Frequently Asked Questions

Early Childhood Education and Care Worker Retention Payment Grant
Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Worker Retention Payment?

The worker retention payment is a 2-year grant from the government to help increase employees’ wages in ECEC and OSHC services up to 15% (10% in the first year and 15% in the second). Providers must apply for the grant. Employees do not have to be paid under the Children’s Services Award to be eligible.

The worker retention payment is an interim measure while the Fair Work Commission finalises and implements changes to the Children’s Services Award (and other awards) following the findings of gender-based undervaluation. The Fair Work decision, published on the 16th April, indicates that all classifications and levels will increase, some as high as 23%, over the coming years. This increase is in addition to the annual wage review decision so the actual increases over this time are likely to be much higher.

What period does the Worker Retention Payment Grant run?

2 years - from 2 December 2024 to 30 November 2026

Where can I find all the correct pay tables?

The NOSHSA website houses the current wage rates including the WRP for the

Children’s Services Award

Educational Services (Schools) General Staff Award and

Queensland P & C Association Award.

What is gender undervaluation?

On 16th April 2025, the Fair Work Commission found that the Children’s Services Award, along with a number of other awards that are female dominated, has historically been undervalued and underpaid due to gender.
The ECEC workforce is 90% female.
The decision means there will be changes to the Award to better reflect the true value of this work.
Provisional findings discuss across-the-board incremental wage and a restructure/simplification of the wage classifications. Some classifications will increase as high as 27%.
The provisional findings discuss staged increases over 5 years.
The Union has indicated it will pursue similar increases for ECEC educators paid under other awards.

Our employees don’t get paid under the Children’s Services Award?

OSHC employees in CCS approved services are eligible if they are doing similar work to those employed under the Children's Services Award, even if employed under a different award or enterprise agreement (EA). As long as the award or EA has a provision for using an Individual Flexibility Arrangement (IFA), you can use this tool to pay the staff the worker retention payment. NOSHSA can assist you – you just need to contact us!

We don’t have an EA to use as a ‘workplace instrument’?

The easiest way for OSHC services to implement the wage increase is through an Individual Flexibility Arrangement (IFA) as the workplace instrument. You don’t need to be under an EA or develop an EA. An IFA is a written agreement between the employer and each employee to pay the higher wages. NOSHSA has an IFA template which can be used immediately with all employees as the compliant workplace instrument for the grant purposes.

Already paid above the award?

You can still get a funded increase on top of your current above award rate. However, you cannot use the grant money to fund your existing above award rate commitments.

Why was I told my CRN is wrong?

The provider has one unique CRN. It is different to the service CRNs. A CRN is 9 numbers and ends with a letter. For example, 123456789A.

Find your provider CRN:

on the top left of your CCS approval letter
in the CCS System via the PEP or your third-party software.

Find your provider CRN:

on the top left of your CCS approval letter
in the CCS System via the PEP or your third-party software.

What oncosts are included in the Worker Retention Payment?

The Grant guidelines specify the following wage oncosts to be paid from the grant money”

Superannuation
Workcover
Payroll tax
Leave loading
Accrued leave liabilities (a single payment)

Will employees be back paid to 2 December 2024?

If the Grant application was submitted before 30 September 2025, employees will be back paid to 2 Dec 2024 (or their commencement date) if they signed an IFA or are covered by an eligible workplace instrument. If the Grant application was submitted after 30 September 2025, WRP is payable (once approved) from the later of the date the grant application was submitted or the date the IFA was signed.

The WRP Rate increased from 10% to 15% on 1 December 2025. Does the 5% increase start on 1 December 2025 or the first full pay after 1 December?

The 1st December date is not treated like the annual wage review (which uses “the first full pay period’). You must start paying the 15% rate on Monday 1st December, even if this falls mid-pay cycle. To avoid duplicating wage codes during the transition, two approaches work:

1. Split the fortnight into two – 1 week pay periods

Pay Monday 24 Nov – Sunday 30 Nov at 10%

Then change the WRP Rate and process Mon 1 Dec- Sunday 7th Dec at 15% OR

2. Process the full fortnight at the 10% and then run a backpay for the 1 Dec week, before updating the wage categories to 15% for the next full pay period beginning 8th December 2025.

The same premise applies to backpay commencing from 2 December 2024 - the backpay must be applied from that date, not the first full pay period after it.

Does Worker Retention Payment (WRP) apply to leave and leave loading?

Yes, WRP must be paid on all leave under the National Employments Standards, including long service leave, personal leave and annual leave. Leave loading of 17.5% is also applied to the WRP.

Is WRP paid to staff on Centrelink Parental leave payments?

No, this is a separate scheme and WRP is not applicable.

Do staff on Workers Compensation get paid the WRP?

