The future of early childhood leadership is becoming an increasingly important discussion for providers, Centre Managers and Educational Leaders across Australia. Whilst leadership salaries have improved, many services continue to find it difficult to attract the next generation of leaders.
Leadership salaries in early childhood education have risen significantly over recent years. In many metropolitan markets, Centre Managers are now earning between $100,000 and $120,000 per year, with some roles attracting considerably more once allowances and incentives are included.
This raises an important question.
Has the early childhood education sector accidentally made leadership less attractive?
Leadership has changed dramatically
The role of a Centre Manager today looks very different to the role many leaders stepped into fifteen or twenty years ago.
Modern leaders are expected to manage workforce planning, recruitment, occupancy, educational quality, family relationships, child safety, compliance, risk management, staff wellbeing and financial performance. In many services, they are simultaneously expected to be coach, mentor, administrator, recruiter and educational leader.
These expectations are not unreasonable. They reflect the increasing professionalism of the sector and the growing importance of early childhood education within Australian society.
However, they have also significantly expanded the scope of leadership roles.
Resources published by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) continue to highlight the complexity of leadership, governance and quality improvement responsibilities across approved services.
The question is whether leadership opportunities have evolved at a faster pace than leadership support.
Is the salary gap large enough?
One of the most interesting workforce trends emerging across parts of the sector is the changing relationship between responsibility and remuneration.
Historically, leadership positions were seen as a natural progression from educator and teaching roles. Greater responsibility was typically accompanied by significantly higher remuneration.
Today, the picture is more complex.
In some jurisdictions, experienced Early Childhood Teachers employed under enterprise agreements can earn salaries comparable to, and occasionally exceeding, those of Centre Directors leading smaller services. Workforce retention initiatives, enterprise bargaining outcomes and teacher shortages have all contributed to upward pressure on teacher salaries in recent years.
This is not a criticism of teacher remuneration. Many would argue that Early Childhood Teachers deserve every dollar they earn.
However, it does raise an important question.
If an educator can earn a similar salary whilst focusing primarily on teaching, programming and educational practice, what incentive exists to move into a role carrying responsibility for recruitment, performance management, occupancy, compliance, budgeting, family complaints and overall service operations?
For some professionals, leadership remains an aspiration. They enjoy developing teams, influencing culture and contributing to organisational success.
For others, the equation may look very different.
Why take on substantially greater accountability if the financial reward is only marginally higher?
As salaries continue to rise across the sector, providers may need to think carefully about how leadership positions are structured, supported and rewarded. The challenge may not be attracting educators into the profession. The challenge may be convincing experienced educators and teachers that leadership is a worthwhile next step.
Readers interested in broader remuneration trends may also find our guide to early childhood educator salaries in Australia useful.
The accountability gap
Many educators tell us they would like greater influence.
Far fewer tell us they would like greater accountability.
Those are not the same thing.
Leadership positions provide opportunities to shape culture, mentor teams and influence educational outcomes. They also require difficult conversations, performance management, workforce planning and decision-making during periods of uncertainty.
When things go well, strong leadership is often invisible; however, when things go poorly, leadership becomes highly visible.
It is therefore understandable that some experienced educators may choose to remain in positions where they can continue making a significant impact without carrying the full weight of organisational responsibility.
The succession planning challenge
One of the most significant workforce risks facing the sector may not be an educator shortage.
It may be a leadership shortage.
Labour market analysis published by Jobs and Skills Australia continues to identify workforce pressures across education and care occupations.
Yet discussions about workforce shortages often focus primarily on educators rather than future leaders.
Many experienced Centre Managers possess decades of operational knowledge, sector insight and leadership capability. As these leaders eventually move on, retire or reduce their hours, services will need capable successors ready to step forward.
Do services have clear leadership pathways?
Are Educational Leaders being prepared for future management positions?
Does the service provide aspiring leaders with mentoring and professional development opportunities?
These questions may prove increasingly important over the coming decade.
Educators considering their own progression may find our Early Childhood Career Development Guide helpful.
Leadership requires more than salary
Higher salaries may help attract future leaders, but remuneration alone is unlikely to solve the problem.
The strongest leadership pathways often include:
- mentoring and coaching
- protected professional development
- realistic workload expectations
- wellbeing support
- succession planning
- opportunities to lead before taking on full management responsibility
Many providers are already investing heavily in these areas.
Others may need to.
As industry publication The Sector regularly reports, workforce, leadership and regulatory developments continue to reshape expectations across early childhood education.
The services that succeed in attracting future leaders may not simply be those offering the highest salaries.
They may be the ones creating environments where leadership feels achievable, sustainable and worthwhile.
A conversation worth having
The sector has devoted significant attention to educator shortages.
Perhaps it is time to devote the same attention to the future of leadership.
Because whilst educators remain at the heart of every service, somebody still needs to lead the team, navigate complexity, manage competing priorities and guide the organisation forward.
The future of early childhood leadership may depend not only on attracting great educators but also on ensuring that leadership itself remains an appealing destination.
The question is whether enough people still want that responsibility.
References
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) (2025) Leadership and service quality resources. Available at: https://www.acecqa.gov.au
Jobs and Skills Australia (2025) Workforce demand and labour market insights. Available at: https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au
Rodd, J. (2022) Leadership in Early Childhood. 5th ed. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.
Sims, M. and Waniganayake, M. (2022) ‘Leadership and professional practice in early childhood education’, Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 47(4), pp. 321–334.
Thorpe, K., Staton, S. and Houen, S. (2024) ‘Building workforce capability and quality improvement in early childhood education and care’, Children Australia, 49(1).
Wong, S. and Press, F. (2021) ‘Professionalism and workforce development in Australian early childhood education and care’, The Australian Educational Researcher, 48(5), pp. 845–862.