Part-time teaching and job share: pay, leave and your rights in 2026

How part-time teacher pay is worked out

Your pay is your step on the state scale times your FTE. FTE is the share of a full-time load you work. In most schools it's expressed in days (0.2 per day in a five-day week) but secondary schools often set it in periods or hours of face-to-face teaching. WA's award defines part-time work as work regularly undertaken for less than 1.0 FTE, and says part-timers get the same entitlements as full-timers on a pro-rata basis (cl 9).

What each extra day is really worth

Going from 3 to 4 days lifts gross pay by $23,195 at NSW Step 5 but take-home by $15,773, because the extra day is taxed at your marginal rate (32% including Medicare at these incomes in 2026-27). Childcare costs come out of after-tax money, so compare the extra take-home, not the gross, against the cost of an extra day of care.

Leave, super and allowances when you're part-time

• Sick leave: pro rata, and you're only paid for days you'd normally work (WA Award cl 41(1)(d)). See teacher sick leave.
• Long service leave: part-time service counts as service, but leave is paid pro rata to your hours. See teacher long service leave.
• Leave loading: pro rata. See teacher leave loading.
• Super: 12% of what you earn. At 0.6 FTE on $69,583 your employer pays $8,350 a year instead of $13,917 full-time. Over 10 years that gap compounds.
• Country incentives: usually pro rata. SA's country incentive zone allowance is paid pro rata to your fraction; Victoria's Targeted Financial Incentives are pro rata for part-timers.

Your right to go part-time

Part-time work in government schools is usually granted by agreement with your principal, not as an automatic right. There are two important exceptions. First, return from parental leave: South Australia's agreement gives an employee the right to return to work part-time after paid or unpaid parental leave until the child's second birthday, at the level of their regular appointment (cl 4.7.1). Teachers in tenured leadership positions can return part-time at their tenured level until the end of their leave or the child's second birthday. Second, most non-government schools are covered by the Fair Work Act, which gives parents and some carers a right to request flexible working that the employer can refuse only on reasonable business grounds.

Job share: making two part-timers one great role

A job share is two part-time teachers sharing one class or role, often 0.5 and 0.5 or 0.6 and 0.4. Departments generally list job sharing alongside part-time work as a flexible option (WA's benefits page does). It can work brilliantly for students when the partners plan together. It falls apart when communication is left to chance.

Pay progression and accreditation when you're part-time

Part-time doesn't drop you down the scale, but check how your state counts a 'year' for moving up. NSW defines a year of service as 203 days of full-time service, so ask HR how your part-time days are credited towards your next step. For accreditation, NSW gives part-time and casual teachers 7 years (instead of 5) to complete their 100 hours of professional development to maintain Proficient. See how teacher pay steps work.

Part-time or relief teaching?

Some teachers choose casual relief work for flexibility instead. CRT pays a higher daily rate because it includes a loading in lieu of leave (5% in NSW, 22% in Victoria, 25% in QLD, ACT and NT), but there is no guaranteed work, no paid holidays and no sick leave. A part-time permanent job gives certainty, paid holidays and leave accrual. See casual relief teacher pay across Australia.