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The short answer
Highly Accomplished Teacher pays $133,736 a year in South Australia government schools from 8 May 2026. After 2026–27 income tax and Medicare that's about $3,849 a fortnight ($100,420 a year), plus $16,048 employer super.
- Gross pay: about $5,126 a fortnight (annual ÷ 26.089).
- With a HELP debt: about $3,477 a fortnight take-home.
- Next step up: Lead Teacher at $141,365 (+$7,629 a year).
- Agreement: South Australian School and Preschool Education Staff Enterprise Agreement 2024.
Annual salary
$133,736
from 8 May 2026
Take-home a fortnight
$3,849
2026–27 tax, no HELP
Employer super
$16,048
12% a year
Your pay on Highly Accomplished Teacher: change FTE, HELP or step
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Take-home pay fortnightly
$3,862
Gross pay
$5,144
Income tax
$1,178
After the low income tax offset
Medicare levy
$103
Employer super
$617
12.0% paid on top
Where each dollar goes
- Take-home$100,420 (75%)
- Income tax$30,641 (23%)
- Medicare levy$2,675 (2%)
- HECS-HELP$0 (0%)
- Salary sacrifice & packaging$0 (0%)
What your payslip should show
PAYG withheld each fortnight should be about $1,282 (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: South Australian School and Preschool Education Staff Enterprise Agreement 2024, 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: EA 2024 nominally expires about March 2027; final 3% paid May 2026; AEU EA27 campaign under way, no offer yet
How to reach Highly Accomplished Teacher
Highly Accomplished Teacher is reached by application or accreditation, not automatic progression. Requires national HALT certification Teachers move up Steps 1 to 8 by annual increment. Step 9 is not automatic: under EA 2024 Schedule 3 Attachment 1 a teacher on Step 8 can apply from one month before completing 207 duty days at Step 8 by submitting a Professional Development Plan, and moves to Step 9 when the plan is accepted or on completing the 207 days. There is no quota and relief teachers (TRTs) are eligible. Above Step 9, Highly Accomplished Teacher and Lead Teacher require national certification (cl. 6.8); AST2 is a legacy rate now used as the Key Teacher Fallback salary. Unregistered staff teaching on Special Authority are paid $74,083. Placement of graduates by qualification sits in the Teachers Award and was not verified; DfE presents Step 1 as the registered-teacher entry rate.
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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 SA?
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.