Albanese government extends childcare wage subsidy with $3.6b injection
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The news: The Albanese government said it will extend its childcare wage subsidy for two years, spending another $3.6 billion to lock in a 15% pay rise for early educators that was due to expire this year.
The context: Funding for the original two-year deal, announced ahead of the 2025 election, was set to expire in November.
Sixty-thousand workers were facing pay cuts of 5 to 6%, according to the United Workers Union, which had been reportedly threatening to strike next month if the subsidy wasn’t extended. According to Nine newspapers, more than 20,000 educators from 1000 centres were planning to walk off the job on 15 July.
Funding will be tied to providers limiting fee increases and meeting the National Quality Standard from mid-2027, the office of the prime minister said.
What they said: “Only child care centres who agree to limit their fees for parents will be eligible to receive funding for this wage increase for workers,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.
Education minister Jason Clare said: “Our early educators deserve every cent they get and this funding locks their pay rise in. The payment has worked to bring more people into the early education workforce and to keep costs down for families.
“Turns out if you pay people more, more people want to do the job.”
The sources: Office of the Prime Minister statement, Sydney Morning Herald
