Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026

Ms BYRNES (Cunningham) (13:27): I am pleased to rise today in support of the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026. Our early childhood educators do an incredible job across our communities. The Albanese Labor government values early childhood educators because we know the difference that they make for children, for families and for communities.

It's one of the most important roles in the country, and they deserve to be paid accordingly. That's what this bill is about—backing educators, backing safer and more affordable services and backing local families. Early childhood educators nurture children's curiosity, encourage a love of learning and build the confidence and social skills that carry them through school and beyond.

If we want to attract qualified, skilled educators who love to teach, then their pay must reflect the responsibility and the hard work involved. That's what is at the heart of this bill—securing fair pay with a 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood education and care workers for another two years. This is a $3.6 billion commitment to 31 December 2029, and, when combined with the government's support for minimum wage rises, it means around $410 more per week for early childhood teachers compared to December 2024, when the government first implemented the pay rise.

Limiting the turnover of staff is particularly critical for early learning centres. Not only does staff stability create the kind of consistent environments children need to form strong relationships that help them learn and thrive; it is also essential for keeping them safe. Retaining workers and creating stable workplaces means that, when something isn't right, it's more likely to be picked up sooner.

And we have, tragically, seen what can happen when unstable environments allow serious risks to go unnoticed and unreported. That's why this pay rise is funded through the worker retention payment grant to early childhood education and care providers. In my electorate, there are around 900 workers receiving the worker retention payment across 75 local services.

That's 900— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Dr Garland ): This debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43. The debate may be resumed at a later hour. The member will have leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed.