Teacher Salaries in Australia 2026: Pay Scales by State Compared

How teacher pay works in Australia

Government school teachers are paid an annual salary, not an hourly wage. Each state sets its own scale in an award or enterprise agreement, and every scale is a ladder of steps. You move up one step a year while you keep teaching satisfactorily, until you reach the top classroom step. Above that sit roles you have to apply or be certified for, such as Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT), and then school leadership.

The national teacher standards shape the ladder in every state. You start at Graduate, become Proficient once your registration body accepts that you meet the standards, and can later seek certification as Highly Accomplished or Lead. How tightly pay is tied to those stages differs:

• NSW pays strictly by accreditation: Graduate teachers sit on Steps 1–2 and cannot pass Step 2 until Proficient accreditation is confirmed. HALT accreditation unlocks a separate HALT salary of $137,861.
• Victoria moves teachers one subdivision each 1 May after the annual performance and development review. Range 3 roles (learning specialist, leading teacher) are merit-selected positions.
• Queensland moves teachers one step a year through Bands 1–3 to Senior Teacher and Experienced Senior Teacher. HAT and Lead Teacher are separate classifications for nationally certified teachers.
• WA gives an annual increment from Level 2.1 to 2.9 for satisfactory teaching; Senior Teacher and Level 3 Classroom Teacher need a separate application.
• SA moves teachers automatically through Steps 1–8, one step per 207 duty days. Step 9 is competency-based, and HALT certification alone does not change SA pay.

Where each state's teacher pay deal stands in October 2026

Several states are mid-negotiation, so the order of the table above can change within months. As of 8 October 2026:

• Victoria: teachers voted 93.1% for the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2026, which is waiting for Fair Work Commission approval. Once approved it backdates a rise to 10 August 2026 and adds a 9.75% rise from 1 October 2026. With both rises a graduate goes (1-1) from $79,589 to $92,882 and the top classroom step from $118,063 to $133,456. The Victoria page has the full proposed scale.
• NSW: the final 3% rise under the 2024 award applies from the first full pay period on or after 9 October 2026, lifting Step 1 to $92,882 and Step 7 to $133,422. The award runs to 8 October 2027.
• Queensland: the replacement agreement is being arbitrated in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission. Meanwhile each classification gets the higher of an interim 3% rise (from 7 September 2026) and the award rate, which rose 4.75% from 1 September 2026.
• WA: the final 3% of the 2023 General Agreement was paid from 6 December 2025, and the agreement nominally expires on 5 December 2026, with no replacement offer agreed when we checked.
• SA: the 2024 enterprise agreement delivered 3% from the first full pay period on or after 1 May 2026, with Step 1 at $84,971.

Take-home pay for a mid-career teacher in each state

Starting and top salaries get the headlines, but most teachers sit somewhere in the middle. The table takes a step about five years into each scale and runs it through the 2026–27 tax rates (tax-free threshold, Medicare levy, private hospital cover, no HELP debt). Employer super is paid on top.

Super and salary packaging for teachers

Public school teachers in NSW, Victoria, WA and SA get the 12% Superannuation Guarantee on top of salary. Queensland pays 12.75% of ordinary time earnings for accumulation members, which is worth about $807 a year more at Band 3 Step 1.

Unlike public hospital staff, teachers in state schools work for a government department that is not FBT-exempt, so they cannot package capped living expenses the way hospital staff can. In practice, teacher salary packaging means extra super and a novated car lease. Salary sacrificing $5,000 a year into super on NSW Step 5 ($112,594) cuts take-home pay by only $3,400 and adds $4,250 to your super after the 15% contributions tax. Employer and sacrificed contributions together must stay under the $32,500 concessional cap. You can model your own figures in the salary sacrifice calculator linked below.

Catholic and independent school teachers

Teachers in Catholic and independent schools are not covered by the state government scales on this page. Their pay is set by their own enterprise agreements. Many of these agreements track the government scale in their state fairly closely, but they are separate instruments with their own steps, dates and conditions, so check your own agreement rather than assuming the government figure applies.

Relief and casual teaching rates by state

Relief teachers are paid by the day (or hour), not on the salary scale, and the rate usually includes a casual loading instead of paid leave:

• NSW casual teachers: $480.43 (CT1), $538.73 (CT2) or $599.85 (CT3) a day from 9 October 2026, including a 5% loading. You move from CT1 to CT2 after two full-time-equivalent years with the relevant accreditation.
• Victoria casual relief teachers (CRTs): $70.97 an hour up to $425.80 a day, with a 3-hour minimum. CRT rates under the new agreement have not been published yet.
• Queensland supply teachers: $515.76 a day or $103.15 an hour, which is the Band 3 Step 1 rate plus a 25% casual loading.
• SA temporary relieving teachers (TRTs): $407.21 (Step 1) to $590.59 (Step 9) a day, including a 25% casual loading.
• WA relief teacher daily rates were not available from the Department when we checked.