Teaching Salary South Australia 2026: Pay Scale & Take-Home

Steps 1–8: automatic progression every 207 duty days

Teaching salary in South Australia runs on a single nine-step scale for classroom teachers. Steps 1 to 8 are automatic: you move one step for every 207 duty days of service, which is about one school year for a full-time teacher. A graduate starting on Step 1 ($84,971) therefore reaches Step 8 ($117,198) after seven years of full-time teaching. Part-time teachers accumulate duty days more slowly. Teachers can also be placed above Step 1 for recognised prior service and qualifications. For comparison, a WA graduate starts on $88,178 and a NSW graduate on $90,177, so the SA starting salary is at the lower end, and SA Step 8 is below the top classroom steps in WA ($127,737) and NSW ($129,536). Step 9 and the positions above it close most of that gap.

Step 9 ($123,236) is different. It is a competency-based reclassification: you apply and are assessed, rather than moving up after another 207 days. The step from 8 to 9 is worth $6,038 a year before tax.

Contract and relief teacher rates in SA

Contract (temporary) teachers are paid slightly more than permanent teachers at each step: from $86,111 at Step 1 to $124,402 at Step 9 from 8 May 2026, compared with $84,971 and $123,236 for permanent staff.

Temporary relieving teachers (TRTs) are paid a daily rate from $407.21 (Step 1) to $590.59 (Step 9). The daily rate includes a 25% casual loading, so the annual equivalent of a full year of relief work would be about 25% above the permanent salary at the same step. Real earnings depend on how many days you are booked.

AST2, HAT and Lead Teacher, and leadership bands

Above Step 9 there are three classroom positions, all filled by application and selection: Advanced Skills Teacher 2 ($127,798), Highly Accomplished Teacher ($133,736, the same as Band B-1) and Lead Teacher ($141,365). Unlike NSW, holding national HALT certification does not by itself change your pay in SA; you need to win one of these positions.

Leadership roles are paid by band. Band B covers coordinators, assistant principals and many deputy principals, from $128,390 (B-0) to $172,842 (B-6). Band A covers principals, preschool directors and deputies at large sites, from $146,492 (A-1) to $222,484 (A-9). School leaders received 5% in 2023 and 4% in 2024 and 2025 under the 2024 agreement, compared with 4%, 3% and 3% for teachers; both got 3% in 2026.

Take-home pay examples for SA teachers

On 2026–27 tax rates with the tax-free threshold and no HELP debt:

• Step 1 graduate ($84,971): about $67,260 a year or $2,578.67 a fortnight; $2,489.86 a fortnight with a HECS-HELP debt.
• Step 5 ($102,509): about $79,186 a year or $3,035.89 a fortnight.
• Step 9 ($123,236): about $93,280 a year or $3,576.25 a fortnight.
• Lead Teacher ($141,365): about $105,163 a year or $4,031.79 a fortnight.

How current are these SA figures?

The rates are from the Department's schedule effective 8 May 2026, after the 3% rise from the first full pay period on or after 1 May 2026. The official PDF could not be fully read when we checked: the Step 1 rate was confirmed from the Department's own document, and the other steps from sites that reproduce the same schedule. The nominal expiry date of the 2024 agreement and the start of bargaining for its successor were not confirmed, so check your payslip or the Department's pay rates page if a figure looks off.