The Albanese Labor Government’s investment in Early Childhood Education and Aged Care is running at $20 billion above funding levels of the previous Coalition Government, demonstrating a strong commitment to sectors supporting Australian families.

Ahead of the Federal Budget tomorrow, United Workers Union National President Jo Schofield has termed the Albanese Labor Government’s substantial investments as a “game-changer”, strengthening the early childhood and aged care sectors that form the backbone of our community, with further investment providing workers with much-needed cost of living relief.

Quotes attributable to United Workers Union National President Jo Schofield:

“The past three years have seen the Federal Labor Government build its annual funding to $20 billion more than the levels of the 2021 Coalition Budget to support Australia’s early education and aged care sectors. This funding has dragged aged care out of the crisis that dominated headlines under the previous Coalition Government, and has started to address systemic understaffing in early education. These critical investments are shaping a more equitable future for Australians, particularly women, and Labor’s work on creating a fairer, more sustainable workforce must continue in tomorrow night’s Budget.”

Early Education: A long-term investment in children, families and working women

In its last Budget (2024-25) and the December 2024 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), the Federal Government committed to spending $15 billion to assist families with their ECEC fees through the Child Care Subsidy (CCS). The spending marks an increase of over $5 billion on the 2021 Coalition Budget.

Also in the MYEFO, the Labor Government invested a further $5 billion over the next five years to move toward a universal early education and care (ECEC) system.

That includes:

  • $3.6 billion on a Worker Retention Payment to deliver a 10% pay increase for Educators from December 2024, and a further 5% from December 2025.
  • $1 billion for a Building Early Education Fund that will both establish new ECEC services, and increase the capacity of existing services, in ‘childcare deserts’ – the regions and suburbs where it’s hard for parents to find a place. The fund will also investigate how the Federal Government can own or lease ECEC centres to further increase supply in these deserts.
  • $291 million over three years to replace the CCS activity test with a 3 Day Guarantee of subsidised ECEC for families.

“The Albanese Labor Government’s commitment to early education has been a game-changer for families and the workforce. With billions invested in improving access to affordable early childhood education, the funding is directly benefiting Australian children and their families. Importantly, the moves to increase educators’ pay has started to stabilise the whole sector, with improvements already felt in attracting and retaining staff. It’s not just about supporting the next generation; it’s also about ensuring that the workforce—especially the female workforce—is supported, with more opportunities for women to enter and thrive in the workforce.”

Aged Care: Supporting our seniors

In aged care the Albanese Labor Government lifted funding from the Coalition’s levels of $23 billion in 2021-22 to $32.3 billion in 2023-24, with a projected $38 billion in 2024-25.

Their most recent commitments include:

  • $5.4 billion for a new Support at Home program from 1 July 2025, an investment in shorter wait times for assessments, and more access to home modifications and assistive technology.
  • $102 million to release 7,615 additional Home Care Packages.
  • $3.8 billion over four years to fund pay rises for aged care workers in 2025, building on $11.3 billion allocated to support the 15% wage increase granted in 2023. Both are vital steps to properly valuing this predominantly female industry.

“Reform and funding have dragged the aged care sector out of crisis. Over the last three years, aged care funding has been a major focus, reflecting the government’s commitment to improving care for our elderly and recognising the hard-working carers who make it all possible. Investments have gone into ensuring higher-quality care and better pay for workers, many of whom are women, in this critical sector. We are seeing the positive outcomes of this funding—improved care standards for our seniors and a much-needed boost for aged care workers. There is always more work to do, and in this Budget Labor should continue its important work of building a better aged care sector.”

Cost of Living Relief

While increased spending on essential services, subsidies for parents and pay rises for undervalued workers are important for easing cost of living pressures, the Federal Labor Government has relieved the pressure in other ways.

Cost-of-living relief is particularly important for low-paid workers who United Workers Union represents. In a recent United Workers Union survey of 1,500 women, 37 per cent said they were paid less than $41,700 annually.

In its 2024–25 Budget the government delivered $7.8 billion in cost-of-living relief, including:

  • Legislating tax cuts for all 13.6 million taxpayers, especially for 2.9 million lower-income earners with taxable incomes of $45,000 or less, who would have received nothing from the Coalition’s tax cut offer.
  • $3.5 billion in additional energy bill relief for all households. This not only provided $300 to each home, but also reduced the headline inflation rate, increasing the pressure on the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates.
  • Medicines kept cheaper by freezing Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) co-payments – one year for Medicare cardholders, three years for pensioners and concession holders.
  • A 15% increase in the maximum rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) in the 2023-24 Budget, and a further 10% increase in 2024-25. This was the first back‑to‑back increase to CRA in more than 30 years.
  • Since Fee Free TAFE was introduced in 2023, there have been over 508,000 enrolments in courses linked to the Free TAFE priority courses. 62% of the enrolments in the first year and a half of Free TAFE were women.

“The Albanese Labor Government has prioritised addressing the rising cost of living, with new relief measures designed to alleviate the financial pressure workers are facing. The Government’s cost of living measures are not just about numbers—they’re about people. By acting on this front, Labor is helping workers put food on the table, pay bills, and get through each day with dignity. We welcome the cost-of-living Budget measures already announced.

“What we know is Peter Dutton and the Coalition didn’t want a tax cut for every taxpayer, energy bill relief, cheaper medicines, rent assistance, affordable early childhood education, fee-free TAFE, or wages moving again.

“Tomorrow’s budget is a critical opportunity to continue this progress, as Labor makes choices that benefit the many, not the few.”