No, as this is being paid by the Insurance Provider, WRP is not required to be applied.

Does WRP get paid on allowances, such as broken shift allowance?

No, the WRP was not established with allowances in mind.

However, if the service has identified surplus grant funds (after regular tracking of income and outgoings) the Provider may choose to pay WRP on other eligible employee wage costs, such as allowances e.g. Educational Leader, Broken Shift, First Aid.

Note: If paying WRP on allowances creates a deficit, the service cannot request a funding review.

Does WRP attract Super?

Yes, superannuation must be paid on WRP as it forms part of Ordinary Times Earning. The grant includes an additional 20% funding for wage on-costs, including Superannuation, Workers Comp, payroll tax etc.

Do we pay 12% Super on Backpay?

Yes, backpay processed after 1 July 2025, attracts 12% Super, even if it relates to an earlier period.

Is the WRP paid on overtime hours?

Yes, WRP must be applied to overtime in line with Award rules

Example under the CSA

Permanent staff: time and a half for first 2 hours then double time

casual staff: time and a half for first 2 hours plus casual loading (175%) then double time and casual loading (225%)

If a staff member performs higher duties at a higher classification, do they also get paid the higher WRP for that classification?

Yes, higher duties must receive the WRP associated with the higher classification for the hours worked.

Does Overtime attract Super for WRP?

No, overtime does not generally attract superannuation, as the Superannuation Guarantee is calculated on ordinary time earnings (OTE) only, which excludes overtime payments. So, there is no requirement to pay Super on WRP overtime.

Is WRP paid only on contact hours?

No, WRP is paid on all hours for duties undertaken under the Children’s Services Award or other eligible Award including non-contact time such as programming and admin. Only administrative staff paid via another Award, such as the Clerks Award, are not eligible for WRP.

Is WRP paid to casual staff as well?

Yes, it is paid to all eligible permanent and casual staff.

One employee just worked one casual shift – do they get WRP?

Yes, if they have signed an IFA (or are under another eligible workplace instrument), they are entitled to WRP on any shift they work during the grant period. All staff must be provided with an IFA to sign (or another workplace instrument).

Does an employee who has left still receive backpay?

If a staff member has left employment between 2 Dec 2024 and the backpay date, backpay is payable if they signed an IFA or are under an eligible workplace instrument at the time of leaving. If they did not sign an IFA, or it’s not covered under another workplace instrument, then the employer is not required to pay backpay. Note: Backpay is available to those services who applied for the Grant by 30 September 2025.

How do we know what period our 4 weekly payments relate to?

The Australian Government makes payments at the service-level through the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) System. They send payments to the same bank account as your CCS payments.

Standard payments are made in arrears every 4 weeks. Payments are based on a standard calculation of your CCS data, which may have a seasonal adjustment.

The Government has a regular payment schedule which is promoted in their weekly newsletter and on the website. This schedule identifies what period the payment relates to.

You can view the worker retention payments in your Provider Entry Point (PEP). If you use a third-party software, contact your software provider for assistance. Refer to this task card for how to view payments in the PEP.

Are new employees who join after the grant application was submitted eligible for back pay (assuming applied prior to 30 Sept 2025) and ongoing WRP?

Yes, the application is on behalf of all employees who have worked - or will work - at the service. Everyone who has worked since 2 December 2024 is to get the WRP ongoing and any relevant backpay (from 2 December 2024, or when they started). But it is a grant requirement that everyone must sign an IFA.

If an employee left before signing an IFA, backpay is not required.

Do the Gender Undervaluation increases to the Award get paid on top of the Worker Retention Payment?

No, the first 15% increase due to Gender Undervaluation will be absorbed by the WRP.

Services not applying for the WRP Grant must still apply Award increases.

Do agency staff get the WRP?

Yes, the grant covers labour hire agency workers, such as Randstad. The agency must pass the WRP wage increase onto workers and invoice the service accordingly.

Services must:

advise the agency that they receive the ECEC WRP Grant

work with the agency to determine how funding will be passed on to those workers

update their contract with the agency to reflect these arrangements

request evidence from the agency that funding has been passed on to workers e.g. itemised invoices

account for the WRP Agency Expense separately so you can claim these costs as part of your Annual Declaration.

WRP Funding cannot be used to pay the agency’s admin fees.

You don’t need to seek evidence from the Agency that an IFA is in place, but you must be able to show that all funding was passed onto workers in your annual reporting.

We didn’t get enough WRP for our first backpay payment?

Services have reported that the backpay amount was a little short of what they expected in their first payment under the Grant. This may be due to a timing difference. Services also have reported this amount ‘catches up’ once they start getting the regular payments in the first 2-3 months. If you don’t have the cashflow to cover the full cost of the backpay amount, you may consider splitting it into 2 payments.

