Any pay rise is of course welcome and is the only real fix to the work force shortage. However whilst 15% *sounds* significant, it's coming off a very small base. To work in early childhood and be legally counted towards child to educator ratio, you must hold a minimum of a Cert 3. This would generally take 12 months to complete and the award wage is around $27 per hour. In NSW at least 50% of educators at the service must also hold a Diploma. This takes a further 18-24 months to complete and the award wage is around $32 per hour. So you are looking at roughly 3 years of study just to earn per hour what the average bar worker does, without the need for any study... The service also requires a university qualified bachelor of early childhood teacher. This is the same qualification as a primary school teacher needs to hold, however in the case of a teacher working in a childcare centre vs a primary school, they are more than 10% worse off financially when taking paid school holidays into account(vs an early childhood service open all year). The Director of a service licensed for 60 kids per day earns around $42 per hour.
So all things considered, 15% to an already historically low paid profession is really not all that much when you consider the time needed to obtain qualification, maintaining a valid working with children's check, maintaining current first aid training, and regular professional development. I don't know of any other profession that requires that level of commitment, with as much responsibility that comes with caring for young children, for such low remuneration. The sector has survived for many years due to predominantly females who did it out love for the job, but could also afford to work for low pay because their partner was the main bread winner. Unfortunately those days have long gone. Both partners need to be working and earning a decent wage just to get by now. Love of the job just doesn't cut it anymore.
As I mentioned previously, a lot of the finer detail has not been released by the Government yet with regards to this wage subsidy. Services will face higher payroll tax, workers compensation, and leave entitlement costs. Other than superannuation, the Government hasn't really specified which of these oncosts(if any) they will subsidise. Inflation is a part of a services costs and sure, its beginning to cool, but how can you guarantee the major economic event is not just around the corner? What I am most concerned about with having fees capped is the ability fund any capital works/improvements/repairs etc. This doesn't support a providers attempt to improve the quality of their service and be financially viable. Do they want for profit services to ask their families for fees and then also stick their hand out to fundraise for a new playground for example? What happens if major repairs are needed that are not covered by insurance? If a childcare centre wanted to purchase a bus to provide an additional transport service, or start providing meals, how would they ensure their fees covered the additional expenses? The whole thing has been really, really poorly thought through.
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