Educator pay rise welcome, but Australia needs deeper early learning reform

The Parenthood has welcomed the passage of legislation extending the 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood educators and care workers, alongside fee protections for families and stronger safety requirements, but called on the federal government to pursue long-term funding reform.

The Parenthood CEO Georgie Dent said the legislation was an important win for educators, children and parents.

“Early educators do some of the most important work in the country, work that is highly skilled, and they deserve to be paid accordingly,” Ms Dent said.

“By directly funding better wages and requiring participating services to limit fee increases, the federal government has shown it is possible to improve the system without passing the cost on to parents.

“A stable, properly paid workforce is essential to providing children with safe, consistent and high-quality early learning. Requiring services receiving this public funding to meet national safety standards is also a welcome and necessary safeguard.

“This is important progress, but families are still paying too much for a system that does not guarantee every child access to early learning.

“This announcement shows what direct government funding can achieve. It should be a building block towards a universal early learning system that funds services to deliver affordable, high-quality care wherever families live.

“Early learning is economic infrastructure, as essential as roads and energy. We need long-term reform to fund it properly, without top-up legislation plastering over the funding gaps in the system.”

The Parenthood has a mission to make Australia the best place in the world to raise a family. We’re Australia’s largest advocacy organisation representing 86,000 parents and carers. We campaign for the social and community infrastructure that families and our nation need. Early learning that is affordable and good. Parental leave that works. Workplaces that don't push you for having caring responsibilities. Parenthood that is affordable. We advocate for systems, policies and workplaces that make raising children easier, fairer and more achievable for modern families. Because when parents are supported, children flourish and when children flourish, Australia prospers. Supporting families is nation-building in the truest sense. When we invest in families and the social infrastructure that supports them, children, communities, and businesses thrive, and our country benefits.