Children's Services Award pay guide 2026/2027

Casual rates for ordinary weekday hours for educators, generated from the current Fair Work pay guide:

If you only skim one section, make it this one:

• The Children’s Services Award 2010 [MA000120] covers childcare and long day care — educators (Levels 1–8) and support workers.
• Minimums are reviewed each July. The FY2026/27 pay guide took effect from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, lifting all rates by 4.75%.
• Example 2026/27 adult minimum pay (educators):
  • Level 1 (introductory educator): full-time/part-time $28.81/hr, casual $36.01/hr.
  • Level 3 (Certificate III qualified): full-time/part-time $32.47/hr, casual $40.59/hr.
• Penalties: Saturday +50%, Sunday +100%, public holidays +150%; the casual loading is not stacked on weekend/PH penalties.
• Early-morning/afternoon/night shift loadings and broken shifts apply on top.
• Get stream, level, employment type and shift type right for every employee.

The Children’s Services Award — full name the Children’s Services Award 2010 [MA000120] — is the modern award that sets the legal minimum pay and conditions for its industry. It covers long day care, preschools, occasional care, outside-school-hours care and family day care schemes. It pays educators and support staff; degree-qualified early childhood teachers are paid under the Educational Services (Teachers) Award instead, and many centres run both awards side by side.

Pay is built from four things, in this order: the classification level the employee’s duties fall into (8 in this award), their employment type (full-time, part-time or casual — casuals receive a 25% loading instead of paid leave), when the shift was worked (weekend, public holiday, evening or overtime penalties), and any allowances that apply. Get one of the four wrong and the pay is wrong.

The Children’s Services Award covers long day care, preschools/kindergartens (non-teaching staff), outside-school-hours care (OSHC) and vacation care:

• Educators (Levels 1–8): from introductory educators through Certificate III and Diploma-qualified educators to room leaders, assistant directors and directors.
• Support workers: cooks, assistants and other support roles, on a separate scale.

Important — who’s covered by other awards: qualified early-childhood teachers → Teachers Award; council-run childcare may involve the Local Government Award; some out-of-school/community programs may fall under SCHADS. Confirm coverage with Fair Work’s PACT tool.

A snapshot of the current FY2026/27 educator rates, generated from the same data that powers the calculator above. A separate support-worker scale also applies — see the pay guide.

Ordinary weekday rates for educators Levels 1–8:

Casuals receive the same base rate plus a 25% loading on ordinary hours. Ordinary weekday casual rates:

Below is the 2026/27 ordinary hourly rate for each classification in the Children’s Services Award (full-time and part-time), with the casual rate (base + 25% loading) in brackets. Weekend, public-holiday and overtime penalties apply on top. Classification follows duties, qualifications and responsibility — not the job title.

Level 1 – Introductory educator — $28.81/hour full-time/part-time (casual $36.01/hour, $1094.80/week full-time). Entry-level educator on commencement.

Level 2 – Educator — $29.69/hour full-time/part-time (casual $37.11/hour, $1128.40/week full-time). Educator (working towards/with Certificate III).

Level 3 – Qualified educator — $32.47/hour full-time/part-time (casual $40.59/hour, $1233.90/week full-time). Certificate III qualified educator.

Level 4 – Experienced educator — $34.65/hour full-time/part-time (casual $43.31/hour, $1316.70/week full-time). Experienced / Diploma-working educator.

Level 5 – Advanced educator — $36.57/hour full-time/part-time (casual $45.71/hour, $1389.50/week full-time). Diploma-qualified educator.

Level 6 – Room leader — $38.25/hour full-time/part-time (casual $47.81/hour, $1453.50/week full-time). Room leader / group leader.

Level 7 – Assistant director — $40.00/hour full-time/part-time (casual $50.00/hour, $1519.90/week full-time). Assistant director / 2IC.

Level 8 – Director — $46.12/hour full-time/part-time (casual $57.65/hour, $1752.70/week full-time). Centre director.

Classification follows qualifications and responsibility:

• Levels 1–2 cover introductory educators and those working towards a Certificate III.
• Level 3 is the Certificate III qualified educator rate; Levels 4–5 experienced and Diploma-qualified educators.
• Levels 6–8 cover room leaders, assistant directors and directors.
• Educator-to-child ratios must be maintained — an unqualified employee required to work in ratio must be paid at least the minimum educator rate.
• Support workers (cooks, assistants) are on a separate scale; qualified teachers are under the Teachers Award.

Write each employee’s stream, level and employment type into your payroll/rostering system. If unsure, confirm the right level.

Here’s how the most common roles map to classifications and 2026/27 rates. Use these as a starting point, then confirm the level against the employee’s actual duties.

A childcare educator holding a Certificate III sits at Level 3 — $32.47/hr (casual $40.59/hr). An early childhood assistant starting without a qualification begins at Level 1 — $28.81/hr, moving to Level 2 while working towards the certificate.

