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

Senator DOLEGA (Tasmania) (12:43): I rise in support of the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026. Early childhood education and care workers do one of the most important and demanding jobs in our country. From Devonport to Smithton, Queenstown to Hobart and everywhere in between, educators and carers are, every single day, helping children grow and prepare for school.

They create safe, inclusive and nurturing environments that support not only children but families and communities across my home state of Tasmania and right across Australia. I was reminded of just how valuable their work is when I joined the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Jess Walsh, and the member for Braddon, Anne Urquhart, at Malangenna Children's Centre in Devonport recently to announce that the Albanese Labor government will invest $4 million to expand and refurbish the Malangenna Children's Centre.

This investment will deliver up to 70 additional places for children and create a modern, fit-for-purpose early learning environment which will help more children and more families get access to quality care and quality early childhood education in Devonport for years to come. The Albanese Labor government's commitment to delivering high-quality, accessible early childhood education and care in north-west Tasmania is also reflected in our support for Lady Gowrie in Latrobe.

Thanks to the tireless advocacy of Anne Urquhart MP and the Latrobe Council, Lady Gowrie Tasmania secured $334,000 through the Community Child Care Fund, ensuring local families continued access to quality early learning and care after the unexpected closure of the previous service. This investment provided immediate and practical support to the community at a critical time.

During my visit to Malangenna, I was struck by the dedication and professionalism of educators and carers. The happiness, confidence and enthusiasm of the children were a testament to the extraordinary work that they do every day. The contribution of early childhood educators cannot be overstated.

They play an incredibly important role in supporting children's development and giving families the confidence that their children are learning, growing and thriving in a safe and nurturing environment. Yet for far too long the pay and conditions of early childhood educators have failed to reflect the value of their work. Too many educators have been leaving the sector not because they no longer love the job but because they could earn more stacking shelves at the local supermarket.

At the same time, families have faced rising fees, and services have struggled to retain experienced staff. In some centres, staff turnover has reached as high as 40 per cent. A turnover rate of 40 per cent is a crisis, and there's no other way to describe it.

Families across north-west Tasmania have experienced firsthand the challenge of finding early childhood education and care places for their children. That's not fair on educators, and it's not fair on families. It's certainly not fair on our children, who deserve the best possible start to life.

However, this has changed thanks to the Albanese Labor government's 15 per cent pay rise, which we delivered two years ago, and it's why this government's Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) (Extending Support and Strengthening Safety) Bill 2026 matters. We're delivering on our commitments made in June to invest $3.6 billion over the next two years to lock in this historic pay rise.

The results of the Albanese Labor government's reforms speak for themselves. The impact of the historic 15 per cent pay rise was immediate. Staff turnovers fell sharply, helping services retain the experienced educators that children and families rely on.

Combined with the Albanese Labor government's support for increases to the minimum wage, a typical full-time educator now earns $255 more per week than they did in December 2024, while early childhood teachers are earning around $410 more per week. More than 215,000 early childhood educators in over 11,600 centres across the country are now benefiting. Job vacancies have fallen by 31 per cent, applications for positions have increased by as much as 30 per cent, and there are now 20,000 more childcare workers doing some of the most important work across Australia: supporting our children and our families.

These are not just statistics; they represent real change for educators, real relief for families and better outcomes for kids. This bill builds on the progress and ensures that gains are not lost. Firstly, it amends the existing act to credit the special account with an extra $3.6 billion.

That's $3.6 billion that is going directly to support the childcare sector. It also extends the sunset date of 30 June 2028 to 31 December 2029, providing more certainty for services, for staff and for families. Secondly, the special account continues to fund the early childhood education and care worker retention payment, which enables providers to deliver higher wages to eligible workers.

Put simply, this is an investment in the people who care for, educate and support our children every day. Thirdly, and importantly, services can only access this funding if they limit fee increases. This safeguard delivers real benefits for children and families.

In the first year of the program, fees at participating centres increased by around half the rate of centres that chose not to participate. Without this legislation, childcare fees could increase by as much as 17 per cent. By keeping costs down, this bill is expected to save the average family around $1,500 over the next two years.

This bill also strengthens the quality and safety standards in the sector. From July 2027, services will be required to meet quality area 2 of the National Quality Standard, which focuses on children's health and safety. Providers that fail to meet this standard risk losing access to funding.

Around 95 per cent of services already meet this standard, but we're aiming for 100 per cent, and we owe it to our parents and to our kids. Finally, this bill includes technical amendments to ensure the workers retention payment grant is available to all providers. This government is delivering real change—real change for childcare educators, real change for families and real change for children.

I am proud to support this bill. I'm proud to be in the same team as this minister, who's working tirelessly for families and for our kids and who wants to see outcomes for families. Thank you.

I commend the bill to the Senate.