On this page (8 sections)
The short answer
Yes. Permanent, temporary and part-time teachers in Australia are paid their normal fortnightly salary through every school holiday. Their annual salary covers the whole year, and part of the holidays counts as annual leave. Casual relief teachers are not paid for school holidays; instead, their daily rate includes a loading of 5% to 25%.
- Your pay does not drop in the holidays: the same amount arrives every fortnight.
- Only part of the break is formal annual leave; the rest is time you are not required at school.
- NSW, Victoria, the ACT and the NT also pay a 17.5% leave loading once a year; in WA it is built into salary.
- CRTs: 5% loading in NSW, 20% in WA, 22% in Victoria, 25% in Queensland, SA, the ACT and the NT.
How teachers are paid in the holidays
Teachers are not paid only for term weeks and then 'given' holiday pay. Your annual salary is spread evenly across all 52 weeks, and paid fortnightly. A NSW graduate on $92,882 gets about $3,560 gross every fortnight, whether it is week 5 of Term 2 or the middle of January. There is no special holiday pay to claim. See when teachers get paid.
Legally, the school holidays are usually made up of two parts. One part is your annual leave (in some states, four weeks over summer; in others, the whole of the vacations). The rest is non-attendance or stand-down time: you are still employed and paid, but not required to be at school. The national award for non-government schools puts it simply: your pay covers the school year, and your absence in non-term weeks is deemed to include your annual leave.
State by state: how holidays and annual leave work
From each state's agreement or department handbook. Victoria's vacation and attendance policy itself was not read; the 20-day leave clause comes from the VGSA.
Can you be asked to work in the holidays?
Generally, no, outside your term dates and any pupil-free days your system schedules. Under the award, teachers are generally not required to attend when students are not present, and attendance is capped at 205 days a school year. Many teachers do plan, mark or attend optional training in the holidays, but that is not usually directed work. If you are asked to attend during your annual leave, check your agreement and talk to your union rep before agreeing.
Part-time and temporary teachers
- Part-time permanent teachers are paid their fraction of salary every fortnight, including holidays. A 0.6 teacher at Victoria's top step ($118,063) is paid about $2,715 a fortnight (before tax) all year. See the part-time teacher pay calculator.
- Temporary (fixed-term) teachers get pro-rata salary and conditions on the same scale as permanent teachers in NSW. Whether you are paid for a particular holiday depends on whether your contract covers it. If your contract ends on the last day of term, ask your employer in writing how the following holiday is treated before you sign.
- Teachers starting mid-year are paid from their start date, so the holidays before your appointment are not paid.
Casual relief teachers: no holiday pay, but a loading
Casual relief teachers (CRTs) are paid only for the days and hours they work. There is no pay in the school holidays, and no paid sick leave or annual leave. To compensate, every CRT day rate includes a loading.
Why NSW casual rates only carry 5%
- NSW Step 1 salary from 9 Oct 2026
- $92,882
- Divided by the 203 days in a NSW service year
- about $457.55 a day
- Plus 5% loading = CT1 casual day rate
- $480.43
- If a CT1 casual worked all 203 days
- about $97,527
NSW casual rates are built from a daily share of salary that already reflects holidays, so the loading is small. Few casuals get 203 days of work, which is why annual casual income is usually much lower. Our calculation from the NSW award and Catholic agreement formula.
Free calculator
Budget for the holidays as a CRT
Enter your day rate and expected days each term to see your income across the year, including the unpaid holiday weeks.
Plan my casual incomeHoliday budgeting tips for casual teachers
- Put aside part of every term pay into a separate account to cover the January gap.
- Remember the summer break is the longest stretch of the year without casual work.
- Check whether your state lets casual days count towards pay steps, so a later permanent job starts higher.
- Ask about long service leave: NSW casuals get LSL under the Long Service Leave Act 1955, and ACT casuals are included in LSL.
- Read our guide to casual relief teacher tax so your tax withholding matches your real income.
Leave loading: the extra holiday payment
On top of normal pay, permanent teachers in NSW, Victoria, the ACT and the NT receive a leave loading of 17.5% of four weeks' salary once a year, usually around summer, and it is capped. In WA the loading is built into salary; we have not confirmed the rules in Queensland, SA or Tasmania. Victoria's cap is $1,488 under the 2022 agreement and is due to rise to $1,790 for 2026 under the new agreement once the Fair Work Commission approves it, which is 17.5% of four weeks at the top step. NSW's is capped at the loading on the top Clerk Grade 12 salary. See teacher leave loading.
Leave loading for a Victorian teacher at 2-6 (pending VGSA 2026 rates)
- Salary at 2-6 from 1 Oct 2026 (once approved)
- $133,456
- Four weeks' salary ($133,456 / 52.18 x 4)
- about $10,231
- 17.5% of that
- about $1,790
The cap matches 17.5% of four weeks at the top classroom step. Paid on a date set by the employer, as at 1 December.
Long service leave and the holidays
Long service leave is separate from school holidays, and is usually taken in term time. In NSW it is called extended leave: 44 working days (about two months) after 10 years, then 11 working days for each further year, with pro-rata access from 7 years. Victoria gives 3 months after 10 years, and the ACT 3 months for each 10 years. See teacher long service leave.
Frequently asked questions
Do teachers get paid during school holidays in Australia?
Do relief teachers get paid in the holidays?
Are all school holidays annual leave for teachers?
How many weeks of holidays do teachers get in Australia?
Do teachers get holiday pay on top of their salary?
Do part-time teachers get paid in the holidays?
Can a school make me work in the holidays?
Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-16
- 1.WAIRC: Teachers and Administrators General Agreement 2023
- 2.SA Department for Education: School teacher pay rates (effective 8 May 2026)
- 3.NSW DoE Teachers Handbook Chapter 4: Leave
- 4.Proposed Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2026
- 5.Teach Queensland: Pay and benefits
- 6.DECYP Tasmania: Teaching salaries, benefits and incentives
- 7.ACT Teaching Staff Enterprise Agreement 2023-2026
- 8.NT Public Sector Educators' 2024-2027 Enterprise Agreement
- 9.Victorian CRT Employment Handbook
- 10.Fair Work: Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020
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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When do teachers get paid in Australia? Fortnightly pay explained
How fortnightly teacher pay works, how each pay is calculated from your salary, and when rises, back pay and leave loading arrive.
Leave loading
Leave loading for teachers: how the 17.5% works and what it pays in 2026
How teachers' 17.5% annual leave loading is calculated, capped and paid in each state, with 2026 dollar figures.