A diploma-qualified educator sits at Level 5 — $36.57/hr, and a room leader or group leader at Level 6 — $38.25/hr (casual $47.81/hr).

An assistant director or 2IC sits at Level 7 — $40.00/hr, and a childcare centre director at Level 8 — $46.12/hr (casual $57.65/hr).

A childcare centre cook and other support staff are classified on duties rather than the educator stream — check the award’s support-worker classifications before assuming an educator level applies.

Children’s Services Award penalties (on the ordinary rate):

• Saturday: 150% (full-time/part-time and casual)
• Sunday: 200% (full-time/part-time and casual)
• Public holiday: 250% (full-time/part-time and casual)
• Casual loading: the 25% loading applies to ordinary hours but is not stacked on top of the weekend/public-holiday penalties, so casual weekend/PH rates equal the permanent rates.
• Shift loadings: early-morning, afternoon and night shifts attract loadings on the ordinary rate.
• Broken shift: about $21.38 per day. Overtime is paid at time-and-a-half then double time.

The calculator above covers ordinary, Saturday, Sunday and public-holiday rates. For shift loadings, broken shifts and overtime, use Fair Work’s PACT tool or award-interpreting software.

• Full-time is around 38 hours per week, ongoing; part-time has a regular agreed pattern.
• Both receive paid annual and personal/carer’s leave (pro-rata for part-time) and other NES entitlements. Part-time hours should be agreed in writing.

• Paid a 25% casual loading on ordinary hours instead of paid leave, with a minimum engagement per shift (commonly 2 hours).
• On weekends and public holidays, the penalty applies without the loading stacked on top — so casual Saturday, Sunday and public-holiday rates equal the permanent rates.

Common allowances under this award include:

• Broken shift – about $21.38 per day.
• First aid (Level 1–2) – about $12.65 per day (or $1.68/hour).
• Excess fares – about $17.22 per day when working away from the usual centre.
• Meal (overtime) – about $16.12.

A director and educational-leader responsibility loading may also apply. Exact amounts update each pay guide — see the Fair Work pay guide.

Leave comes from the National Employment Standards (NES), which apply on top of the award and cannot be reduced by it. Casual employees receive the loading instead of paid leave, but still get unpaid carer’s and compassionate leave, and paid family and domestic violence leave.

Four weeks per year for full-time employees, pro-rata for part-time, accruing progressively from the first day. Employees the award defines as shiftworkers receive a fifth week. Most awards also add annual leave loading — check the leave clause of this award for the rate that applies. See our annual leave guide for how accrual, cash-out and payout on termination work.

• Personal/carer’s leave: 10 days per year for full-time employees, pro-rata for part-time. It accrues and carries over year to year.
• Compassionate leave: 2 days per occasion.
• Family and domestic violence leave: 10 days per year, available to casuals as well, renewing each year rather than accruing.
• Parental leave: 12 months unpaid with a right to request a further 12, alongside the government paid parental leave scheme.
• Public holidays: employees are entitled to be absent on a public holiday; if they work it, the award’s public-holiday penalty applies.

Tracking accruals across mixed full-time, part-time and casual teams is where spreadsheets break down — leave management software keeps balances, requests and approvals in one place.

• Confirm the award and stream (educator vs support worker; qualified teachers are under the Teachers Award).
• Download the latest pay guide (FY2026/27).
• Classify each employee by stream and level; ensure in-ratio staff are paid at least the educator rate.
• Set base rates and apply weekend/public-holiday penalties, shift loadings, broken shifts and overtime.
• Use award-interpreting software so shift loadings are calculated automatically, and keep records for 7 years.

These are the errors that show up most often when employers audit their own Children’s Services Award payroll.

Awards classify on what the employee actually does, their qualifications and their level of responsibility. Two people with the same title can sit on different levels, and someone doing higher duties is owed the higher rate for those hours.

Casual weekend and public-holiday rates are not the permanent penalty plus 25% bolted on afterwards. The award publishes a single casual figure for each penalty — use the rate sheet or the calculator above rather than stacking percentages by hand.

This award carries 4 common allowances. They are easy to overlook because they are not part of the hourly rate, but they are still legally owed — the rate sheet above lists every one.

Degree-qualified teachers belong under the Teachers Award, where Level 1 starts at $39.83/hr — well above the top educator levels here. Misclassifying a teacher as a Level 8 educator is a significant underpayment.

• Educators Levels 1–8 (plus a separate support-worker stream).
• Saturday +50%, Sunday +100%, public holidays +150% — casual loading not stacked on these.
• Qualified teachers are under the Teachers Award, not this award.
• Shift loadings and broken shifts are easy to miss.
• Update every July (and watch for the sector work-value case) and keep good records.

For official guidance, visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website.