Qualified early childhood educators will soon be enjoying a pay hike under a new funding package announced by the Federal Government.

The new $300 million funding package aimed at bolstering early childhood services and helping the sector attract and retain qualified professionals.

The Early Years Quality Fund will be provided directly to eligible services to supplement a wage increase of $3 per hour for Certificate III qualified educators, while there will be proportionally higher wage increases for diploma and degree qualified educators.

 All Long Day Care centres approved for Child Care Benefit can apply for the funding.

Eligible services must demonstrate a commitment to improve quality outcomes for children, including workforce plans to attract and retain qualified staff.

The number of services that will be assisted under the Fund will be dependent on the size of the services that apply and the number of qualified educators that they have employed.

More information can be found here