Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026
Senator STEWART (Victoria) (12:02): I rise to speak in support of the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026. As a mother, and as a family therapist, I know that the early years of a child's life matter enormously. These are the years when children build relationships.
They build confidence and curiosity and the foundation that really sets them up for the rest of their lives. That is why early educators do some of the most important work in this nation. Early childhood educators help children learn.
They support families and give parents the confidence to work. Yet, for too long, these skilled workers have been underpaid and undervalued. Almost two years ago, the Albanese Labor government began delivering a 15 per cent wage increase through the worker retention payment: 10 per cent from December 2024 and a further five per cent from December 2025.
More than 215,000 educators at more than 11,600 services now benefit. Job vacancies are down 31 per cent, and there are 20,000 more workers in the sector. That is an excellent outcome.
This builds on the success that we've already seen. It credits over $3½ billion to the special account so grants can continue supporting higher wages through to 30 June 2028, and it extends the act's sunset date to 31 December 2029 so the program can be administered and finalised. For the first time, all childcare subsidy approved service types can be eligible if they meet grant requirements, including family day care and in-home care services that employ their educators.
Providers must engage workers under a compliant workplace instrument and pass the funding through higher wages. When we value early educators properly everybody benefits. Fairer pay helps attract and retain experienced educators, while children, parents and families benefit from a more stable workforce.
As we have consistently said on this side of the chamber, early education is not babysitting. It is education. It is one of the most important investments that we can make in our children and in our families.
My sister is a kindergarten teacher. She has dedicated her career to early childhood education and supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander professionals in the sector as well. In fact, my sister was the kinder teacher for my now 10-year-old son, which is very, very sweet.
She chose to do this work to make a difference and help our kids to see themselves represented and to know that they belong. For First Nations communities, this means culturally safe, high-quality early learning and a stronger workforce for First Nations educators. For First Nations educators and kids, this is not a period in time in which you have something to do with this little person's life.
It is often just the start of a lifelong connection to that young person. I know that for both my sons, who went to an Aboriginal early years' centre, the women and the men in the early years centre will be people that they know for the rest of their lives and will be people they call aunty and uncle for the rest of their lives. Importantly, this bill isn't just about wages.
It's also about quality and safety. The bill allows the Secretary of the Department of Education to impose funding conditions, requiring providers to meet quality area 2, children's health and safety, under the National Quality Standard from July 2027. Services that are not rated as meeting quality area 2 may have funding reduced or suspended.
Parents need to be able to trust that their children are safe and they are receiving a quality education. I think that has certainly been at the top of lots of parents' minds in the recent months. The program extension also retains a cap on fee growth so that government funding for higher wages is not simply passed on to families through excessive fee increases.
I think that's a really important safeguard for families. At its heart, this bill reflects a simple Labor value. If you do important work, you deserve a fair pay.
Few jobs are more important than helping educate and care for Australia's littlest people. Early educators shape lives. They deserve fair wages, decent conditions and recognition as the professionals that they are.
We've seen some really horrible conversations happening amongst members of the crossbench about the role that early educators have and the skills that they bring to the sector. They should never ever be diminished. I believe early educators, as I've said, do believe one of the most important jobs in our nation—setting our kids up for the very best life ahead.
For kids who have had a tough life or might be having a tough time at home, often an early years' service is a place where they go to get some safety, some security, some consistency in relationship and connection. That does really help shape them and offer a bit of a buffer for what they might have happening at home. Our early educators do have the skills to help that family and to help that child, and I think it's really important that that is also acknowledged.
Early educators carry a lot of responsibility. It's not just educating little people; it is supporting the family. In the case of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander early educators, it's often doing the community work too, outside of that.
As such, they do absolutely deserve fair wages. They do deserve decent conditions and recognition as the professionals that they are. This bill delivers exactly that, and I am immensely proud to commend this bill to the Senate.