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Download the Brisbane Catholic Education pay scale 2026 (PDF)
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The short answer
Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) teachers earn $86,601 as a graduate to $124,725 at Proficient 8 and $126,797 as an Experienced Proficient Teacher, on rates from 5 July 2025. Highly Accomplished is $134,696 and Lead $147,050. No 2026 rise has been paid. Staff vote from 19 to 29 October 2026 on an offer of 4%, 3.5% and 3.5%.
- The same scale applies in the Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton and Toowoomba dioceses and in Queensland religious institute schools.
- The IEU-QNT is campaigning for a no vote after 94% of members rejected the offer in an advisory poll.
- Employers say there will be no back pay if the vote fails.
- The agreement pays 12.75% employer super.
Which agreement covers BCE
BCE teachers are covered by the Catholic Employers Single Enterprise Collective Agreement - Diocesan Schools of Queensland 2023-2026, known as EB10 ([2024] FWCA 205, agreement AE522955). BCE filed it for all five Queensland dioceses: Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton and Toowoomba. It was approved on 17 January 2024 and reached its nominal expiry on 30 June 2026. It keeps applying until a new agreement replaces it.
Catholic schools run by religious institutes have a parallel agreement (AE522956) with the same teacher scale and super. Both groups are bargaining together for the replacement, EB11, and both are in the October ballot.
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 →BCE teacher pay scale (current rates)
Sources: EB10 Schedule S1.1 (2023 and 2024) and BCE's Teacher Salary Scale 2025 (2025 column). The rises were 4% (2023), 3% (2024) and 3% from 5 July 2025, the last set at the Queensland state headline rise. You need 3 years' full-time-equivalent service on Proficient 8 to reach EPT (cl 4.15). The other dioceses applied the same 2025 rise, but we read only BCE's schedule.
The October 2026 ballot (EB11)
Bargaining for EB11 was under way by April 2026. On 22 April the IEU-QNT asked for 4% each 1 July, benchmarked to NSW and Victorian rates, a cut in the Proficient 8 wait from three years to one, and higher Graduate and EPT rates. In June the employers tabled a 'total package offer' of 4% in 2026, 3.5% in 2027 and 3.5% in 2028. The final meeting on 24 June ended without agreement, and the employers moved to a ballot.
Ballot
19-29 Oct
Electronic and anonymous
Offer
4% / 3.5% / 3.5%
2026, 2027, 2028
IEU advisory vote
94% no
Members rejecting the offer
The employers have said there will be no back pay unless staff vote yes. The IEU says employers 'walked away' from bargaining and is urging members to vote no. Some smaller items have been agreed, including a $100 a night camp allowance for compulsory camps, allowances paid hourly and pro rata, and more cultural leave. Our news report on the ballot covers the arguments on both sides.
These are our own estimates (current rate x 1.04). The employers have not published a 2026 salary table, and we have not read the proposed EB11 text, so we cannot confirm the exact rates or the date the 4% would apply from.
BCE vs Queensland state school pay
Queensland state teachers got a 4.75% award-based rise from 1 September 2026 on most classroom steps, and a 3% interim rise from 7 September 2026 on senior classifications, while their own agreement is in arbitration. That has pushed the state graduate rate well ahead of BCE's. The two scales are built differently: BCE has more Proficient steps and its top classroom rate sits above the state's Band 3 Step 4. See the Queensland state school pay scale and our report on the state interim rise.
State figures from the Department of Education salary schedule (updated 1 September 2026). The state system also has a Senior Teacher step ($124,601). The IEU says state arbitration has 'no direct impact' on Catholic bargaining.
Take-home pay at BCE
BCE take-home pay on current rates (2026-27 tax)
- Graduate, $86,601
- $68,369 a year, $2,630 a fortnight
- Proficient 4, $107,989
- $82,913 a year, $3,189 a fortnight
- EPT, $126,797
- $95,702 a year, $3,681 a fortnight
- Lead Teacher, $147,050
- $108,631 a year, $4,178 a fortnight
Full-time, no HELP debt, no packaging. With HELP, a graduate takes home $65,808. Super at 12.75% is on top: about $11,042 for a graduate and $16,167 at EPT.
Free calculator
Teacher take-home pay calculator
Try your BCE step at the current rate and with a 4% rise to see the fortnightly difference.
Run my numbersMiddle leader allowances
Teachers on Proficient 1 to 4 get the allowance on top of salary. Teachers on Proficient 5 to 8 get a substantive salary instead: $137,754 (Tier 2) to $148,362 (Tiers 4-5) in 2025. BCE Primary Learning Leader 1 to 4 allowances mirror Tiers 1.1 to 2.2.
Super, packaging and deferred salary
EB10 sets employer super at 12.75%, including the Superannuation Guarantee (cl 7.3.4), with UniSuper or NGS Super as the default. The agreement text does not make that conditional on you contributing. BCE's careers page, though, describes it as 'up to 12.75%' if an employee co-contribution is made. We go with the agreement, but check your payslip: if you are getting 12%, ask BCE payroll which rule they are applying. Queensland state schools also pay 12.75%.
Packaging options in the agreement include salary sacrifice to super (Brisbane uses a total-employment-cost approach), laptops, cars, childcare and self-education (cl 7.5). There is also a 4-on-1-off deferred salary scheme (cl 7.6): in this kind of scheme you typically take a reduced salary for four years and the fifth year off on pay. Our deferred salary guide and salary packaging guide explain both.
Frequently asked questions
How much do Brisbane Catholic Education teachers earn?
When is the BCE pay rise in 2026?
Is the IEU telling Catholic teachers to vote no?
Do BCE teachers earn more than state school teachers?
What super does Brisbane Catholic Education pay?
How do you become an Experienced Proficient Teacher at BCE?
Do Toowoomba, Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton Catholic schools pay the same as BCE?
Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-17
- 1.Fair Work Commission: Diocesan Schools of Queensland agreement AE522955 (PDF)
- 2.Brisbane Catholic Education: Teacher Salary Scale 2025 (PDF)
- 3.Fair Work Commission: Religious Institute Schools of Queensland agreement AE522956 (PDF)
- 4.IEU-QNT: Action now (EB11 ballot)
- 5.IEU-QNT: Bargaining Loop #6
- 6.IEU-QNT: Employee claims and employer responses (13 Oct 2026, PDF)
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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