Victoria’s educators can access scholarships under Best Start, Best Life reforms

More early childhood teachers and educators will be eligible for financial incentives to encourage them to work in kindergarten programs where they’re most needed, as part of the Victorian Government’s landmark Best Start, Best Life early childhood education reforms. 

To announce the $1 million expansion of the Early Childhood Incentives program Victorian Minister for Early Childhood Education and Pre-Prep Ingrid Stitt visited Guardian Childcare & Education in Abbotsford to encourage early childhood teachers and educators to work hard to staff areas of Melbourne and rural/regional Victoria. 

For the first time, qualified early childhood educators will join teachers in being eligible for financial incentives for joining or returning to the sector, as well as those coming from interstate and New Zealand. 

Individual incentives of $9,000 are available for qualified teachers and educators starting their careers, re-joining the sector or relocating to Victoria from interstate or New Zealand. Location incentives of $9,000 are also available for educators willing to relocate to high-priority services across the state to deliver the nation-leading rollout of universal Three-Year-Old Kindergarten. 

There are also existing location incentives of $9,000 to $50,000 for early childhood teachers who take up a role at a high-priority service. On top of these incentives, between $2,000 and $8,000 in relocation support is also available to educators and teachers who are awarded an incentive and are relocating more than 200km to take up a role. 

Along with the scholarships the Victorian Government is supporting more people to become early childhood teachers, with up to 175 extra state government-funded places available in the 2023 intake of Australian Catholic University’s Accelerated Bachelor of Early Childhood Education, as part of the Innovative Initial Teacher Education (IITE) program. 

The program of accelerated study gives diploma-qualified educators the opportunity to complete a bachelor’s degree and become early childhood teachers in 18 months, after receiving recognition of their eligible prior studies and experience. This program, delivered by three universities across Victoria, allows students to continue their studies and paid employment at an early childhood service.

The Early Childhood Jobs site provides a free online platform for the early childhood sector to connect in one place to look for, apply for and advertise jobs and incentives. 

Applications for the next ACU intake are open from August. Find out more here.