ACT teacher salary 2026: the Teacher Level pay scale

Every ACT public school teacher is paid under one document: the ACT Public Sector Education Directorate (Teaching Staff) Enterprise Agreement 2023-2026. It sets a nine-point classroom scale (Permit to Teach, then TL1 to TL8), a leadership scale (School Leader C, B and A) and casual daily rates. The table on this page shows the current rates and the previous column, straight from Annex A of the agreement.

The big story in 2026 is that nothing has moved. The last rise was 1% plus $1,000 on 4 December 2025. The agreement reached its nominal expiry on 31 March 2026, teachers rejected a 9% over three years offer on 11 September, and there have been strikes in May, June and September. See the ACT pay rise tracker for where that stands.

ACT teacher pay scale from 4 December 2025

ACT teacher pay rises

Leadership and other roles in ACT

Your ACT take-home pay

How the ACT Teacher Level scale works

Since 27 January 2024 the ACT has used a Teacher Level scale. TL1 to TL3 are the New Educator levels, where you get a lighter teaching load. TL4 to TL8 are Experienced Teacher levels. TL8 was added in the restructure and could first be reached on 27 January 2025, which is why the top of the ACT scale jumped compared with older guides you may find online.

• Permit to Teach ($82,796): for people teaching under a TQI permit who are not yet fully registered. It sits below the graduate step.
• TL1 ($91,396): the usual start for a four-year-trained graduate.
• TL4 ($108,619): where you reach Experienced Teacher, normally in your fourth year.
• TL8 ($129,106): the top of the classroom scale, seven increments after TL1.

Progression: one level every 27 January

The ACT is unusual in having a single increment date for every classroom teacher: 27 January. You don't progress on the anniversary of your start date. You move up one level each 27 January, as long as you have met the Teacher Performance and Development Guidelines. Leave without pay can push your increment date back.

HALT certification: an increment or $7,495

The ACT doesn't have a separate HALT salary step. If you gain Highly Accomplished or Lead Teacher certification below the top of the scale, you get an extra increment. If you are already at TL8 (or SLC2), you get a HALT payment of $7,495 a year from December 2025, paid fortnightly. See the ACT HALT salary page for the detail.

How ACT pay compares nationally

The freeze has cost the ACT its place near the top of the table. A teacher at the top of the NSW scale now earns $4,316 more than one at TL8 in Canberra, and the NT pays its graduates more too. The ACT's one clear edge is super: the employer pays 12.5% plus an extra 1% if you contribute 3%. Compare every state at which state pays teachers the most or head to head at NSW vs ACT.

Catholic and independent schools in Canberra

Catholic systemic schools in the ACT are run by Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Education (CECG) under the NSW and ACT Catholic agreement. Their August 2026 rise of 3.5% put them ahead of the public scale: $94,596 for a graduate and $133,625 at the top. Independent schools such as Canberra Grammar and Radford set pay in their own agreements. More on the ACT Catholic teacher pay page.