Childcare costs in the ACT could increase if educator pay rises: Berry

In unveiling the phase one implementation plan of the ACT government's early childhood strategy, Yvette Berry conceded that improving conditions for workers could increase the cost of services in the city with the highest childcare costs in the country.

"It could [increase costs] but you're paying for quality early childhood education. I think that's one of the things but the other part too is how do we fund early childhood education in the future?" Ms Berry said.

The territory is grappling with the task of extending access to childcare for families most in need while also attracting and retaining qualified educators.

Ms Berry said the federal government would need to step up to properly fund the sector while ensuring the taxation settings didn't penalise working parents.

The long term aim is to offer 15 hours of free preschool to all three year olds, but a chronic staffing shortage threatens this goal.

She said pay rates for early childhood educators were 10 per cent lower than in male-dominated field with similar qualifications which made it less attractive.

"The wages in the sector are a challenge.... it's not as simple as just somebody funding it in the short term," she said.

"We have to make sure the wages actually go into the pockets of the early childhood educators and not into the profits of some services."

While the Set up for Success strategy is ambitious in its aims, the timelines for certain actions are fluid and the subsequent two phases are dependent on findings from the first phase.

The ACT government set aside $11.9 million into the territory budget to deliver the first phase, including 500 places for disadvantaged three year olds, an extra 11 places for indigenous children to attend the Koori Preschools and 12 more early childhood teacher degree scholarships. The government has granted 84 scholarships in total.

Zahraa Al-Attar completed her degree this year after studying part-time over four years.

She said the $25,000 scholarship was essential to juggling study while giving birth to her son, working full time and dealing with a cancer diagnosis.

"Finishing a diploma it's great, but to learn further and to understand the children further, the family, how the system works, and all these things has really helped me. So this really inspired me and pushed me to finish my study," Ms Al-Attar said.

Febbie Ann Tales is currently studying the degree after and had a background as a primary teacher in the Philippines.

"Zero to five years old is the crucial stage for our children to develop and to transition them for school," Ms Tale said.

"It's very important and I don't think a lot of people know and understand that, unless ... they put themselves in our shoes."

Ms Al-Attar said society needed to stop seeing educators as babysitters.

"We definitely need more educators in the field because at the moment we don't have many... It's great. It's fun. At the same time, it's you helping another child, you helping a family to succeed."

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