In short
Move states and your experience usually sets your step on the new scale, though the employer decides. A Queensland teacher with 5 years' experience moving to NSW could go from $111,478 to about $124,696, or roughly $346 a fortnight more after tax. You must re-register under mutual recognition and get a new Working With Children Check.
How to use the interstate move checker
- 1
Pick the state you're leaving and the one you're moving to
Choose both states. The destination's pay scale, super rate, registration body and fees drive most of the results.
- 2
Enter your current step and experience
Pick your step in your current state. The years-of-experience slider sets where you're likely to land in the new state: its graduate step plus one step per full-time year, capped at the top of the classroom scale.
- 3
Tick HECS-HELP if you have a debt
It's included in the take-home figures for both states.
- 4
Work through the checklist
Tick off each step as you go: registration, the check, your statement of service, accreditation, long service leave, annual leave, super and tax. The ticks are only kept while the page is open.
How your new pay step is estimated
Every state recognises prior teaching service, but each department decides how. The checker starts from the destination's graduate step and adds one step per year of full-time experience, which is how most departments do it. Part-time years may count pro rata, and some steps need a set accreditation level to unlock. In NSW, for example, Step 2 to Step 3 needs Proficient accreditation. Treat the result as an estimate, not an offer.
Queensland teacher with 5 years' experience moving to NSW
- Current pay: QLD B0302 (interim rate from 7 Sep 2026)
- $111,478
- Likely NSW step: Step 1 + 5 years = Step 6 (from 9 Oct 2026)
- $124,696
- Take-home in QLD (2026–27)
- $85,285
- Take-home in NSW
- $94,273
- Employer super: 12.75% in QLD vs 12% in NSW
- $14,213 vs $14,964
Site's 2026–27 tax engine: resident, full-time, tax-free threshold claimed, no HELP. Queensland's rates are interim while arbitration continues.
Notice the super line. Queensland pays 12.75%, more than NSW's 12%, but the higher NSW salary still means more super in dollars. Moving the other way, from NSW to Queensland, a lower salary can be partly offset by the higher rate. See the full side-by-side for any pair, such as NSW vs Queensland, or every state in which state pays teachers the most.
Registration and checks
Registered teachers can get equivalent registration in another state under the Mutual Recognition Act 1992. Teaching is exempt from automatic deemed registration, so you still apply to the new state's regulator and pay its fees. The checker shows the destination's body and annual fee: NESA in NSW is $100 a year, for example, and the VIT charges $203 for initial registration from interstate plus a national police check. Read transferring teacher registration interstate for each regulator's process.
Working With Children Checks don't transfer between states. You'll need the new state's check, such as the NT's Ochre Card, the ACT's Working with Vulnerable People registration or SA's Working with Children Check. In Victoria, current VIT registration exempts you from a separate check. Our guide to teacher registration in Australia covers each state's rules.
Leave, super and tax when you move
- Annual leave: untaken annual leave is normally paid out when you leave.
- Sick leave: personal leave usually isn't paid out and may not carry over unless your new employer recognises it.
- Long service leave: entitlements differ by state, from 13 weeks after 10 years in Victoria, Queensland, WA and the ACT to 44 working days (about 2 months) in NSW. See teacher long service leave and the LSL calculator.
- Super: you can usually keep your fund. If you're in a defined-benefit scheme, check what leaving the employer means before you go.
- Tax and HELP: fill in a new TFN declaration with your new employer. Moving costs to take up a new job are generally not deductible.
Senior classifications and HALT
The checker places you on the destination's classroom scale only. HALT, Senior Teacher, Level 3 Classroom Teacher and similar classifications are usually not transferred automatically, because each state pays them differently or not at all. National HALT certification itself is portable, but the pay attached to it depends on the new employer. Use the HALT eligibility checker to see what certification is worth in your new state, and the state quiz if you haven't decided where to go yet.