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Pay steps

Recognition of prior service for teachers: how every state sets your pay step

How each state and the Catholic sector credit prior teaching, casual and industry service to your pay step, the evidence needed and the back-pay deadlines.

✓ By the TeacherPay AU Editorial Team · fact-checked against official sources Updated 28 October 2026 9 min read
On this page (9 sections)
  1. What recognition of prior service means
  2. The rules by state, in one table
  3. What counts, and what usually doesn't
  4. Worked example: four years' interstate teaching, starting in Queensland
  5. The evidence every employer wants
  6. Deadlines and back-dating
  7. Moving between sectors and states
  8. How to claim, step by step
  9. FAQs

The short answer

Recognition of prior service is how your employer credits earlier teaching, and sometimes other work, to your starting pay step. Most states count full-time-equivalent years in any school, here or overseas, but only with statements of service and within deadlines: one month in Queensland, six months in NSW. Each recognised year is usually one step, worth $2,400 to $8,600 a year.

  • Your employer decides your step, not the teacher regulator.
  • Casual days count in some systems and not others.
  • Queensland, NSW and the ACT can credit some non-teaching work.
  • Late claims usually apply only from the date your evidence arrives.

What recognition of prior service means

Australian teacher pay is a ladder of steps. A new graduate starts on the bottom rung and moves up one step for each year of satisfactory service. If you've taught before, anywhere, your employer is meant to place you higher to reflect that service. That process has different names: salary determination in NSW, salary on employment in Victoria, recognition of prior service in Queensland, recognition of experience in WA, reclassification in SA and the Salary Assessment Procedure in the NT.

It's separate from registration. NESA, VIT, the QCT and the other regulators decide whether you can teach. Your employer (the education department, a Catholic diocese or an independent school) decides your pay. You'll usually send evidence to both, and passing one doesn't trigger the other.

Should you be on a higher step? Enter your experience and see the step you could claim and what it's worth a year. Your first check is free.

The rules by state, in one table

Government schools: how prior service is credited (checked 20 October 2026)
StateHow service is countedCasual serviceDeadline for full back pay
NSWAccreditation sets the floor (Conditional/Provisional = Step 1, Proficient = Step 3). Interstate and NSW service counted in whole terms of 50 days; overseas in complete years of 203 days. Salary matching for Proficient service in the last 5 years.Counts (casual, temporary and permanent are cumulative); not eligible for salary matchingApply within 6 months of approval to teach (or of starting permanent work)
VIC1-1 plus one subdivision per equivalent full-time year of approved experience, up to 2-6. Interstate and equivalent international schools count. Former Victorian government teachers can have their last salary maintained.CRT work in Victorian registered schools since 1 January 2005 counts; other casual or sessional work doesn'tNot stated in the policy; the principal sets your salary on appointment
QLDThree categories: 100% for qualified teaching in approved schools, 50% for unaffiliated schools or unqualified teaching, 33% for relevant industry workOnly regular patterns (5+ consecutive days at one school, or the same days in consecutive weeks)Within 1 month of starting, returning from leave or re-engagement
WAApply once employed; assessed case by case; full years of continuous service onlyExcluded from the higher-salary applicationNot stated on the department's page
SAEveryone starts on Step 1, then applies to be reclassified to Steps 2 to 8 on qualifications and length of teaching serviceNot confirmedNot confirmed; the form is completed after your first day
TASPrevious teaching service from outside the department is recognised with certified statements of service and qualificationsNot confirmedNot confirmed
ACTQualifications and prior experience, including teaching and other work, recognised in full years onlyNot confirmed in the agreement text we readNot confirmed
NTPlaced by completed years of post-qualification service (1 year = CT2)180 days of relief teaching = 1 yearNot confirmed

Sources: NSW salary determination policy PD-2024-0483-07 (28 April 2025); Victorian PAL policy on salary on employment; Queensland recognition of prior service procedure v4.1 (15 November 2022); WA DoE; SA DfE; DECYP; ACT EA cl Q1.8; NT EA. 'Not confirmed' means we couldn't read an official rule: ask the employer in writing.

