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The short answer
Highly Accomplished Teacher pays $134,694 a year in Queensland government schools from 1 September 2026. After 2026–27 income tax and Medicare that's about $3,874 a fortnight ($101,072 a year), plus $17,173 employer super.
- Gross pay: about $5,163 a fortnight (annual ÷ 26.089).
- With a HELP debt: about $3,496 a fortnight take-home.
- Next step up: Lead Teacher at $147,050 (+$12,356 a year).
- Agreement: Department of Education State School Teachers' Certified Agreement 2022.
Annual salary
$134,694
from 1 September 2026
Take-home a fortnight
$3,874
2026–27 tax, no HELP
Employer super
$17,173
12.75% a year
Your pay on Highly Accomplished Teacher: change FTE, HELP or step
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Take-home pay fortnightly
$3,887
Gross pay
$5,181
Income tax
$1,190
After the low income tax offset
Medicare levy
$104
Employer super
$661
12.8% paid on top
Where each dollar goes
- Take-home$101,072 (75%)
- Income tax$30,928 (23%)
- Medicare levy$2,694 (2%)
- HECS-HELP$0 (0%)
- Salary sacrifice & packaging$0 (0%)
What your payslip should show
PAYG withheld each fortnight should be about $1,294 (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: Department of Education State School Teachers' Certified Agreement 2022, verified 16 October 2026.
Highly Accomplished Teacher pay after tax
Resident, tax-free threshold claimed, full-time. Marginal rate 32% 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 Teacher pay over time
Bargaining status: In QIRC arbitration: 3% interim rise from 7 Sep 2026 (or the higher 4.75% award rate from 1 Sep 2026); final decision expected late 2026 or 2027
How to reach Highly Accomplished Teacher
Highly Accomplished Teacher is reached by application or accreditation, not automatic progression. Requires national HALT certification; interim rate from 7 Sep 2026 A four-year-trained graduate starts at Band 2 Step 1 and moves up one step a year with satisfactory service through Band 2 Steps 1-4 and Band 3 Steps 1-4. Senior Teacher needs one year at Band 3 Step 4 (or two years at Band 3 Step 1 if three-year trained), an Annual Performance Review and a Senior Teacher Undertaking and Action Plan. Experienced Senior Teacher 1 follows two years as a Senior Teacher (opt-in), and EST2 three years after that. Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher are separate classifications for teachers with national HALT certification.
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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 Teacher, and get a letter to HR drafted.
Check my pay stepFrequently asked questions
How much does a Highly Accomplished Teacher teacher earn in QLD?
What is Highly Accomplished Teacher after tax?
How much more is Lead Teacher than Highly Accomplished Teacher?
When does Highly Accomplished Teacher get a pay rise?
How much super does a Highly Accomplished Teacher teacher get?
Am I on the right step?
Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-16
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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.