More than 268,000 Australians will now receive an additional $160 per week as the final instalment of a 15% pay rise for early childhood educators comes into effect. Educators had already received the first 10% of the increase last December, and the remaining 5% is being automatically added from today.

With this full increase, a typical full-time early childhood educator is now earning an extra $200 per week, while an early childhood teacher is receiving an additional $316 per week. Education Minister Jason Clare emphasized that early childhood educators perform some of the nation’s most important work and deserve fair compensation.

Introduced as a cost-of-living relief measure, the $3.6 billion wage boost was passed by Parliament last year to help retain staff and attract new workers to the sector. Early Childhood Education Minister Jess Walsh noted that educators had long been underpaid and undervalued, leading many to leave the profession.

According to the federal government, the pay rise has already had a strong impact, with 15,100 new workers entering the industry, a 14% drop in vacancy rates, and a 9% decrease in staffing waivers over the past year. Major provider Goodstart has also reported a 5% reduction in the need for casual staff and a 70% drop in reliance on labour-hire services.

Minister Clare stated that the wage increase is clearly helping to bring new educators into the sector while also supporting the retention of existing staff.