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Enter your state, employer and service history. See the step you may be owed, the yearly gap on your state's scale and what evidence to send.

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What counts, and what usually doesn't

The details differ, but the same patterns run through every policy we read. Qualified teaching in a recognised school counts almost everywhere. Work that isn't teaching a class usually doesn't, unless a specific rule says so.

Usually counts

  • Full-time and part-time teaching in government, Catholic and independent schools (part-time converted to FTE)
  • Interstate teaching in a registered or approved school
  • Overseas teaching in a recognised school, in full years
  • Kindergarten teaching (Victoria for appointments from 25 July 2022; Queensland at 100% if you were employed and registered as a teacher)
  • Paid leave during service, and in NSW approved unpaid parental leave

Usually doesn't

  • Experience before you finished your teaching qualification (explicit in Victoria)
  • Private tutoring and life education programs (explicit in Queensland)
  • Irregular day-to-day casual work in Queensland and WA
  • TAFE and university teaching in Victoria (NSW and WA can consider some)
  • Partial years of overseas service in NSW

Two kinds of non-teaching time can also count. Industry experience for career changers is recognised in Queensland, NSW and the ACT (see career change teacher salary step). Caring for young children before you started teaching can count in NSW government schools (one year of service for every two full-time years of care, up to six years of service) and NSW and ACT Catholic systemic schools (one year for each continuous three years, up to four).

Worked example: four years' interstate teaching, starting in Queensland

A teacher with four full-time years in a WA government school starts at a Queensland state school. Teaching as a qualified teacher in an approved school is Category 1, full recognition. If each full year is credited as one step, she moves from Band 2 Step 1 to Band 3 Step 1.

Worked example

Queensland state school, rates from 1 September 2026

Default start: Band 2 Step 1
$90,164 a year
With 4 recognised years: Band 3 Step 1
$107,643 a year
Gap before tax
$17,479 a year
Take-home, Band 2 Step 1
$70,792 a year
Take-home, Band 3 Step 1
$82,677 a year
Take-home difference $11,885 a year, about $457 a fortnight

Take-home from our 2026-27 tax engine: Australian resident, no HELP debt. If she sends her statements of service four months after starting instead of within one month, the procedure says the change applies only from the date the complete paperwork arrives: roughly $5,800 of gross pay she can't get back.

The evidence every employer wants

Every system works from a statement of service: a letter from each past employer that proves exactly what you did. NSW says that if anything is missing, it processes your salary on the service it can verify. WA lists what it won't accept: payslips, references, resumes, contracts and registration documents.

A statement of service should show

  • The employer's letterhead and location, signed by an authorised person
  • Your position title and the type of work (classroom teacher, relief teacher)
  • Exact start and end dates for each position
  • Full-time, part-time (with hours or FTE) or casual (with days worked)
  • Start and end dates of any unpaid leave, or the words "nil leave taken"
  • For NSW salary matching: your base salary as a plain number
  • For Queensland: an original or certified copy; a statutory declaration only with prior approval
  • For self-employment in Queensland: a statement from the business accountant with years, months and days

Deadlines and back-dating

Back pay depends on when you apply, not when you were entitled. These are the time limits we could confirm in official documents.

Time limits that decide back pay
EmployerApply withinIf you're late
NSW government6 months of approval to teach, or of starting permanent employmentAdjusted from the first pay period after your application
Queensland state schools1 month of starting, returning from leave or re-engagement; extra evidence within 3 months if askedReclassified from the date complete documents are received; no retrospective pay
NSW and ACT Catholic systemic schools (EA 2025)1 school term of starting for back pay to your start date; overseas service and child-rearing claims within 12 monthsFrom the date your application is received; overseas and child-rearing claims can't be made after 12 months
Victorian Catholic schools (CEMEA 2022)Evidence within 26 weeksBack pay limited to 26 weeks
Independent schools on the national award3 months, for service or qualifications gained after you startFrom the date you provide evidence

Other employers either don't publish a time limit or we couldn't read it. Apply in your first fortnight anyway.

