Childcare workers move closer to $10,000 pay rise

The looming pay rises for 200,00 childcare workers follow wage increase for labour hire workers.

A typical early childhood educator paid at the award rate will receive a rise of more than $100 per week this year, increasing to more than $150 per week from December 2025.

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Labor will seek to pass legislation through the lower house next week clearing the way for $10,000 pay rises for 200,000 childcare workers, as labour hire workers at two Queensland mines win wage increases under new “same job same pay” laws.

As part of its broader strategy to get wages moving, the government will spend $3.6bn to fund a 15 per cent pay rise over two years, lifting a typical childcare worker’s wage from $54,000 to $64,000, when factoring in the Fair Work Commission’s annual age review outcome.

To access government funding for the pay rises, early childhood education and care services must agree not to increase their fees above a fee constraint for the period they receive funding. The initial fee constraint will be 4.4 per cent in the 12 months to August next year.

The United Workers Union has already struck agreements with providers employing 28,000 workers that ensures a guaranteed pathway for the pay rises – 10 per cent in December and 5 per cent 12 months later.

A typical early childhood educator paid at the award rate will receive a rise of more than $100 per week this year, increasing to more than $150 per week from December 2025.

Education Minister Jason Clare said the childcare debate was over. “It’s not babysitting. It’s early education and it’s critical to preparing children for school,” he said. “A pay rise for every early childhood educator is good for our workforce, good for families and good for our economy.”

The move came as the Fair Work Commission on Friday approved same job, same pay applications covering labour hire workers at the Coppabella and German Creek mines in Queensland.

The Mining and Energy Union said the pay difference between labour hire workers and permanent employees at German Creek could be up to between $45,000 and $55,000.

The MEU said labour hire staff working alongside direct Peabody staff at Coppabella stand to gain as much as $380 a week.

Unions are seeking to win $128m in wage rises for 4300 labour hire mineworkers, with officials predicting the dozens of claims will be “just the start” of their bid to change mining industry employment practices.

Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt said on Friday thousands of labour hire workers across mining, aviation, warehousing and meat processing would get pay rises of up to $30,000 to $40,000 a year once applications were granted under the new laws.

“Now this will be one really big issue at the next federal election because we’ve already seen Peter Dutton and the Coalition say that if they are elected they will unwind the same job, same pay laws,” Senator Watt said. “So what that will mean is that labour hire workers … will go backwards and will lose the gains that they’ve made under the Labor government.”

Business groups want the Coalition to either unravel or at least review the same job, same pay laws if Peter Dutton wins next year’s election.

But opposition employment spokeswoman Michaelia Cash has so far remained noncommittal.

“Minister Watt and the unions continue to run a ridiculous but typical Labor scare campaign based on nothing but their own fantasies,” she said. “The Coalition will release its policies before the election.”

Under agreements between Qantas and the Flight Attendants Association of Australia, hundreds of cabin crew will receive pay rises of up to 28 per cent. The changes will cost Qantas about $60m this financial year.