Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care (Online)

Full fee: $5000
Government subsidised fee: $150
Concession fee: $30
Materials fee: $190

The materials fee includes $150 for hard-copy textbooks and $40 for work placement T-shirt.

This program is delivered with Victorian and Commonwealth government funding to eligible candidates. Eligibility criteria applies.

Enrolment fees include additional resources required for the program and student ID charges. For additional service fees, such as re-assessment fees or Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), please refer to the Domestic Student Handbook.

^Students can decide whether they wish to purchase soft copy or hard copy textbooks.

Job titles may include:

• Early Childhood Educator

• Family Daycare Educator

• Nanny

• Playgroup Supervisor

• Out of School Hours (OOSH) Care Educator

Workforce demand

According to the Victorian Skills Authority, there were 31,021 Child Carers employed in Victoria in 2022, with 2,734 workers required by 2025.

The National Skills Commission indicates:

• There are currently 136,100 Child Carers employed in Australia

• Future growth for this role is at nearly 6%

• Weekly earnings for Child Carers are around $1,059

• 47% of Child Carers work full-time

• 95% of Child Carers are women, with an average age of 33.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisite qualifications required to enter this program.

Education and skills

Students must complete a Pre-Training Review, meet the Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) skill standards for this program level, and demonstrate they are a suitable candidate for this program. 

Regulatory

You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident of at least 18 years of age.

All candidates require a Unique Student Identification (USI) number. If you do not have a USI number you can apply for one online at https://www.usi.gov.au/students, or you can give MCIE administration staff permission to apply on your behalf.

Industry requirements

Candidates may be asked to provide evidence of the following for work placement (requirements vary according to host employer policies):

• National Police Background Check 

• Working with Children Check 

• Flu or COVID-19 vaccinations 

• First Aid Certificate 

Prior experience

Credit Transfer (CT) and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) are available. Credit Transfer is free of charge. RPL application fees are $145 per hour. Please click here for more information on RPL fees, terms and conditions.

This program is delivered via Supported Distance Delivery and is self-paced virtual learning with online resources. This learning is complemented with webinars from our trainers and additional study support. 

Assessment for this program includes written tasks, long and short answer questions, multiple choice quizzes, group tasks, oral presentations, role plays, scenarios, case studies, reflective journals, logbooks, portfolios and projects. Most assessments are delivered online via the Canvas LMS.

Students complete 160 hours of work placement in 2 blocks of 80 hours. The MCIE Work Placement Coordinator will help to place students with a service.