On this page (5 sections)
The short answer
The WA public school teachers' General Agreement 2023 expires on 5 December 2026. Its last rise, 3%, was paid from 6 December 2025, and nothing is scheduled after it. As at 16 October 2026 we found no government offer for a successor deal. A graduate earns $88,178 (plus a $2,000 allowance) and Level 2.9 earns $127,737.
- Rises under the 2023 GA: 5% (Dec 2023), 4% (Dec 2024), 3% (Dec 2025).
- SSTUWA has started its 2026 log of claims.
- Expiry doesn't cut your pay; current rates keep being paid.
- Any December 2026 rise depends on a new agreement.
What's happening
WA government teachers are covered by the School Education Act Employees' (Teachers and Administrators) General Agreement 2023, registered by the WA Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC) on 4 November 2024. Clause 5.1 says it expires on 5 December 2026.
Because WA's teacher rises have landed on 6 December each year, the expiry date matters. The December 2025 rise was the last one written into the agreement. Unless a new deal is reached or a rise is otherwise granted, there's nothing in the current agreement for December 2026.
Work out your pay rise and back pay
⚙Your details
New pay rates
Default: the new rates' operative date, 6 December 2025.
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)
$2,646
New salary
$88,178
+3.0% on $85,610
Rise per fortnight
$99
$67 after tax
Tax on back pay
$847
32% of the lump
Back pay in hand
$1,799
What this means
From 6 December 2025 you should have been paid $99 more each fortnight. Because the new rates weren't paid yet, the difference builds up and arrives as one back payment: about $2,646 before tax. After that, your fortnightly take-home goes from $2,604 to $2,671.
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: 6 December 2024 column; School Education Act Employees' (Teachers and Administrators) General Agreement 2023, verified 16 October 2026.
Background: the 2023 General Agreement
Source: 2023 GA Schedule A (WAIRC), matching the Department of Education's 'as of December 2025' salary page.
The last round is a useful precedent. The 2023 GA wasn't registered until November 2024, but its first 5% rise was back-paid to 6 December 2023 for staff employed at registration. That shows back-dating can happen in WA. It isn't guaranteed this time, and depends on what's agreed.
What it means for your pay
Expiry doesn't cut your salary. Under WA industrial law a registered agreement generally keeps operating after its expiry date until it's replaced or cancelled, so the December 2025 rates keep being paid. Check with SSTUWA if your situation is unusual. Annual increments on your anniversary date also continue as normal.
*2026–27 income tax after LITO plus 2% Medicare, no HELP debt, from our tax engine. Graduate allowance applies for the first two years. Full scale on the WA pay page.
What each 1% of a future rise would be worth
- Level 2.1: 1% of $88,178
- $882 a year gross, about $600 after tax
- Level 2.9: 1% of $127,737
- $1,277 a year gross, about $869 after tax
- Level 3.2: 1% of $141,551
- $1,416 a year gross, about $863 after tax
Our arithmetic, not a forecast: no offer has been made. Up to $135,000 extra income is taxed at 32c including Medicare; above it, 39c. Add HELP repayments if you have a debt.
Free calculator
Teacher back pay calculator
If a new WA agreement is back-dated, pick your level and the start date to see the back pay before and after tax.
Estimate back payRelief teachers are paid hourly under the agreement: $52.67 an hour at Level 2.1 to $76.30 at Level 2.9 from 6 December 2025, including a 20% loading. Those rates also stay put until a new deal. Regional incentives sit partly outside the GA: the Attraction and Retention Incentive of up to $7,000 at 67 listed schools was extended for 2026. See rural and remote teaching in WA.
What happens next and dates to watch
Watch for
- A government offer. None had been made by 16 October 2026. We'll update the WA pay rise page when one is.
- 5 December 2026: the 2023 GA reaches its expiry date.
- 6 December 2026: the date WA rises have fallen on in each of the past three years. Nothing is scheduled for it this time.
- End of 2026: the 2026 Attraction and Retention Incentive extension ends unless it's renewed.
- Catholic schools (separate): the CEWA teachers' agreement reportedly reaches nominal expiry on 16 February 2027.
If you're comparing WA with other states while you wait, the pay rise tracker shows where every state's deal stands, and the WA vs SA comparison shows take-home side by side.
Frequently asked questions
When does the WA teachers' agreement expire?
Will WA teachers get a pay rise in December 2026?
Does WA teacher pay drop when the agreement expires?
What is a graduate teacher paid in WA?
Will a new WA agreement be back-dated?
Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-17
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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.