Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020: pay rates from 1 July 2026

What the award is and who it covers

The Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 (award code MA000077) is a national modern award made by the Fair Work Commission. It covers employers in the school education industry and the children's services and early childhood education industry, and the teachers they employ, where the employer is in the national workplace relations system. In practice that means Catholic and independent schools, community and private preschools, and long day care centres.

• Government school teachers are not covered. They are paid under state awards or agreements, such as the NSW teachers' award or Victoria's VGSA. See your state pay page.
• Excluded roles include principals and deputy principals, individual instrumental or language tutors, sports coaches, teacher aides and classroom assistants (other than university-qualified early childhood teachers) and religious teaching roles.
• Enterprise agreements override it. If your school has an approved agreement, that agreement sets your pay, but it must leave you better off overall than the award.

Award pay rates from 1 July 2026

The 1 July 2026 rates include the Fair Work Commission's 4.75% Annual Wage Review increase for 2025-26, which applies from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. For comparison, Level 1 was $72,497 a year in 2025-26. If you were on award rates and your July pay did not change, raise it with your employer or the IEU.

How you move between levels

So on award rates, a graduate who gains proficient status in about two years reaches Level 4 after roughly eight years. Compare that with a NSW government teacher, who reaches the top classroom step ($133,422) in about six years. Part-time service counts pro rata, and for casuals 200 full casual days equal one full-time year of teaching service. A teacher returning after a break with at least two years' service but without proficient status is classified at Level 2 for one FTE year.

Award rates vs government school pay

Casual teachers under the award

Casual teachers are paid a 25% loading instead of paid leave. Clause 17.5(b) calculates the minimum casual rate as the weekly rate divided by 5, plus 25%, for a full day, or the weekly rate divided by 10, plus 25%, for a half day.

Hours, term weeks and holidays

• Term weeks: hours vary, and teachers are generally not required to attend when students are not present (clause 15.4).
• Maximum attendance: 205 days in a school year (clause 15.5).
• Pay covers the whole year. Your annual salary is paid for the school year, and your absence in non-term weeks is deemed to include your annual leave (clause 15.9).
• Annual leave must be taken in non-term weeks as directed by the employer, generally in the four weeks after the final term week (clauses 21.2 and 21.3).
• Leave loading of 17.5% applies to four weeks' leave. Employers can instead build it into salary by increasing the annual rate by 1.342% and paying it each pay period (clause 23.5).

This is why award teachers, like government teachers, are paid in the school holidays. Our guide to whether teachers get paid in school holidays explains how that works for permanent, part-time and casual staff.

Award or enterprise agreement: which applies to you?

If your school or service has an enterprise agreement approved by the Fair Work Commission, the agreement sets your pay and conditions instead of the award. Before approving an agreement, the Commission checks that employees would be better off overall than under the award. That is why most agreement scales sit well above the award: NSW Catholic systemic teachers, for example, start at $92,882 against an award Level 1 of $75,941.

Agreements can expire on paper and keep applying until they are replaced. If your agreement's pay table has not moved for a while, check that your rate is still at least the current award rate for your level, because the award rises every July. If it is not, talk to your employer or the Fair Work Ombudsman.

When award teachers are paid

Clause 18.1 lets employers pay wages fortnightly, every four weeks (two weeks in arrears and two in advance), or monthly (as close as possible to the middle of each month). For teachers in long day care services covered by Schedule A, fortnightly payment is due no later than the last working day of each fortnight. On termination, final pay is due within 7 days. See when teachers get paid.