Private vs public school teacher pay in Australia: every state compared (2026)

How the three sectors set pay

Government schools are paid under a state or territory agreement or award, one per system. Catholic systemic schools are run by diocesan offices, and their teachers are on a diocesan or state-wide Catholic agreement approved by the Fair Work Commission. Many of these agreements match or track the government scale. Independent schools, including Anglican, Lutheran, Christian, grammar and other schools, pay under their own or sector agreements, and the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 sets the legal minimum.

Because each instrument has its own rise dates, the gap between sectors changes through the year. A comparison is only meaningful if it is dated. Every figure below says when it applies from.

Government vs Catholic vs independent pay, state by state

Where private schools pay more

• ACT Catholic. CECG rose 3.5% on 1 August 2026 while public rates stayed at December 2025 levels. A Catholic graduate earns $3,200 more. See Canberra-Goulburn Catholic pay.
• WA Catholic and Anglican. CEWA is $3,271 ahead at entry and $2,479 at the top step; AngliSchools sets pay 2.5% above comparable public rates. See CEWA pay.
• Queensland Lutheran. A Lutheran graduate earns $94,967, $4,803 more than a state graduate and $8,366 more than a Catholic graduate.
• NSW Broken Bay and AISNSW schools. Both pay a little more than public schools at entry. Broken Bay is also ahead at the top.
• Some SA independents. The IEU SA's 2026 data puts Seaview Christian's top step at $135,590 and St Peter's College at $133,564, above the public Step 9.

Where private schools pay less

• SA Catholic. CESA has had no rise since May 2024. Its graduate rate is $2,312 below public and its top step $7,076 below. See Catholic Education SA pay.
• Queensland Catholic graduates. $86,601 against $90,164 in state schools after the September 2026 award rise. Experienced BCE teachers are ahead, though. See Brisbane Catholic Education pay.
• Victorian Catholic, now. Both sectors were paid the same 2025 rates, but VGSA 2026 was approved on 16 October 2026 and government teachers are being back-paid to 10 August 2026. Catholic back pay depends on a deal by 15 November. See MACS pay.
• Award-only schools. A school with no agreement need only pay $75,941 at Level 1 and $105,076 at Level 5, well below every government scale.

What the difference is worth after tax

A salary gap shrinks after tax, because most classroom teachers pay 30% income tax plus 2% Medicare on each extra dollar. Queensland shows the widest spread between sectors at the graduate step, so here is what each sector takes home there.

Super: who pays more than 12%

Salary packaging: the real non-salary difference

This is where the sectors genuinely differ. Government education departments are neither FBT-exempt nor FBT-rebatable, so public school teachers can usually package only super, a novated car and work devices. Non-profit Catholic and independent schools are usually FBT-rebatable employers: they get a 47% rebate on FBT for benefits up to $30,000 grossed-up per employee per FBT year, which is roughly $15,900 of benefits. That lets them offer packaging of everyday expenses such as rent or a mortgage.

The saving is smaller than it sounds, because some FBT is still payable and many schools pass it on to you. CESA and AngliSchools WA both say the employee bears FBT and provider costs, for example. Whether your school is rebatable depends on its own ATO endorsement, so 'usually' is the honest word. Our salary packaging guide works through the maths, and the salary packaging calculator lets you test an offer.

Things that matter besides the scale

• Rise dates. NSW independent rises fall in February, NSW public and Catholic rises in October. Check where each sector will be in six months, not just today.
• Agreement status. Victorian, Queensland, SA and Tasmanian Catholic teachers are all waiting on new agreements; SA and QLD are in open dispute.
• Promotion structure. Catholic schools often pay leadership as allowances on top of salary; public systems often have separate head teacher or senior teacher salaries.
• Casual rates. CEWA pays relief teachers $602.71 a day, while WA public relief teachers are paid hourly. NSW public and Catholic casual rates are within a cent of each other.
• Legacy super. Some long-serving public teachers are in closed defined benefit schemes, which no private employer can match.