Return to Work in the Childcare Industry: Why RTW Support Matters

The childcare industry has been increasingly under more pressure, with high staff turnover, low retention and increasing injury rates. One of the main trends within the childcare industry today is that there is a higher reliance on experienced educators. With ongoing educator shortages occurring, every experienced employee is highly valuable. Extended absences of staff due to injury can place additional pressure on remaining educators, impacting morale and potentially the quality of care. Having effective return to work practices in place is about more than compliance, it ensures workforce continuity within the childcare industry. This blog will discuss return to work support within the childcare industry, how you can provide this and why this is crucial especially due to the many updates and changes within the industry today.

Common Injuries in the Childcare Industry

According to research conducted by SafeWork NSW, the top injuries prevalent in workers compensation claims for childcare include:

• Physical injuries, including “soft tissue, contusion and bruising,” and
• Joint and ligament trauma (SafeWork NSW, 2026).

Other causes of injury can include:

• Manual handling (lifting children, cots, equipment).
• Musculoskeletal injuries (back, shoulder, neck).
• Slips, trips, and falls.

As well as this, psychological hazards and injuries continue to be prevalent within the childcare industry. Assault was “the most frequent psychosocial cause of injury” in NSW from 1 January 2015 to 30 June 2025 (SafeWork NSW, 2026), which can also lead to physical and psychological injuries. Additionally, “bullying and harassment has been estimated in studies to be experienced by ~25-40%” of the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) workforce (SafeWork NSW, 2026). Therefore, return to work support and practices are crucial within the childcare industry, particularly to ensure early intervention occurs with injuries that may be gradual or instantaneous. Early intervention support can be provided by utilising an Injury Triage service, that provides immediate, professional support and high-quality medical care following a workplace injury or illness.

Why Return to Work is Often Challenging for Childcare Providers

Many childcare providers, particularly smaller and independent centres, do not have dedicated in-house return to work coordinators or injury management specialists. Instead, responsibility for managing workplace injuries and return to work may fall to Centre Directors, nominated supervisors, HR personnel or business owners, who must balance these responsibilities alongside their day-to-day operational duties. Within the childcare industry, there is also the added pressure to maintain staff ratios while managing absences due to workplace injuries. With the absence of a designated return to work coordinator, this can be a difficult job for childcare centre directors and workers to manage alone.

Key Industry Developments Impacting Childcare and Return to Work

#1: Stronger childcare safety and compliance enforcement

The Australian Government has introduced tougher oversight of early childhood education providers, with greater emphasis on safety, quality and accountability. This has already resulted in stronger enforcement action where services fail to meet standards. For example, this week a Victorian family day care provider became the first service to lose access to the Child Care Subsidy under the new laws after serious safety concerns were identified. Two of their childcare centres breached safety standards majorly by exposing children to rat poison and bleach, as well as having an unsafe water feature. Therefore, there are now higher expectations around workplace systems and accountability as well as services are now facing stronger consequences for non-compliance. Hence, due to this, the childcare industry should be focused on obtaining effective return to work supports as injury management is part of a safe and compliant workplace culture.

#2: Ongoing workforce shortages and retention pressures

Workforce shortages and staff retention pressures continue to be a difficult area for the childcare industry. According to data from HumanAbility and Jobs and Skills Australia, “there was a shortfall of around 21 000 qualified ECEC professionals to meet existing demand” in 2024 (Parliament of Australia, 2026). When experienced educators are absent due to injury, replacing them is increasingly difficult. Helping injured employees recover safely and return to work sooner is no longer just a workers’ compensation challenge, it is a workforce retention strategy. Additionally, shortages and retention are now part of the Australian Government’s key focus areas for the National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy. Therefore, getting injured staff back safely supports retention and reduces recruitment pressure.

#3: Changes to childcare workforce pay

In order to improve these staff shortages and retention within the childcare industry, there have been some changes made for childcare workers and educators’ pay by the Australian Government. This demonstrates an ongoing investment in workforce stability for this industry. The worker retention payment has been extended through to 30 June 2028 with $3.6 billion committed to by the Australian Government. This payment was introduced in 2024 with a goal of recruiting and retaining experienced ECEC educators. This $3.6 billion commitment also locks in a 15% pay rise for early childhood educators. Additionally, the recent minimum wage rises also result in more pay for educators, specifically “$255 more per week for a typical full-time educator and $410 more per week for early childhood teachers” (Prime Minister of Australia, 2026).

Therefore, recruiting and retaining experienced educators is increasingly valuable, protecting them and ensuring they are safe at work matters more than ever. Having return to work support systems can assist with this.

#4: Expansion of Paid Parental Leave

Starting this financial year (1 July 2026), there have been changes to parental leave pay. Now, families receive 130 days (26 weeks) of paid parental leave. This reflects a shift and broader focus on worker support and wellbeing within the workforce, not only within the childcare industry but across all industries. Therefore, this increase reinforces the need for strong workforce planning and structured return pathways for those returning from leave.

#5: Growing recognition of psychological hazards in childcare

Psychological injuries make up a substantial amount of the total injuries within the childcare industry each year, therefore, there is a growing recognition of this by the Australian Government and a greater emphasis on psychological safety at work. For example, one of the main focus areas of the National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy is wellbeing, covering areas such as work demands, burnout, mental health support and other wellbeing supports. Today’s return to work programs need to consider both physical and psychological recovery. Early communication, suitable duties and regular support can make a significant difference to successful outcomes. Utilising return to work support within childcare workforces allows businesses to support their staff through psychological injuries and recovery.

What Effective Return to Work Support Looks Like

Effective and proactive return to work coordination comprises of multiple different functions for all industries, these include:

• Early intervention support for injuries.
• Continuous development and adjustment of RTW plans.
• Suitable duties identification and negotiation with treating doctors.
• Attendance at treating reviews.
• Communication with treating professionals, internal stakeholders and respective insurance agents to ensure optimal recovery timeframes and minimise internal barriers.
• Assistance with reporting requirements.
• Attendance at claims reviews.

Outsourced Return to Work: How it Can Help You

In order to deliver effective return to work support within the childcare industry, a suitable option may be to outsource a return to work coordinator. At Recovery Partners, we offer a complete RTW Coordination service for businesses wanting to manage this process proactively.

Engaging in outsourced return to work coordination can provide a variety of benefits for childcare providers, such as:

• Reduces burden on centre directors.
• Provides specialist injury management expertise.
• Early intervention strategies to quickly diagnose and treat injury.
• Reduces time lost for educators.
• Improves communication between stakeholders.
• Supports compliance with legislation and insurers.
• Enables faster, safer, structured return to work.
• Improves outcomes for both the worker and employer.

To find out more about our Return to Work Coordination services and how we can assist childcare providers, please visit our website or feel free to contact us at enquiries@rrp.com.au