Canberra-Goulburn Catholic teacher salary 2026: ACT and NSW school rates

Which agreement and which table

CECG (the employer is Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Education Ltd) is one of nine employers on the NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement 2025 (AE531578). The agreement was approved on 17 December 2025 and reaches nominal expiry on 9 October 2027. It has two salary tables, and which one you are paid on depends on where your school is.

• Schools in the ACT are paid on Table A2, which rises each 1 August.
• Schools in NSW (the archdiocese includes towns such as Goulburn, Queanbeyan and Yass) are paid on Table A1, the NSW scale, which rises each 9 October.
• Conditionally accredited teachers in CECG's NSW schools have two extra entry rates, $83,872 and $88,354 from 9 October 2026. These rows exist only at CECG.

CECG ACT schools pay scale from 1 August 2026

Why Canberra Catholic teachers are now ahead of public teachers

The CECG ACT table was set to match the ACT public scale at August 2025: CECG Step 1 was $91,397, and the public TL1 rate reached $91,396 after the December 2025 rise. Since then the two have split. ACT public teachers got their last scheduled rise (1% plus $1,000) on 4 December 2025, their agreement passed its nominal expiry on 31 March 2026, and the AEU rejected the government's 9% over three years offer on 11 September 2026. CECG teachers got 3.5% on 1 August 2026.

Super narrows the gap a little. On $129,106, the ACT public 12.5% is worth $16,138, and the extra 1% matched contribution is another $1,291 if you put in 3% yourself. CECG pays 12% on $133,625, or $16,035. So at the top step, the Catholic salary lead of $4,519 is partly offset if you take up the public matched contribution. Read the latest on the public dispute in ACT teachers reject pay offer, and the full public scale on the ACT pay page.

Take-home pay in CECG's ACT schools

The 1 August 2026 rise was worth $3,199 a year before tax at Step 1 and $4,519 at Step 7. HALT teachers gained $4,790. If your pay did not change in August or September, check it was processed: it should apply from the first full pay period on or after 1 August 2026.

CECG's NSW schools

If you teach at a CECG school on the NSW side of the border, you are on the NSW table, which mirrors the NSW public scale. From 9 October 2026 that is Step 1 $92,882, Step 7 $133,422 and Highly Accomplished/Lead $141,997. CECG's NSW schools also have Coordinator 1 and 2 allowances only, and a $2,342 geographic allowance. The full NSW table is on our NSW Catholic systemic pay page.

That creates an odd cross-border effect. A Step 1 teacher in a Queanbeyan Catholic school earns $92,882, while one in a Canberra Catholic school earns $94,596. At the top, though, the two are close: $133,422 in NSW against $133,625 in the ACT.

Canberra independent schools for comparison

ACT member schools on the AISNSW Independent Schools (Teachers) Cooperative Multi-Enterprise Agreement 2025 have their own table (Table 2): $96,334 at Level 1 to $136,522 at Level 8 from 1 February 2026, rising to $100,187 and $141,983 from 1 February 2027. Those schools are ahead of both CECG and the public system at present. Not every Canberra independent school uses this agreement, so ask for the agreement name before you compare. Our independent school pay page covers the agreement in detail.

Super, packaging and casual work

CECG pays the 12% Superannuation Guarantee, with NGS Super as a fund option. The agreement allows salary packaging; Catholic employers are usually FBT-rebatable, giving a 47% FBT rebate on up to $30,000 of grossed-up benefits a year. ACT public teachers cannot package everyday expenses in the same way, which is one of the few non-salary differences that favours the Catholic sector. Our salary packaging guide has the numbers. Casual rates for CECG's ACT schools were not in the research we could verify, so check them with CECG directly.