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Kindy Rural and Remote Teacher Incentive Scheme

Financial incentives are now available to early childhood teachers commencing employment in a rural or remote long day care or kindergarten service.

The Queensland Government is currently offering up to $12,000 in financial incentives to early childhood teachers who commence employment in an eligible long day care service or kindergarten service in a rural or remote community.

The scheme is aimed at assisting long day care and kindergarten services in rural and remote locations to attract and retain qualified early childhood teachers.

Eligible services are encouraged to apply for Grant Approval Status which will enable them to promote the availability of the financial incentive to early childhood teachers commencing employment with their service.

Incentive Benefit

Early Childhood Teachers appointed to positions at services holding Grant Approval Status may be eligible to apply for the Kindy Rural and Remote Teacher Incentive payments of up to a maximum of $12,000.

The incentive benefit will be paid directly to the teacher in instalments over a two-year period as follows:

Timing of Incentive Payments	Amount
Initial payment	$4,000
Completion of 12 months service	$3,000
Completion of 24 months service	$5,000

In addition to the financial benefits of the Incentive Scheme, Early Childhood Teachers in rural and remote communities have the opportunity to:

share their experience and knowledge with others
assist in implementing the new kindergarten curriculum
establish and draw upon partnerships and networks across Queensland
become an active member of a rural and remote community.

Grant Approval Status - Eligibility Criteria

Applications for grant approval status are invited from long day care services or kindergarten services in eligible rural and remote locations.

Eligible locations 112k include all Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) 4 and 5 locations, and ARIA 3 locations that are deemed either rural or remote for the purpose of this scheme.

To be eligible for grant approval status, the service must have an ongoing vacancy and:

be located in an eligible rural or remote location and
be a long day care service or a kindergarten service that is an approved kindergarten program provider.

To confirm if your service is eligible for the Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme (QKFS), please contact the Office for Early Childhood Education and Care.

Eligibility for Incentive Benefit

Early childhood teachers who commence employment at a grant approved service may be eligible to receive the incentive if:

they meet teacher qualification requirements under QKFS
they have been appointed to a long day care service or kindergarten service that is an approved kindergarten program provider, with grant approval status
they are relocating at least 150kms from their primary residence
they are commencing a position in a service that is not of a similar or higher ARIA 112k rated location as their previous employment. (For example, can not be relocating from ARIA 5 to ARIA 4, however can relocate from ARIA 2 to ARIA 4).

Lodging an Application

Services can apply for grant approval status by completing the Application Form 271k and providing the required documentation.

Applications can be submitted at any time via email to KindyTeacherIncentive@dete.qld.gov.au or posted to:

Kindy Rural and Remote Teacher Incentive Scheme
Workforce Initiatives, Human Resources
Department of Education, Training and Employment
PO Box 15033
CITY EAST QLD 4002

All applications for grant approval status and the incentive will be assessed and awarded in accordance with the available quota. A maximum of 100 grants will be available.

Further Information

Further information about the Kindy Rural and Remote Teacher Incentive Scheme, including eligibility criteria and the application process, are accessible from the links provided on this web page.

Specific enquiries may be directed to KindyTeacherIncentive@dete.qld.gov.au.

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This page was last reviewed on 21 Jan 2013