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Home/Grants/Australia/Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Worker Retention Payment
AUAustralia·Australia·Grant

Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Worker Retention Payment

Administered by Australian Government - Department of Industry

Australian GovernmentBusiness SupportAustralia

About this grant

This program provides worker retention payments to ECEC service providers to help increase their workers' wages.

Key facts

Funding amount$1 – $1.0M (non-repayable)
Deadline
Grant typeOpen
Funding typeGrant
CountryAustralia
RegionAustralia
Funding bodyAustralian Government - Department of Industry
IndustriesGeneral

Eligibility requirements

All of the following criteria must be met:

  • Early child education and care providers.
  • Overview
  • Funding is available from the government to help ECEC services increase their workers wages.
  • The payment will run for 2 years, from 2 December 2024 to 30 November 2026.
  • Through the worker retention payment, the government intends for all participating providers to receive funding to cover:
  • a 10% wage increase for all eligible staff in the first year
  • an additional 5% wage increase for all eligible staff in the second year
  • a minimum of an additional 20% funding to contribute towards eligible on-costs (calculated against your base funding).
  • Check if you can apply
  • To be eligible for the payment, providers must:
  • be approved for Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
  • operate Centre Based Day Care (CBDC) or Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) services
  • engage workers through a workplace instrument that meets the grant conditions
  • limit fee growth by a set percentage from August 2024
  • agree to pass funding on to all eligible workers though increased wages.
  • Apply now
  • Apply for the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Worker Retention Payment
  • Find out more about your eligibility and how to apply.
  • Learn how to apply
  • Contact information
  • Phone:
  • 1300 667 276
  • Email:
  • ccshelpdesk@education.gov.au
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What the funding covers

  • Worker retention payments.

How to apply

  1. 1Visit https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/early-childhood-education-and-care-ecec-worker-retention-payment for application details

Application tips

Apply on official website

Grant details are sourced from official public databases and reviewed weekly. Eligibility criteria, funding amounts, and deadlines may change without notice. Always confirm details on the Australian Government - Department of Industry website before applying.

FUNDING AMOUNT$1 – $1.0MNon-repayable grant
DEADLINE
GRANT TYPEOpen
COUNTRYAUAustralia
REGIONAustralia
INDUSTRIES
General
Apply on official website
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