From 1 July 2023, childcare workers on minimum Award wages will get a 5.75% pay rise. 

BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE

JUNE 5, 2023

Childcare workers love what they do, but this doesn’t mean they should do it for love alone.

Job satisfaction, career commitment and the ability to pay for a reasonable standard of living all stems from a fair pay packet; and although some childcare providers choose to pay above Award wages, the Fair Work Commission has made a decision to increase all Award minimum wage rates.

The Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review decision gives workers a pay rise of 5.75% in minimum wages from 1 July 2023, and this decision will make a difference to the incomes of many people working in the education and care sector.

Those working for minimum Award wages under the Children’s Services Award 2010 and Educational Services (Teachers Award) 2020 will get the 5.75% increase from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2023, meaning a person who is paid on a Monday, will get their bigger pay packet from Monday, 3 July 2023.

A lot of different staff and services are governed by these Awards.

The Children’s Services Award 2010 covers childcare workers, room leaders, co-ordinators, assistant directors and directors, as well as support staff, like childcare chefs, cleaners and administrators.

These people work tirelessly in settings including long day care, kindergartens and preschools, occasional care, out of school hours care, vacation care, in-home care, nurseries and childcare centres, and you can read more about who’s covered by the Award here.

Meanwhile, the Educational Services (Teachers Award) 2020 includes qualified preschool and early childhood teachers, and teachers appointed as Directors in the children’s services and early childhood education industries, and there’s a wrap-up of the Award here, which also applies to teachers at primary and secondary schools.

Money-wise, the 5.75% increase means different things for different workers.

The Awards contain a whole range of pay levels and rates – which you can delve into here and here – and to see what the wage increase equates to in dollars and cents, you just need to add 5.75% to the minimum wage rates in these Awards.

As a guide, though, a Certificate 3 qualified educator who’s currently on a minimum hourly rate of $24.76, or a minimum weekly rate of $940.90, will receive approximately $26.18 per hour, or $995 per week, from 1 July 2023.

All in all, the decision to increase the minimum Award wage rates is welcome, even if the gains are modest.

The changes won’t benefit everyone, and if someone is already being paid above Award, they won’t get the 5.75% increase.

However, Fair Work Australia’s annual wage review decision is good news for many of the amazing people who look after our children – the majority of whom are women – and any upwards movement in early learning pay is good for them and good for us.

Because although pay rises don’t necessarily buy happiness, they do show employees that they are valued, and make it more likely they they’ll stay in the role and in the sector going forward.