QLD vs NT teacher pay: which state pays more in 2026?

QLD vs NT at a glance

Pay and take-home at every career stage

Steps don't line up exactly between states, so we compare like-for-like career stages: the usual graduate entry step, about five years in, the top of the incremental classroom scale, and the highest classroom step (reached through HALT, Senior Teacher or a similar classification).

What's different about teaching in Queensland

Queensland is in QIRC arbitration, so classroom teachers are paid the higher of the 3% interim agreement rate and the 4.75% award rate from September 2026: $90,164 for a graduate and $119,357 at the top of the scale. Super is reported at 12.75% into Australian Retirement Trust, long service leave is usable after just 7 years, and remote schools rated TR4-7 add RoRRS, locality allowance and travel on top.

A four-year-trained graduate starts at Band 2 Step 1 and moves up one step a year with satisfactory service through Band 2 Steps 1-4 and Band 3 Steps 1-4. Senior Teacher needs one year at Band 3 Step 4 (or two years at Band 3 Step 1 if three-year trained), an Annual Performance Review and a Senior Teacher Undertaking and Action Plan. Experienced Senior Teacher 1 follows two years as a Senior Teacher (opt-in), and EST2 three years after that. Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher are separate classifications for teachers with national HALT certification.

Full details: QLD pay scale, QLD salary after tax and QLD pay rise tracker.

What's different about teaching in Northern Territory

The NT pays Australia's highest classroom salaries ($96,180 for a graduate, $136,997 at CT9 in 2026, both rising 4.3% in January 2027) under an agreement that runs to the end of 2027. Remote teachers add a Remote Incentive Allowance of up to $10,319 a year ($12,345 with dependants), rent-free housing and free flights, and HALT allowances of $13,938 and $29,184 are the most generous in the country. The trade-offs are only the 12% minimum super and fewer paid parental leave weeks than the ACT.

Graduates start at CT1. Teachers with more than 12 months' post-qualification experience are placed by completed years of service (1 year = CT2). You move up one CT level after each 12 months' service, continuous or broken (cl. 39.2); increments are withheld only through inability or discipline processes, so CT1 to CT9 takes about 8 years. Under Rapid Incremental Progression (cl. 39.3) an early-career teacher can jump to CT4 at the start of year 3 after 2 years in NT government schools within 4 years plus 2 semester units of postgraduate study. 180 days of relief teaching count as 1 year of service (cl. 30.3). Senior Teacher (ST1-ST8) and Principal (PLO1-PLO7) levels are promotion positions set by job evaluation.

Full details: NT pay scale, NT salary after tax and NT pay rise tracker.

Country incentives, leave and the things salary tables miss

Headline salary is only part of the deal. Country and remote postings can add thousands a year, and leave rules change what a career is worth.