QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE › Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) Bill 2024
Senator TYRRELL (Tasmania—Independent TAS Whip) (14:33): My question is for Senator Watt, representing the Minister for Education, regarding the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers (Special Account) Bill 2024. If passed, there will be a wage increase for childcare professionals through a worker retention payment with a wage increase above the modern award rates over two years. Providers opt in by applying for the payment. The cut-off for application falls at the end of this month. Not every childcare centre will be applying for this grant, for a variety of reasons, but I'd like to know how many of the country's almost 9,000 childcare centres have so far applied for this grant.