Renewal of the wage subsidy great news for educators, children, families and gender equity

The renewal of the Australian Government’s 15% early learning wage subsidy marks a significant step forward for the sector, recognising the essential role educators play in supporting children’s learning and development. 

For Goodstart Early Learning, Australia’s largest not-for-profit provider, the subsidy is an opportunity to strengthen its workforce, improve retention and deliver greater stability for children and families.

Turning reform into real impact

The renewal of funding for the 15% wage subsidy is great news for Australia’s 200,000 educators and for the one million families who rely on them to care for and educate their children.

Goodstart CEO Dr Ros Baxter said the extension of the funding is a positive outcome for both educators and families.

Dr Baxter said the extension would also help address long-standing workforce challenges.

“Over the past two years, the 15% wage subsidy had transformed Australia’s early childhood sector, with educator vacancies half what they were before the subsidy.”

Strengthening workforce stability

Workforce stability remains a key priority for the sector, with consistent relationships playing a critical role in children’s early learning and wellbeing.

“Children are the biggest winners from the subsidy as keeping our highly trained educators ensures that they can build stable relationships with the children they care for – that relationship is the foundation of all high quality early learning,” Dr Baxter said.

Dr Baxter added that improvements in workforce stability are already flowing through to quality outcomes.

“Since the subsidy began there’s been a big drop in the sector asking for staffing waivers from the National Quality Standard. Linking funding to ensuring centres are meeting the quality standard will further strengthen quality across the sector.”

At Goodstart, this has translated into more consistent educator teams.

“For Goodstart it has meant we’ve been able to reduce our reliance on agency and casual staff, and that means children can build strong relationships with their educators. This drives better educational outcomes.”

A voice from the sector

For educators, the impact of the wage increase is both immediate and meaningful.

Elizabeth La’Forgue, a Goodstart educator of 21 years, shared her perspective during a recent visit from the Prime Minister.

“I’m happy about the 15 per cent pay rise. This is good for our families as well as for the educators.

“Consistency of educators is important for children. If they see the same face every day, they’re very happy.”

Supporting a stronger future

The subsidy also represents progress toward broader structural change across the sector.

“This is also an important win for gender pay equality as the early childhood workforce is 96% female. Last year the Fair Work Commission ruled that educators have been historically underpaid,” Dr Baxter said.

“Our teachers are now paid wages comparable to schools, which is fair as they have comparable qualifications.”

Dr Baxter also acknowledged the role of advocacy in achieving this outcome.

“I also acknowledge the importance of the ongoing campaign by the United Workers Union for fair wages for educators, a campaign Goodstart has supported for over a decade.”

Looking ahead

While the wage subsidy is an important milestone, Goodstart remains focused on ensuring the benefits translate into lasting outcomes for educators, children and families.

“This is an important day for our sector, and we look forward to working through the details with the Federal Government, the union and our sector colleagues over coming months,” Dr Baxter said.

By strengthening workforce stability and investing in educators, Goodstart is helping to build a more sustainable future for early learning.

To learn more about a career at Goodstart Early Learning, click here.