How to Use the Worker Retention Payment to Win the Best Childcare Educators in Victoria

The Worker Retention Payment is the single most significant development in childcare educator pay in Australia in at least a decade — and most regional Victorian centres aren't using it to its full recruitment potential.

Here's exactly how to turn the WRP into your strongest candidate attraction tool.

STEP 1: KNOW YOUR NUMBERS PRECISELY

Before you can use the WRP effectively in recruitment, you need to know exactly what it means for every role in your centre. Calculate the effective hourly rate at each classification level with the WRP applied. Know the numbers to two decimal places. Then know what those rates compare to at Melbourne metro centres, at Geelong centres, at competing Ballarat or Bendigo centres.

If your rates are competitive — and they often are, once the WRP is applied — lead with them confidently.

STEP 2: PUT THE NUMBER IN YOUR JOB AD

The WRP is invisible to candidates if it's not in your job advertisement. Most childcare job ads in regional Victoria still don't state a specific salary or hourly rate. This is a mistake that costs you candidates.

State specifically: "Diploma Educator — $30.85/hour base + 10% Worker Retention Payment = approximately $33.90/hour effective rate." That number makes a candidate stop scrolling and read further.

STEP 3: EXPLAIN IT IN EVERY PHONE SCREEN

Don't assume candidates know about the WRP. Most don't. When a candidate asks about pay in your initial phone screen, walk them through it: what the base rate is, what the WRP adds, what the effective hourly rate is, and how that compares to their current position.

This conversation — 90 seconds in a phone screen — regularly converts a hesitant candidate into a committed applicant.

STEP 4: COMBINE WRP WITH COST-OF-LIVING COMPARISON

The WRP is more powerful when combined with a cost-of-living comparison. A Diploma educator earning $33.90/hour in Shepparton paying $1,400/month in rent is significantly better off than the same educator earning $33.90/hour in Melbourne's inner suburbs paying $2,400/month in rent.

Have this conversation explicitly. Candidates who can see the full financial picture make better relocation decisions — and are more committed once they do.

STEP 5: USE IT IN COUNTER-OFFER CONVERSATIONS

When a candidate you want is weighing your offer against a metro position, the WRP combined with cost-of-living is your strongest counter-argument. "You'd be earning the same rate with significantly lower living costs — your real take-home is better with us" is a compelling and honest case.

HOW VHIRE COMMUNICATES THE WRP TO CANDIDATES

Vhire briefs every candidate on the Worker Retention Payment as part of our screening process. We ensure candidates understand their full compensation picture before they receive an offer — reducing surprises and increasing offer acceptance rates.

Contact Vhire at info@vhire.com.au or visit vhire.com.au/hire-staff.