Innovation Grants now open to support ECEC services to trial staff retention measures

Freya Lucas

May 21, 2021

Save

The Victorian State Government has made a range of innovation grants available to support early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to trial new and innovative place-based solutions for improving early childhood teacher retention rates in their organisations.

Organisations who provide an approved ECEC service in Victoria can apply if they deliver a Victorian-funded kindergarten program, and have at least one early childhood teacher in the first five years of their career employed in a teaching role at the service (not including casual relief teachers).

Grants between $5,000 and $30,000 are available for initiatives that:

improve early childhood teacher retention in the workforce
increase sector engagement and partnerships in the development of workforce solutions
increase the capacity of the early childhood sector to respond to workforce retention issues.

Consortium applications are welcome to allow applicants to combine their capacity, specialist capability and expertise to deliver the Innovation Grant’s desired outcomes. Consortia may include partnerships with non-ECEC services, if an approved provider of a Victorian ECEC service that meets all the eligibility criteria is nominated as the lead organisation.

To learn more, visit the 2021 early childhood teacher supports webpage. Applications for the Innovation Grants close 2pm on Monday 21 June 2021.

Don’t miss a thing

Childcare centres may have clear rules for staff numbers, but there are loopholes to get around them

There is a growing number of “serious incidents” in Australian early childhood services, including day cares.

What Can Australia Learn from Ontario’s Child Care Ratios?

As workforce pressures continue to shape early childhood education and care (ECEC) policy discussions in Australia, international comparisons provide useful perspectives. Canada’s approach, particularly in Ontario, offers a case study in how educator-to-child ratios, maximum group sizes and qualification requirements can be legislated as an integrated framework.

Burnout in early childhood education: Why leadership support is the missing lever

Early childhood educators have one of the most important jobs in Australia. We trust them to keep our kids safe, to educate them in their most formative years, and to care for them when we can’t do it ourselves. And far too often, educators are doing it all on empty.

Workforce planning in ECEC: from compliance requirement to strategic advantage

With workforce pressures continuing across early childhood education and care (ECEC), a structured approach to workforce planning is emerging as a critical leadership tool, not simply an administrative exercise.

National Early Childhood Worker Register: commencing 27 February 2026

The introduction of the National Early Childhood Worker Register from the 27 February, has signalled a significant shift in workforce oversight across early childhood education and care (ECEC).