You now have access to even more professional support and financial incentives.
From 2023, the Victorian Government has made kindergarten free for three- and four-year-old children at participating services and we need more teachers and educators to give children the best start. Register your interest to hear more about the opportunities and incentives available in Victoria.
Find an early childhood job
The Early Childhood Jobs website connects early childhood education professionals with employers seeking to fill vacancies across Victoria.
This website is free to use and lists employment opportunities for teachers, educators, directors and support staff across the sector, no matter where they’re located around Victoria.
Financial incentives to take up a teaching role
There are two types of financial incentives available for qualified early childhood teachers from June 2023 to June 2024:
- Individual Incentives of $9,000 are available for eligible early childhood teachers working outside the Victorian early childhood sector to take up a teaching role at any service delivering, or planning to deliver, funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten in 2024.
- Location Incentives of between $9,000 to $50,000 are available for eligible early childhood teachers who secure a teaching role at selected services.
Eligible applicants who meet the criteria for both types of incentives will be able to receive both payments.
A relocation supplement of between $1,000 and $8,000 will be available for any eligible incentive recipient who relocates more than 100 km from their current place of residence to take up the role.
Find out more about eligibility settings for both incentives and relocation supplements and how to apply in the Victorian Early Childhood Teacher Incentives Program Guidelines (PDF, 299KB).
Financial incentives to take up an educator role
There are two types of financial incentives available for qualified early childhood educators from June 2023 to June 2024:
- Educator Individual Incentives of $9,000 for eligible educators working outside funded kindergarten in the Victorian early childhood education sector, to take up a role in a kindergarten program at any service delivering funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten in 2024.
- Educator Location Incentives of $9,000 for eligible educators to take up a role in a funded kindergarten program at selected services.
Eligible applicants who meet the criteria for both types of incentives will be able to receive both payments.
A relocation supplement of between $1,000 and $8,000 will be available for any eligible incentive recipient who relocates more than 100 km from their current place of residence to take up the role.
Find out more about eligibility settings for both incentives and relocation supplements and how to apply in the Targeted Educator Incentives Program Guidelines (PDF, 329KB).
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Professional development, mentoring and support
We want to ensure that every child can access quality kindergarten. This means supporting you, your practice and your career.
The best boost for our workforce
An additional $159 million boost to the Victorian early childhood workforce means more scholarships and employment incentives will be available for people studying to join, or existing teachers and educators applying to join, the Victorian Three-Year-Old Kindergarten and Pre-Prep workforce.
In addition, there’ll be an expansion of supports to retain and develop our existing workforce, no matter their career stage, including:
- opportunities to undertake innovative tertiary education pathways
- targeted professional development for teachers and educators
- increased mentoring and coaching to support career development and
- new ways for teachers and educators to connect and reflect with their peers.
The Victorian Government will continue its collaborative work with the early childhood sector to continue to develop these supports and refresh our Workforce Strategy.
To learn more visit Supporting Victoria’s Kindergarten workforce.
Next steps in Victoria's Kindergarten Workforce Strategy
The Victorian Government released Next steps in Victoria’s Kindergarten Workforce Strategy (PDF, 2.7 MB) in December 2021 following months of consultation with the kindergarten sector about themes contained in the April 2021 policy paper Working Together to Build Victoria's Early Childhood Workforce (PDF, 1.7 MB).
The workforce strategy in Victoria is dynamic and will evolve as the reforms roll out. The total investment in Victoria’s early childhood professionals is now almost $370 million.
The Victorian Government will continue to work with the sector to ensure that our workforce strategy meets the needs of our teachers and educators and supports them to deliver the Best Start Best Life reforms.
We thank the sector for their contributions and engagement with Victoria’s strategy so far. We will continue to encourage and empower the sector to best leverage government investment and take their own actions to build and deliver the kindergarten workforce Victorian children need.
Documents
- Next steps in Victoria's Kindergarten Workforce Strategy (PDF, 2.8MB)
- Accessible version - Next steps in Victoria's Kindergarten Workforce Strategy (DOCX, 154KB)
- Policy Paper – Working Together to Build Victoria’s Early Childhood Education Workforce (PDF, 1.8MB)
- Accessible version – Policy Paper (DOCX, 113KB)
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