The early childhood education and care sector is diverse and pay and conditions can vary significantly depending on the role within a service, qualifications and years of experience held, as well as a service's location.
As the Queensland Government does not have a role in industrial arrangements for the early childhood education and care sector, early childhood education and care employers, employer associations and unions are best placed to provide more detail about an individual's specific working arrangements or conditions.
However, the following information provides a starting point for investigating the employment conditions in the Queensland early childhood education and care sector.
From 1 January 2010, two new federal modern awards replaced the state awards for the early childhood education and care sector. This includes the Children's Services Award 2010 
and Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2010 .
These modern awards establish a set of minimum conditions for employers and employees working in early childhood. This may lead to changes in minimum terms and conditions for employees.
Transitional arrangements are in place to give employers and employees time to adjust to the changes. New pay rates will be phased in over a period of four years until the full modern award rates apply on 1 July 2014.
To find out which award you are covered by or if you have questions regarding terms and conditions of employment please contact Fair Work Australia on the Fair Work Infoline (13 13 94) or visit the Fair Work website .
Many employers have negotiated certified agreements which set out the pay and conditions for their organisation. These should be discussed directly with your employer or potential employer.
To find out about your rights as an employer or employee, including the right to negotiate above the award pay rate, contact one of the following unions:
- an industrial relations body for private and not-for-profit organisations across Australia, representing the interests of community-operated kindergarten, long day care, family day care and outside school hours care services. - represents the interests of early childhood education and care educators, recognising the critical role of professionals in early childhood. - represents the interests of all employees working in non-government schools and institutions across Australia, including early childhood teachers and assistants employed in kindergarten services.Besides making a significant difference to the learning and development of children, there are many reasons why people choose to work in the early childhood education and care sector, including:
This page was last reviewed on 12 Oct 2011
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© The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and Employment) 2011.
