ACT Deputy Principal Salary 2026: $168,900 to $173,125

On this page (6 sections)

Deputy Principal pay in ACT
Pay and take-home at each point
The step up from Executive Teacher
Super on a deputy's salary
Getting there
FAQs

The short answer

ACT public school deputy principals are classified School Leader B and earn $168,900 at SLB1 and $173,125 at SLB2, from 4 December 2025. After 2026-27 tax and Medicare, that is about $121,959 to $124,536 a year. Deputies teach up to 8 face-to-face hours a week.

Deputy principals sit between Executive Teachers (School Leader C) and principals (School Leader A). In larger ACT schools there may be more than one. Pay is set by the same 2023-2026 agreement and has been frozen since December 2025 while bargaining continues.

Deputy Principal pay in Australian Capital Territory

Classification	Annual salary	Take-home / fortnight
SLB1	$168,900	$4,691
SLB2	$173,125	$4,790

Deputy principals are School Leader B: $168,900 (SLB1) to $173,125 (SLB2) from 4 Dec 2025, with a face-to-face load of 8 hours a week. Effective 4 December 2025.

Pay and take-home at each point

Worked example

SLB1: $168,900

Income tax (after LITO): $43,563
Medicare: $3,378

Take-home $121,959 a year / about $4,691 a fortnight

Worked example

SLB2: $173,125

Income tax (after LITO): $45,126
Medicare: $3,463

Take-home $124,536 a year / about $4,790 a fortnight

Both points are in the 37% bracket (39% with Medicare).

The step up from Executive Teacher

Moving from SLC2 ($149,107) to SLB1 ($168,900) adds $19,793 gross, or about $12,074 in take-home. Your face-to-face load drops from 16 or 12 hours to 8, and the work shifts to whole-school operations, staffing, timetabling, wellbeing and student behaviour.

Super on a deputy's salary

At 12.5%, employer super on SLB1 is about $21,113 a year, and about $22,802 at 13.5% if you contribute 3%. With the concessional cap at $32,500 for 2026-27, check your total before adding a large salary sacrifice. See ACT teacher super.

Getting there

Most ACT deputies have held an Executive Teacher role or acted as deputy.
Positions are advertised on ACT Government Jobs and filled by merit selection.
Higher Duties Allowance applies when you relieve as a deputy (EA clause Y4).

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Frequently asked questions

How much does a deputy principal earn in the ACT?

$168,900 at School Leader B level 1 and $173,125 at level 2, in ACT public schools from 4 December 2025.

What is a deputy principal's take-home pay in the ACT?

About $121,959 a year at SLB1 and $124,536 at SLB2 in 2026-27, before HELP and salary sacrifice.

Do ACT deputy principals teach?

Yes. The agreement sets a face-to-face load of 8 hours a week for School Leader B.

Is there an assistant principal role in ACT public schools?

Not as a separate classification. The ACT leadership scale runs from Executive Teacher (School Leader C) to Deputy Principal (School Leader B) to Principal (School Leader A).

Will deputy principals get a bigger rise in the new agreement?

The government's rejected 2026 offer included extra for some school leaders on top of 9% over three years, but the details weren't published and no deal has been reached.

Sources we checked · last verified 16 October 2026

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