Moving between sectors and states

Most systems count teaching service with any employer, so moving from a Catholic school to a government school (or the reverse) shouldn't send you back to Step 1. The traps are in the detail: Victorian Catholic schools don't count casual relief teaching, WA government schools don't count casual work, and NSW's salary matching only covers Proficient service in the last five years. See Catholic to government teacher pay step for both directions, and overseas teaching experience and your salary step if you're coming from abroad.

Casual and part-time service has its own rules, including how many casual days make a year (180 in the NT, 200 under the award, 203 in NSW Catholic systemic schools). See casual and part-time service and your pay step.

How to claim, step by step

  1. 1

    List every period of service

    School, employer, dates, FTE or days, and any unpaid leave. Include casual, overseas, Catholic, independent and early childhood work.

  2. 2

    Request statements of service now

    From every past employer, with every item on the checklist. Former employers are slow, so ask early.

  3. 3

    Find your employer's form and deadline

    NSW uses a mandatory salary determination form; Queensland takes requests by email to its teacher classifications team; WA, SA and others use internal forms once you're employed.

  4. 4

    Submit within the deadline

    Keep a copy and the date you sent it. If you're waiting on one statement, send what you have and say the rest is coming.

  5. 5

    Check your payslip

    Compare your step with the state pay scale after the next pay run. If it hasn't changed, follow up in writing.

  6. 6

    Challenge a wrong result

    Ask for the reasons in writing and get your union involved. See how to fix a wrong pay step.

Frequently asked questions

What is recognition of prior service for teachers?
It's the process your employer uses to credit earlier teaching, and sometimes other work, to your pay step when you start. Each recognised full-time year usually moves you up one step.
Does Catholic or independent school service count in government schools?
Generally yes. NSW counts casual, temporary and permanent NSW teaching cumulatively, Victoria counts Victorian registered schools, and Queensland gives full recognition to qualified teaching in approved schools. Get statements of service from each school.
How long do I have to claim prior service?
It varies. Queensland state schools want claims within one month of starting and NSW within six months of approval to teach. NSW and ACT Catholic systemic schools backdate to your start date if you apply within one school term.
Does casual relief teaching count towards my pay step?
In some systems. NSW government and Catholic schools count casual days, Victoria counts CRT work in Victorian registered schools since 2005, and the NT counts 180 relief days as a year. WA's higher-salary process excludes casual work.
Does part-time teaching count as a full year?
No, part-time service is usually converted to full-time equivalent. Two years at 0.5 FTE normally counts as one year. Under the national award, service above 90% of a full-time load counts as a full year.
What evidence do I need for prior service?
A statement of service from each past employer on letterhead, showing your position, exact dates, FTE or days worked and any unpaid leave. Payslips and references alone are usually not accepted.
Can I get back pay if my prior service was never recognised?
Sometimes, but only for claims made within the employer's time limit. Late claims usually start from the date your complete evidence arrives, so apply as soon as you notice.
Does recognition of prior service affect long service leave?
That's a separate decision. Service recognised for your pay step isn't automatically recognised for long service leave. Ask your employer about both. See teacher long service leave.

Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-28

  1. 1.NSW Department of Education: Salary determination policy (PD-2024-0483-07)
  2. 2.Victorian Department of Education PAL: Salary on employment, transfer or promotion
  3. 3.Queensland Department of Education: Recognition of prior service – teachers procedure (v4.1)
  4. 4.WA Department of Education: Recognition of experience and qualifications
  5. 5.SA Department for Education: Teacher salary levels and applying for reclassification
  6. 6.DECYP Tasmania: Teaching salaries, benefits and incentives
  7. 7.ACT Public Schools Teaching Staff Enterprise Agreement 2023-2026
  8. 8.NT Public Sector Educators' 2024-2027 Enterprise Agreement
  9. 9.NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement 2025
  10. 10.Fair Work: Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020

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.

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