campaign to be recognised for the work they do for families and for children.

“The pay rises will set a new standard in early childhood education and care – there’s no going back.

“Early education gives children their best start in life, and gives families the support they need to return to the workforce. The message for providers in the sector is simple: the easiest, quickest and most reliable way for educators to get their 15 per cent pay rise is for their provider to sign the agreement.”