On this page (10 sections)
The short answer
From the first full pay period on or after 9 October 2026, NSW public school teachers earn $92,882 at Step 1 (graduate) and $133,422 at Step 7, the top of the classroom scale. Highly Accomplished and Lead teachers earn $141,997. These rates follow the third and final 3% rise under the 2024 award.
NSW public school teachers are paid under the Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024. It is made by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission, not the Fair Work Commission, and runs from 9 October 2024 to 8 October 2027.
The rates changed a week ago. Anything you read that quotes $90,177 for a graduate or $129,536 at the top is the column from October 2025. The table on this page shows the rates in force now, plus the two columns before them.
The current shape dates from October 2023, when NSW collapsed the old scale into seven steps and lifted the graduate rate from $75,791 to $85,000 and the top rate from $113,042 to $122,100. The 2024 award then added 3% in October 2024, 2025 and 2026. That is why $85,000 x 1.03 x 1.03 x 1.03 gives today's $92,882.
NSW teacher pay scale from 9 October 2026
Take-home uses 2026–27 resident tax rates with the tax-free threshold, Medicare levy 2%, no HECS-HELP and no salary sacrifice. Employer super of 12% is paid on top. Source: Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024.
NSW teacher pay rises
Bargaining status: Final 3% rise paid from Oct 2026; award expires 8 Oct 2027 with no further rise scheduled.
Leadership and other roles in NSW
Your NSW take-home pay
⚙Your details
Salary
Show results
Take-home pay fortnightly
$2,794
Gross pay
$3,572
Income tax
$707
After the low income tax offset
Medicare levy
$71
Employer super
$429
12.0% paid on top
Where each dollar goes
- Take-home$72,640 (78%)
- Income tax$18,385 (20%)
- Medicare levy$1,858 (2%)
- HECS-HELP$0 (0%)
- Salary sacrifice & packaging$0 (0%)
What your payslip should show
PAYG withheld each fortnight should be about $780 (ATO Scale 2, tax-free threshold claimed). Small differences come from rounding and 27-pay years. Your marginal rate is 32% including Medicare, so each extra $1,000 of salary adds about $680 to take-home.
Estimates for an Australian resident for 2026–27 who claims the tax-free threshold, with no other income, no dependants and private hospital cover not required. Medicare levy uses the 2025–26 low-income thresholds (2026–27 not yet published). Pay data: Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024, verified 16 October 2026.
How the NSW pay scale works
The scale has 8 pay points: Steps 1 and 2 for Graduate teachers, Steps 3 to 7 for Proficient teachers, then a single Highly Accomplished/Lead (HA/Lead) rate. Your starting point depends on your accreditation, not just your degree. A Graduate-accredited teacher starts on Step 1, a teacher who is already Proficient starts on Step 3, and an HA or Lead teacher starts on the HA/Lead rate (award cl 3.5).
How you move up the NSW scale
- 1
Step 1 to Step 2
After one year of full-time service (203 days) and a satisfactory annual Performance and Development process.
- 2
Step 2 to Step 3
You need confirmed Proficient accreditation from your Teacher Accreditation Authority, plus a year at Step 2. Without Proficient you stay on Step 2.
- 3
Step 3 to Step 7
One step after each 203 days of service at the step, as long as you keep your Proficient accreditation.
- 4
Step 7 to HA/Lead
You need Highly Accomplished or Lead accreditation plus at least a year at Step 7. It is not automatic and not time-based.
How long it takes to reach the top
A full-time graduate starting in 2026
- Year 1
- Step 1, $92,882
- Year 2 (after 203 days)
- Step 2, $99,889
- Year 3 (Proficient confirmed)
- Step 3, $104,156
- Years 4 to 6
- Steps 4, 5 and 6
- Year 7
- Step 7, $133,422
Uses the 9 Oct 2026 rates throughout. The biggest jumps come late: Step 5 to 6 is worth $8,724 and Step 6 to 7 $8,726, against $4,267 for Step 2 to 3. If Proficient accreditation is late, every later step is late too. Part-time? Check with payroll how your service counts towards each 203-day year.
Free calculator
When will you reach Step 7?
Enter your current step and start date to see when each increment is due and what it will pay.
Open the calculatorWhat changes next
Nothing is scheduled. The 9 October 2026 rise was the last one in the award, and the award has a no-extra-claims clause (cl 32) until it expires on 8 October 2027. Any 2027 rise depends on a new award or agreement, and we have found no confirmed figure or claim yet. Follow the story on our NSW teacher pay rise page.
How NSW compares with other states and sectors
NSW's graduate rate of $92,882 is among the highest starting salaries for Australian public school teachers, and its short 7-step scale gets you to the top faster than most. Some other systems have higher top steps or bigger senior rates, so the answer depends on where you are in your career. See which state pays teachers the most, or compare directly: NSW vs Victoria, NSW vs Queensland and NSW vs the ACT.
Catholic and independent schools
NSW Catholic systemic schools pay the same as government schools, to the dollar, under the NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement 2025. Independent schools set pay through their own agreements and usually rise in February, so their rates can sit a little above or below government at different points in the year. See NSW Catholic school teacher pay and private school teacher salaries.
How to check you are on the right step
Check these against your payslip
- Your annual salary matches the 9 Oct 2026 column for your step in the table above (fortnightly pay is roughly annual divided by 26).
- Your accreditation level in your NESA account matches your step: Graduate for Steps 1-2, Proficient for Steps 3-7.
- Your increment date is about a year (203 days of service) after your last step change.
- If you were accredited Proficient while on Step 2, your move to Step 3 happened once you also had a year at Step 2.
- Allowances (rural incentive, Year Adviser, locality) appear as separate lines, not built into the base rate.
- If something looks wrong, ask your school's business manager, then payroll; the NSW Teachers Federation helps members with step disputes. Our guides to how teacher pay steps work and reading your payslip explain each line.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a teacher earn in NSW in 2026?
What is the top of the NSW teacher pay scale?
How many pay steps are there for NSW teachers?
Do I need Proficient accreditation to get a pay rise in NSW?
Is there a NSW teacher pay rise in 2027?
Do NSW Catholic school teachers earn the same as public school teachers?
How much is a NSW teacher paid per fortnight?
Sources we checked · last verified 16 October 2026
- 1.Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024 (IRC Gazette C9868)
- 2.IRC NSW award 264 version history
- 3.Teach.NSW: Salary of a teacher (updated 12 Oct 2026)
- 4.NSW DoE: Teacher subsidies, allowances and bonuses (updated 28 Sep 2026)
- 5.NSW DoE: Awards and determinations
- 6.NSW DoE: Superannuation
- 7.NESA: Teacher accreditation annual fee
- 8.NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement 2025
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.