An email from my children’s daycare centre arrived yesterday, shedding light on a new policy introduced by the Australian Government aimed at boosting pay for early childhood educators. The message from the daycare center stated:
“Recently, the Australian Government introduced the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Worker Retention Payment Program to support the retention of educators in the sector. While this program provides funding for increasing staff wages, it comes with strict requirements and limited flexibility that may not suit all services. After careful review, we have decided that this program is not the right fit for our centre at this time.”
The email also mentioned that, despite not participating in the government program, the centre had decided to give all educators a 10 percent pay rise on their award wages. However, in order to cover additional costs and ensure long-term sustainability, the daycare will increase its fees by 4.4 percent starting in January 2025.
This will be the third fee hike since my first child started attending the daycare in 2022. While this increase is relatively modest compared to others, it highlights a major issue with the Albanese government’s policy—one that, despite its good intentions, seems to fall short of addressing the broader challenges in the sector.
To recap, the government’s plan aims to provide a 15 percent wage increase for early childhood educators over two years, with a 10 percent increase scheduled for December 2024 and another 5 percent in December 2025. To prevent childcare centres from passing excessive costs onto parents, the government has stipulated that centres receiving funding must not raise their fees by more than 4.4 percent annually, and that the funds must be directed toward increasing educator wages.
However, for many privately run centres, this approach simply may not be practical or worthwhile.
In Australia, the majority of childcare centres are privately owned businesses. Like any business in high demand, these centres often raise their fees to cover rising costs. While I understand this from a business perspective, it’s clear that the government’s policy doesn’t fully address the complex financial realities these centres face.
The daycare my children attend is exceptional—its educators are outstanding, and the resources provided are top-notch. Every day, I drop off my two-year-old and four-year-old with peace of mind, knowing they are in a safe, nurturing environment where they can thrive.
I’ve often written about my deep appreciation for early childhood educators and their unwavering commitment to the children in their care. The 15 percent pay rise is long overdue, but I believe educators deserve even more for the vital work they do.
I am grateful that the daycare my children attend is not as aggressive in raising fees as other centres. They have committed to paying their staff more, and the 4.4 percent fee increase aligns with the government’s guidelines. However, they are also entitled to raise fees by another 4.4 percent in six months, and who could blame them?
In our small regional town in New South Wales, there are only two childcare centres, both at full capacity. Most parents, myself included, have no choice but to accept these rising costs, as alternative options simply don’t exist.
While it’s easy to criticize childcare centres for their fee increases, it’s clear they are simply responding to the financial pressures of the system. Until the government shifts toward a universally accessible early childhood education system, these challenges are unlikely to change.
This may be a realization the government will come to soon, if they haven’t already.
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