Childcare educator pay in Australia: what the Children's Services Award sets

The Children's Services Award covers employers throughout Australia in the children's services and early childhood education industry and their employees in the classifications in Schedule B. The award defines the industry to include long day care, occasional care, nurseries, childcare centres, family based childcare, out-of-school hours care, vacation care, kindergartens and preschools. It does not cover employees who are covered by the Educational Services (Teachers) Award, which is why early childhood teachers are generally paid under a different instrument, and it does not cover employees covered by an enterprise award or an enterprise instrument, or by a state reference public sector award. If an employer is covered by more than one award, the award classification most appropriate to the work and environment applies. The Fair Work Ombudsman can confirm which award covers a particular job.

From the first full pay period on or after 1 March 2026 the Fair Work Commission's pay equity decision for the care and community sector took effect for children's services. It merged the old classifications and 36 minimum rates into eight Children's Services Employee levels, raised minimum rates, and moved cooks who must hold an approved early childhood qualification and may work on the floor into the children's services category. The rates in the table above are the ones the award shows as varied from the first pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Pay guides written before 2026 use the old levels, so do not compare them with the levels here without the Schedule I translation table.

The award defines each level by the work and the qualification. Level 1, the introductory educator, has less than 12 months of experience as a Children's Services Employee, and level 2 is an educator with at least 12 months. Level 3, the qualified educator, holds an approved certificate III level qualification. Level 4, the experienced educator, holds a certificate III and has four years of post-qualification experience at level 3. Level 5, the advanced educator, holds a diploma level qualification or an equivalent approved qualification for out-of-school hours care. Level 6 is a room leader, level 7 an assistant director or coordinator with an AQF level 5 or 6 qualification or equivalent, and level 8 a director. Employers classify each person by skills, responsibilities, qualifications, experience and duties, so ask which level a role carries before you accept it.

The table shows ordinary-hours minimums. Casual employees receive a 25% loading, and overtime is paid at 150% for the first two hours and 200% after that, or 175% and 225% for casuals. All time worked on a Sunday is double time, all time worked on a public holiday is double time and a half, and work on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday carries a minimum payment of four hours. Shiftworkers receive loadings of 10% for an early morning shift, 15% for an afternoon shift and 17.5% or 30% for night shifts. An employee responsible for preparing, implementing or evaluating a developmental program is entitled to at least two hours a week of non-contact time, and the award lists allowances, including a first aid allowance and an educational leader allowance, in clause 15. Superannuation is paid on top of these rates. The super guarantee rate is 12% of ordinary time earnings from 1 July 2025 (Australian Taxation Office: Super guarantee). Fair Work award MA000120, read 6 October 2026.

Junior employees at level 1 or level 2 are paid no less than set percentages of the level 2 educator rate: 70% under 17, 80% under 18 and 90% under 19. Apprentices are paid no less than an unapprenticed junior of the same age, and the award sets apprentice percentages of the level 3 rate by year. Support staff, including those who help a qualified cook or do laundry, cleaning, gardening, driving and administrative work, are paid under the separate support worker table above. Trainees and apprentices may also be covered by other instruments, so check the contract and Fair Work.

They are award minimums for full-time employees, not averages or offers. An employer can pay more, and many larger providers use an enterprise agreement that must leave educators better off overall than the award. Early childhood teachers are generally covered by the Educational Services (Teachers) Award, not this one. Rates are reviewed each year, and the Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay Calculator shows the current rate for a particular shift. CrossNation does not promise pay, roles or visas, and a listing is not a job offer.