TAFE NSW teacher salary in 2026: pay rises, agreement and what we know

The agreement that sets TAFE NSW pay

TAFE NSW teachers are covered by the TAFE Commission of NSW Teachers and Related Employees Enterprise Agreement 2025-2028 (Fair Work Commission reference AE528210). It was approved on 28 February 2025 and reaches nominal expiry on 31 January 2028. Unlike NSW public school teachers, whose pay is set by a NSW Industrial Relations Commission award, TAFE NSW is in the federal Fair Work system, so this is an enterprise agreement and not a 'Crown Employees' award.

That is why TAFE NSW rises land in February while NSW school teachers' rises land in October. The NSW Teachers Federation represents TAFE teachers as well as school teachers, but the two groups bargain separately and have different scales.

TAFE NSW pay rises, 2025 to 2027

Compounded, the three rises add about 9.8% to a salary over the life of the agreement. Because we have no verified step table, the example below uses a round $100,000 to show how the rises build. It is an illustration, not a TAFE NSW rate.

The $1,000 cost-of-living payment

The agreement includes a conditional cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). If the 12-month average Sydney CPI to the March quarter is above 4.5%, eligible staff get a one-off $1,000 payment plus super in July. It can be paid in July 2025, July 2026 and July 2027. Part-time and casual staff get a pro-rata amount.

What TAFE NSW teachers are reported to earn

TAFE NSW has not published a step table that we could access. The agreement PDF on the Fair Work Commission site was blocked when we tried it, and TAFE NSW careers pages did not load for us. What we could see were job-ad summaries in search results:

Casual and part-time TAFE NSW teachers

The 2025 agreement renamed 'Part-Time Casual Teachers' as Casual Teachers, and casuals can now be offered permanency after six months. Casual teachers are paid by the hour, with a casual loading built in. One 2026 TAFE NSW ad for a construction teacher reportedly quoted about $93.46 an hour including casual loading, but we could not verify the casual rate schedule, and rates differ by role and the type of hour worked.

If you are weighing casual TAFE work against a salaried role, check what the hourly rate covers. Some TAFE systems include preparation and marking time in the casual rate and some do not. The national TAFE salary comparison shows how other states define their casual rates, and the hourly rate calculator converts a salary to an hourly figure.

How to check your TAFE NSW pay is right

Qualifications to teach at TAFE NSW

We could not read the agreement's qualification clauses, so this is general. Like other TAFEs, TAFE NSW teaching roles ask for current industry skills and experience in the field you will teach, plus the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or a higher VET teaching qualification. Some roles are advertised to people who are working towards the Cert IV.

TAFE NSW vs NSW school teacher pay

NSW public school teachers are on the Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) award. A new school teacher on Step 1 earns $92,882 from 9 October 2026, after the final 3% rise under that award. See the NSW teacher pay scale and NSW pay rise page for the full school scale.

If the reported TAFE NSW range is right, a TAFE teacher's starting base is a little above a school graduate's. But school teaching needs a teaching degree and NESA accreditation, and its scale runs higher at the top with more promotion roles. TAFE's advantage is that you can teach your trade or profession without a four-year degree. If you're thinking about switching, the career hub covers what changes.