CAMPAIGNERS WELCOME PASSAGE OF EARLY EDUCATOR WAGE INCREASE BILL, CALL ON PROVIDERS TO SIGN UP FOR REFORM
27 November 2024 – Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five campaign has welcomed the passage of Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers Bill 2024 and has called on all early learning providers to sign up for the reform.
The law awards eligible early childhood educators with a 15 per cent wage increase over two years, and caps fee increases for families at 4.4 per cent.
Minderoo’s Jay Weatherill said that the passage of the bill was an important and long-overdue step towards recognising the vital role played by early childhood educators in Australian society.
“Early childhood educators have been underpaid and undervalued for too long.
“They deserve to be compensated fairly for the vital work they do, and the passage of this bill is a step towards ensuring that they are.
“Educators are the backbone of the early childhood education and care sector. They make early learning possible.
“They have long advocated for fairer compensation, and they deserve this well-earned wage increase.
“Now all eligible early learning providers across Australia must do their part and sign up for this important reform and help deliver wage increases to their staff.
“The passage of this bill also marks an important step towards building a universal early childhood education and care system in Australia.
“Australia’s children and families will also benefit from this reform by getting the best start to life from a high-quality early education delivered by early educators whose value to our nation is truly recognised.
“We congratulate the Albanese Government and other parliamentarians who helped deliver this historic reform.
“We look forward to working with them towards additional steps that will make early learning more accessible and affordable for Australian families,” Mr Weatherill said.
