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Family Day Care Educator salary in Australia

The median full-time salary for a family day care educator is $55,100 per annum, before tax, up $11,500 since 2018.

• What you earn depends on how many children are in your care and how many days a week you open, because the income comes from the fees families pay for those places.
• Educators registered with a family day care service pay a levy out of those fees for coordination, enrolments and administration, so two educators charging similar rates can take home different amounts.
• Fees are also held in check by what local families and the Child Care Subsidy will cover, which is why filling your approved places matters more than lifting your rate.

Roles that pay more than family day care educator

The largest typical pay rise is $48,000 a year, moving into Childcare Centre Manager.

• Childcare Centre Manager+$48,000/yr
• Early Childhood Educator+$14,600/yr
• Nanny+$14,600/yr

How to negotiate a higher family day care educator salary

• Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time family day care educator salary is $55,100; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
• Use demand as leverage. Family Day Care Educators are on the national skills shortage list, so employers are more likely to move on price to keep or attract someone in a role they're struggling to fill.
• Lead with what's scarce, not just tenure. Skills like Teaching and instruction and Curriculum and lesson design tend to command a premium over general family day care educator experience, name them specifically when you ask.
• Bring a real alternative to the table. Childcare Centre Manager pays a typical $48,000 a year more and draws on similar skills, even mentioning you're weighing it up is a legitimate data point in a pay conversation.
• Time it deliberately. Reviews, the end of a project you delivered, or taking on responsibility beyond your job description are stronger moments to ask than an arbitrary date on the calendar.
• Ask for a number, not a raise. "Based on the market rate and [specific contribution], I'd like to move to X" gets a clearer answer than "I think I deserve more."

Family Day Care Educator salary questions

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• Early Childhood Educator salary
• Residential Care Worker salary
• Nanny salary
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