On this page (7 sections)
The short answer
Your teaching service usually moves with you between Catholic and government schools, but your step isn't copied across. The new employer recalculates it from your statements of service under its own rules. Full-time and part-time teaching count both ways; casual relief work differs (Victorian Catholic schools and WA's government process exclude it). Apply in your first term.
- Same step doesn't always mean same pay: scales differ by state and sector.
- NSW government schools can match your former salary for recent Proficient service.
- Victorian Catholic schools count six months' teaching in a cycle as a year.
- Sick leave, long service leave and super follow separate rules.
Who decides your step after a move
Catholic systemic schools are run by dioceses (Sydney Catholic Schools, MACS in Melbourne, Brisbane Catholic Education and so on) under Fair Work enterprise agreements. Government schools are run by the state education department under a state award or agreement. Each employer has its own placement clause. When you move, the new employer reads your history and applies its clause; it doesn't simply copy the step on your last payslip.
That cuts both ways. Most of the time it gives the same answer, because both sides count full-time-equivalent years of teaching. But casual days, overseas years, part-time service and accreditation can be treated differently, and the deadlines for back pay are different on each side.
Is your Catholic or independent school payslip right? Check your step, pay rate, tax and super against your agreement, and get an email to payroll drafted if it's wrong. Your first check is free. Check my payslip →Are the scales the same? State by state
Catholic figures from each agreement or employer schedule (see our Catholic and independent pay guide); government figures from our state pay data. Tasmania's Catholic rates are linked to the DECYP scale but weren't verified.
Catholic to government: how each state counts your service
Victoria: five years at a MACS school, then a move to a government school
- MACS step with 5 years: T2-1 (CEMEA 2022 rate)
- $94,415 a year
- Government step with 5 approved years: 2-1 (VGSA 2026, from 1 Oct 2026)
- $106,758 a year
- Gap before tax
- $12,343 a year
- Take-home at $94,415
- $73,682 a year
- Take-home at $106,758
- $82,075 a year
The government figure is the VGSA 2026 rate: the agreement was approved by the Fair Work Commission on 16 October 2026 and is back-paid to 1 October 2026. Before it, both sectors paid $94,415 at this step. The Catholic employers' own proposed tables match the government rates, but no Catholic agreement has been reached. Take-home from our 2026-27 tax engine, no HELP debt.
Free calculator
Check your step before you move
Enter your state, both employers and your service. The checker shows the step each side should give you and the yearly gap.
Check my stepGovernment to Catholic: how the agreements count your service
NSW and ACT Catholic systemic schools (nine dioceses, including Sydney, Canberra-Goulburn and Maitland-Newcastle) use clause 15.5 of the 2025 agreement. Full-time teaching counts in full, part-time in proportion to a full load, and 203 casual days equal a year. A Proficient teacher is placed on Steps 3 to 7 by full-time-equivalent service as a Proficient teacher. The clause credits service in "registered schools", so ask the diocese to confirm in writing how it treats your government-school years. Parramatta and Broken Bay have their own agreements.
Victorian Catholic schools (MACS, Ballarat, Sandhurst and others under CEMEA 2022) credit one increment for each year of teaching experience in a registered school in Australia or overseas, excluding casual relief teaching. A "year" is six months of teaching experience in an incremental cycle (1 May to 30 April). A master's degree adds one subdivision. If you don't provide evidence within 26 weeks, back pay is capped at 26 weeks.
NSW Catholic systemic: the agreement's own Proficient Pending example
- Overseas teacher, 5 years' FTE, Provisional accreditation
- Placed as Proficient Pending
- Step under clause 15.8 (first 2 years treated as graduate service)
- Step 6, $124,696
- Without Proficient Pending: Step 1
- $92,882
- Take-home on Step 6 vs Step 1
- $94,273 vs $72,640 a year
From the example in clause 15.8 of the NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools EA 2025, at 9 October 2026 rates. If Proficient isn't gained within a year of FTE service, pay drops to Step 2 until it is. Overseas service needs at least 3 years' FTE (2 years for Australian service) to qualify.
What doesn't move with your step
- Sick leave balances are set by each employer. Ask whether your balance transfers before you resign.
- Long service leave recognition of earlier service is employer-specific. Service recognised for pay isn't automatically recognised for leave. See teacher long service leave.
- Paid parental leave eligibility: the NSW and ACT Catholic agreement deems you to have 12 months' service if you came straight from another named Catholic employer or a Catholic school in NSW or the ACT. Government service isn't on that list.
- Super: NSW and Victorian Catholic agreements pay the 12% Superannuation Guarantee; Queensland Catholic schools pay 12.75%. Government schemes and closed defined benefit funds have their own rules. See teacher super funds by state.
- Salary packaging: caps and providers differ between employers, so check both. See teacher salary packaging.
Before you accept the new job
Get these sorted first
- A statement of service from your current school, with dates, FTE, position and unpaid leave
- Records of any casual days, by school and date
- Your accreditation or registration status in writing
- The new employer's proposed step and salary, in writing, with the evidence they used
- The deadline for submitting prior service, and who to send it to
- What happens to your sick leave and long service leave
Frequently asked questions
Do I keep my pay step if I move from a Catholic to a government school?
Do Catholic schools recognise government school service?
Do Catholic teachers get paid the same as government teachers?
Does casual relief teaching count when I change sectors?
Can a NSW government school match my Catholic school salary?
How long do I have to claim prior service after moving?
Will my long service leave transfer between Catholic and government schools?
Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-28
- 1.NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement 2025 (cl 15, 39.4)
- 2.Catholic Education Multi-Enterprise Agreement 2022, Victoria (cl 54, 56)
- 3.NSW Department of Education: Salary determination policy (PD-2024-0483-07)
- 4.Victorian Department of Education PAL: Salary on employment, transfer or promotion
- 5.Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2026
- 6.Queensland Department of Education: Recognition of prior service – teachers procedure
- 7.WA Department of Education: Recognition of experience and qualifications
About 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.
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