Track grant income versus expenditure monthly. If underfunding continues, you may apply for a funding review via the CCS Help Desk - ccshelpdesk@education.gov.au. NOSHSA can assist with this application. When submitting a request put ‘Funding Review for WRP’ in the subject line.

We are receiving more WRP than needed – should we pay it on allowances?

We recommend you use the NOSHSA tracking tool to track incoming WRP funds received (Grant income) versus your WRP employee wages and wage oncosts to understand if you are receiving the right amount of WRP ongoing. After 1 December 2025, the WRP amount increased to 15%. Additionally, there are seasonal differences which might impact surpluses over time. If your service has been tracking for an extended period of time and are confident you have surplus funds, this surplus may be optionally paid out on other employee wage on-costs, such as Educational Leader or Broken Shift allowances.

We’ve just been approved – what’s next?

We recommend watching our recorded online session on Backpay and Financial Set Up (contact your NOSHSA Advisor for the link and password).

You will receive the backpay amount (if applied prior to 30 Sept 2025) and start receiving regular 4 weekly payments within 2-4 weeks of signing the agreement. The government does not provide correspondence when this first payment is received. You will get a notification under Payments in your Provider Entry Portal (PEP) once received. WRP may be buried within CCS payments, so you may have to search for the amounts. Refer to this task card for how to view WRP payments in the PEP.

Contact NOSHSA for the Backpay Calculator Tool and follow the detailed instructions. You can use your own system if you prefer – this is just a tool to help you if needed.

Please choose the Backpay Calculator Tool version that is the same as the IFA option your employees signed - Option 1 (WRP for casuals is paid inclusive of casual loading), or option 2 (casuals are paid WRP on perm rate only).

We recommend running the backpay in a separate pay run to the normal payroll (use the auto tax option for backpay in your payroll software).

Ensure you have submitted the 90-day declaration (located in your smarty grants portal) 90 days from signing the agreement confirming employees were provided with information about the type of compliant workplace instruments. Templates for employee communication letters and fact sheets are available from NOSHSA.

When do we start paying the money to staff?

You are not required to pay staff until the grant has been approved and funds have been received.

Backpay should be paid within a reasonable timeframe.

After backpay is completed, WRP must be included in ongoing payroll for the remainder of the grant period.

Do I need to pay backpay in one period after receiving the grant funds?

We recommend keeping it separate from your regular pay run, but you may pay backpay over one or more payments.

What if we breached the fee growth cap in year one, but want to apply in year two?

This may now be possible. From 1 December 2025, a new combined 2-year fee growth cap applies. Services that exceeded 4.4% in the first year may still be eligible if the combined growth from 8 Aug 2024 to 7 Aug 2026 does not exceed 8.6%.

If our service did not put our fees up in the last 12 months, do the changes to the fee growth cap mean we can increase fees by 8.6% before 30 November 2026?

No, to be eligible for the second year of the grant, you cannot put your fees up more than 4.2% between 8 August 2025 and 7 August 2026 and the total increase cannot exceed 8.6%.

If we apply for the worker retention payment for the second year only, will employees be eligible for back pay?

No, funding only applies for the latter of

the date the application was submitted; or

the date from which the eligible workplace instrument applies

Employees are paid from this date only. The exception to this is when your eligible workplace instrument provides otherwise.

We employ educators above minimum ratios, and we are not getting enough WRP to pay all employees.

Can we just pay some employees the WRP?

No, to meet grant requirements, you must pay WRP to all eligible employees.

The funding review process allows the Government to support providers with a unique staffing profile for whom the standard payment calculation method is not appropriate. If a funding review is not approved, services might have to bear the extra cost. Contact the ccshelpdesk@education.gov.au to request a funding review.

What happens after 30 November 2026?

The Worker Retention Payment is an interim measure until 30 November 2026, while the Fair Work Commission finalises its gender undervaluation priority awards review and the Government charts a course towards a universal ECEC system informed by the Australian Competition Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Productivity Commission (PC) reports.

Providing high quality ECEC is a priority for the Australian Government. The Government is committed to ensuring the cost of fair wages for ECEC workers is not passed on to families through higher fees.

What support is available for me?

Please reach out to NOSHSA now to ask your questions!

NOSHSA also has a toolkit of resources to help you succeed in your application, pay the grant money accurately (including back pay) and track the payments.

NOSHSA are here to help. We are funded by the Australian Government to provide this service and we continue to advocate on behalf of the sector. For further information about NOSHSA’s advocacy and resources, you are in the right place!

Phone: 1300 781 749

Early Childhood Education and Care Worker Retention Payment Grant Frequently Asked Questions

Early Childhood Education and Care Worker Retention Payment Grant
Frequently Asked Questions