Grants available to boost regional ECEC workers in WA

The attraction and retention of early childhood education and care (ECEC) employees in Western Australia has been given a boost thanks to a total of $250,000 in grant funding made available as part of the Attraction and Retention Packages for Regional Child Care Workers Program, announced on Early Childhood Educators’ Day.

The program provides grants to local government authorities (LGAs) in regional Western Australia to fund initiatives that support the early childhood education and care workforce.

Up to $25,000 is available to LGAs that work with local ECEC services to deliver initiatives that attract and retain educators to the regions.  

This is the fourth round of funding to be delivered under the program with a total of $781,066 distributed to 23 regional LGAs, and is part of a State Government commitment (made in 2021) to allocate $1 million over four years to support the attraction and retention of ECEC workers in regional WA.

Initiatives supported in the third funding round include:

• $74,654.70 to the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder for the Goldfields Professional Development Program, delivered in partnership with the Shire of Coolgardie and the Shire of Leonora.
• $25,000 for the Shire of Donnybrook-Balingup so they can provide housing support, training opportunities and travel costs.
• $25,000 for the Shire of Denmark to provide housing and travel subsidies for new and existing staff at Gumnuts Occasional Daycare.
• $20,798.05 for the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley to provide subsidised housing and housing allowances. 

Partnerships of more than one LGA may apply for a greater amount of grant funding commensurate with the number of LGAs and regional coverage.

A webinar to provide information to interested grant applicants will be held on Wednesday, 11 September 2024 at 11am.

Interested applicants can RSVP for the session via email to [email protected] by Monday, 9 September 2024. 

Grant applications close at: 2:30pm on 16 October 2024.

Visit the Attraction and Retention Packages for Regional Child Care Workers Program to find out more and apply.