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The short answer
Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher pays $141,997 a year in New South Wales government schools from 9 October 2026. After 2026–27 income tax and Medicare that's about $4,046 a fortnight ($105,548 a year), plus $17,040 employer super.
- Gross pay: about $5,443 a fortnight (annual ÷ 26.089).
- With a HELP debt: about $3,620 a fortnight take-home.
- This is the top of the scale we track for NSW.
- Agreement: Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024.
Annual salary
$141,997
from 9 October 2026
Take-home a fortnight
$4,046
2026–27 tax, no HELP
Employer super
$17,040
12% a year
Your pay on Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher: change FTE, HELP or step
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Take-home pay fortnightly
$4,060
Gross pay
$5,461
Income tax
$1,293
After the low income tax offset
Medicare levy
$109
Employer super
$655
12.0% paid on top
Where each dollar goes
- Take-home$105,548 (74%)
- Income tax$33,609 (24%)
- Medicare levy$2,840 (2%)
- HECS-HELP$0 (0%)
- Salary sacrifice & packaging$0 (0%)
What your payslip should show
PAYG withheld each fortnight should be about $1,404 (ATO Scale 2, tax-free threshold claimed). Small differences come from rounding and 27-pay years. Your marginal rate is 39% including Medicare, so each extra $1,000 of salary adds about $610 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.
Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher pay after tax
Resident, tax-free threshold claimed, full-time. Marginal rate 39% including Medicare. Your payslip's tax withheld may differ slightly from the year-end figure.
Pro-rata salary, 2026–27 tax, no HELP debt.
Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher pay over time
Bargaining status: Final 3% rise paid from Oct 2026; award expires 8 Oct 2027 with no further rise scheduled.
How to reach Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher
Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher is reached by application or accreditation, not automatic progression. Requires HA or Lead accreditation plus 1 year at Step 7 8 pay points: Steps 1-2 (Graduate), Steps 3-7 (Proficient), then Highly Accomplished/Lead. You move up one step after each year of service (203 days full-time) with a satisfactory Performance and Development process. Step 2 to Step 3 also needs confirmed Proficient accreditation from NESA. Step 7 to HA/Lead needs HA or Lead accreditation plus at least a year at Step 7. Pay depends on keeping your accreditation. A full-time graduate who reaches Proficient on time gets to Step 7 in about 6 years.
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Should you be on a higher step?
If you have overseas, Catholic, independent, casual or industry experience, check whether it should put you above Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher, and get a letter to HR drafted.
Check my pay stepFrequently asked questions
How much does a Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher teacher earn in NSW?
What is Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher after tax?
When does Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher get a pay rise?
How much super does a Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher teacher get?
Am I on the right step?
Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-16
Download the NSW teacher pay scale 2026 (PDF)
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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.