On this page (5 sections)
The short answer
From the first full pay period on or after 9 October 2026, NSW public school teachers got a 3% rise, the third and last under the 2024 award. A graduate now earns $92,882, the top classroom step (Step 7) $133,422 and HA/Lead teachers $141,997. Casual rates and allowances rose 3% too. No further rise is scheduled before the award expires on 8 October 2027.
- Graduate take-home rises about $71 a fortnight; Step 7 about $102.
- Teach.NSW updated its salary page on 12 October 2026.
- The award has a no-extra-claims clause until it expires.
- Catholic systemic teachers in NSW are paid the same classroom rates.
Every step, the leadership rates and take-home pay are on our NSW teacher pay scale 2026 page, with a free PDF.
What happened
The Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024 gave NSW Department of Education teachers three 3% rises: in October 2024, October 2025 and October 2026. The last one applies from the first full pay period on or after 9 October 2026, to all salaries, casual rates and allowances in the award.
Because the rise starts with a pay period, not a calendar date, you may not see it until the first pay period that starts on or after 9 October. There's normally no back pay to chase: it's simply the new rate from that period on. If your payslip for that period still shows the old rate, raise it with your school's business manager or the Department's payroll team.
Work out your pay rise and back pay
⚙Your details
New pay rates
Default: the new rates' operative date, 9 October 2026.
When the back pay lands. Default: six weeks from today. New rates apply from the following pay.
E.g. a sign-on or cost-of-living payment in the agreement (gross).
Back pay owed (before tax)
$505
New salary
$92,882
+3.0% on $90,177
Rise per fortnight
$104
$71 after tax
Tax on back pay
$162
32% of the lump
Back pay in hand
$344
What this means
From 9 October 2026 you should have been paid $104 more each fortnight. Because the new rates weren't paid yet, the difference builds up and arrives as one back payment: about $505 before tax. After that, your fortnightly take-home goes from $2,723 to $2,794.
Payroll taxes back pay at your marginal rate rather than spreading it, so roughly 32% comes off. That's your actual tax on the money: it doesn't push the rest of your salary into a higher bracket. These are the latest rates already in force: if they are on your payslip, nothing is owed. This shows what you're owed if payroll was late applying them.
Estimate only. Back pay = (new − old) fortnightly pay × fortnights between the two dates, using the pay column in force at the start of each fortnight. Tax uses the ATO marginal-rate method on your annual salary for 2026–27; back pay for an earlier financial year over $1,200 may be taxed differently and is reported as a lump sum E. Old rates: 9 October 2025 column; Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024, verified 16 October 2026.
Background: the 2024 deal
NSW teachers endorsed the three-year deal in late October 2024. As well as 3% a year, it capped regular after-school meetings at one hour and added extra school development days. It built on the October 2023 restructure, which cut the scale to seven steps plus HA/Lead and lifted the graduate rate from $75,791 to $85,000. Three 3% rises on $85,000 give today's $92,882.
Source: Award 2024 Schedule 1A (IRC Gazette C9868), confirmed by Teach.NSW (12 Oct 2026).
What changes for your pay
*2026–27 income tax after LITO plus 2% Medicare, no HELP debt, from our tax engine. Full scale and every role on the NSW pay page.
Take-home before and after the October 2026 rise (no HELP debt)
- Step 1: $90,177 → $92,882 (+$2,705 gross)
- $2,723 → $2,794 a fortnight
- Step 7: $129,536 → $133,422 (+$3,886 gross)
- $3,752 → $3,854 a fortnight
- HA/Lead: $137,861 → $141,997 (+$4,136 gross)
- $3,963 → $4,060 a fortnight
Steps 1 to 7 sit in the 30% bracket (32c in the dollar with Medicare). HA/Lead is now above $135,000, so each extra dollar there is taxed at 39c including Medicare.
Leaders' rates moved by the same 3%: Head Teachers and Assistant Principals now earn $153,531, Deputy Principals $179,255, and principals $184,175 to $236,318. Casual daily rates are $480.43 (CT1), $538.73 (CT2) and $599.85 (CT3). See NSW casual teacher pay for how the levels work.
Free calculator
Teacher take-home pay calculator
Pick NSW and your step to see the new rate per fortnight after tax, HELP and salary sacrifice.
See my new take-homeIf you started a new step or a part-time arrangement around the same date, or think your rise was applied late, the back pay calculator shows what you're owed for any missed pay periods.
What happens next and dates to watch
Watch for
- Your next increment. Steps move after each 203 days of full-time service with a satisfactory performance and development process. Step 2 to 3 also needs Proficient accreditation.
- February 2027: many NSW independent schools rise in February rather than October. Union summaries suggest some independent top rates will pass government rates then, though it varies by school.
- A new claim. The award's no-extra-claims clause runs until it expires. We hadn't seen a verified 2026 announcement of the NSW Teachers Federation's next claim when we checked.
- 8 October 2027: the 2024 award expires. No rise is scheduled after October 2026.
Catholic systemic schools in NSW are covered by the NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement 2025, which matches government classroom pay to October 2026 and also expires on 9 October 2027. See Catholic school teacher pay in NSW.
Frequently asked questions
When do NSW teachers get the October 2026 pay rise?
What is a graduate teacher paid in NSW in 2026?
Is there a NSW teacher pay rise in 2027?
Do NSW casual teachers get the 3% rise?
Is there back pay for the October 2026 rise?
Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-22
- 1.Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024 (IRC Gazette C9868)
- 2.Newcastle Herald: NSW teachers receive final pay rise (22 Oct 2026)
- 3.Teach.NSW: Salary of a teacher (updated 12 Oct 2026)
- 4.IRC NSW: award 264 version history
- 5.NSWTF: Teachers endorse new salary agreement (28 Oct 2024)
- 6.NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement 2025
Work out your pay rise and back pay
CalculateAbout this page
Written and fact-checked by the TeacherPay AU Editorial Team against the enterprise agreements, awards and official pages listed in the sources. It is general information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it, usually within a day. See our editorial policy and how we calculate.