On this page (9 sections)
- Which agreement sets TAFE Queensland pay
- TAFE Queensland pay scale from 1 July 2025
- The classification bands at a glance
- What TAFE Queensland teachers take home
- Part-time TAFE Queensland teachers
- Casual TAFE teacher rates in Queensland
- TAFE Queensland vs state school teacher pay
- What to do while the new agreement is pending
- FAQs
The short answer
A TAFE Queensland teacher earns $91,202 at Teacher 1 to $114,105 at Senior Teacher 3, with Lead Vocational Teachers on up to $122,083. These rates have applied since 1 July 2025, the last scheduled rise in the TAFE Queensland Educators Certified Agreement 2023. Casual teachers earn $111.35 an hour for weekday contact hours, including associated non-contact time.
- Tutor and Foundation Educator classifications sit below Teacher 1, from $65,165.
- The agreement passed its nominal expiry on 30 June 2026 (reported) and no replacement has been announced.
- TAFE Queensland teachers did not get the interim rise paid to state school teachers in September 2026.
- Higher education lecturers at TAFE Queensland are on a separate scale.
Which agreement sets TAFE Queensland pay
TAFE Queensland teachers, tutors and educational leaders are covered by the TAFE Queensland Educators Certified Agreement 2023, a state-system agreement certified by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC). The version in force was amended and reprinted operative from 1 July 2025. It is separate from the agreement for Queensland state school teachers, and separate again from the TAFE Queensland Services Certified Agreement 2025, which covers non-teaching staff.
Work out your take-home pay
⚙Your details
Salary
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Take-home pay fortnightly
$2,723
Gross pay
$3,468
Income tax
$676
After the low income tax offset
Medicare levy
$69
Employer super
$442
12.8% paid on top
Where each dollar goes
- Take-home$70,792 (79%)
- Income tax$17,569 (19%)
- Medicare levy$1,803 (2%)
- HECS-HELP$0 (0%)
- Salary sacrifice & packaging$0 (0%)
What your payslip should show
PAYG withheld each fortnight should be about $746 (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.
TAFE Queensland pay scale from 1 July 2025
Source: QTU salary schedule for the TAFE Queensland Educators CA 2023 (August 2025). Verified. Annual figures rounded to the nearest dollar. Excludes employer super.
For comparison, Teacher 1 was $88,546 from 1 July 2024 and Teacher 4 was $100,231. The 3% rise in July 2025 added $2,656 at Teacher 1 and $3,008 at Teacher 4. TAFE Queensland's higher education scale is separate: an Associate Lecturer 1 earns $113,560 from 1 July 2025.
The classification bands at a glance
- Foundation Educator and Tutor 1 to 3 are the support and tutoring classifications, from $65,165 to $72,253.
- Senior Tutor 1 and 2 pay $79,480 and $82,788.
- Teacher 1 to 4 is the main teaching scale, from $91,202 to $103,239.
- Senior Teacher 1 to 3 continues the teaching scale to $114,105.
- Lead Vocational Teacher (LVT) 1 to 3 pays $116,751 to $122,083.
- Educational Team Leader (ETL) 1 to 4 pays $116,193 to $124,322.
We could not verify the qualification rules for each classification from the agreement, so check the position description. As in other states, TAFE teaching roles generally ask for current industry skills plus the Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. If you do not yet hold the Cert IV, ask whether the role is offered on the condition that you complete it, and which classification you would start on.
Free calculator
Teacher take-home pay calculator
See your fortnightly pay on any TAFE Queensland classification, with tax, Medicare and HELP.
Work out my payWhat TAFE Queensland teachers take home
TAFE Queensland take-home pay (2026-27 tax rates)
- Teacher 1: $91,202
- $71,497 a year, $2,750 a fortnight
- Teacher 4: $103,239
- $79,683 a year, $3,065 a fortnight
- Senior Teacher 3: $114,105
- $87,071 a year, $3,349 a fortnight
No HELP debt. With HELP the three figures are $68,246, $74,626 and $80,385. Employer super at 12% is extra: $10,944 at Teacher 1 and $13,693 at Senior Teacher 3.
Part-time TAFE Queensland teachers
Part-time teachers are paid a pro-rata share of the full-time salary for their classification, so the scale above still applies. Multiply the annual rate by your fraction of a full-time load.
Teacher 2 working three days a week (0.6 of full time)
- Full-time Teacher 2 salary
- $95,186
- x 0.6
- $57,112 a year
- Take-home pay (2026-27 tax)
- $48,459 a year, $1,864 a fortnight
- Employer super at 12%
- $6,853
No HELP repayment is due at this income. If you also earn income from your own business or another job, your total tax will be higher, because the second income is taxed at your top marginal rate. The part-time teacher pay calculator works out any fraction.
Casual TAFE teacher rates in Queensland
TAFE Queensland's casual contact rate looks high next to other states. That is because it bundles the non-contact time (preparation, marking and admin) that goes with each hour you teach. Non-contact work that is separately programmed, such as recognition of prior learning, is paid at a lower rate.
Source: QTU salary schedule, August 2025. Verified.
A casual teaching 10 weekday contact hours a week
- 10 hours x $111.35
- $1,113.50 a week
- Plus 2 programmed RPL hours x $64.51
- $129.02
Casual pay depends on the hours you are offered each term. The hourly rate calculator helps you compare a casual load with a salaried job.
TAFE Queensland vs state school teacher pay
State school teachers are on a different agreement, and in September 2026 the QIRC granted them an interim 3% rise from 7 September 2026 while their arbitration continues. That rise does not apply to TAFE Queensland. See Queensland teacher pay for the school scale and our news report on the interim rise.
Against other TAFE systems, Queensland's Teacher 1 ($91,202) sits close to a Victorian Level 1.2 teacher with the Cert IV ($90,879 from 1 May 2026). Queensland's top classroom rate is lower than Victoria's $128,887 but its LVT and ETL rates add a further band above Senior Teacher. The national TAFE salary comparison puts all eight states side by side.
What to do while the new agreement is pending
Checklist for TAFE Queensland teachers
- Check your payslip classification matches the role you perform (for example Teacher 3, not Tutor 3).
- Keep your last payslip before any new agreement starts, so you can check back pay if a rise is backdated.
- Ask your union (the QTU covers TAFE educators) for bargaining updates.
- If you are casual, record your contact and non-contact hours separately, since they are paid at different rates.
- Use the back pay calculator once a backdated rise is confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a TAFE Queensland teacher earn?
When is the next TAFE Queensland pay rise?
What is the TAFE Queensland casual teacher rate?
Did TAFE Queensland teachers get the September 2026 interim pay rise?
What is a tutor paid at TAFE Queensland?
What is the hourly rate for a TAFE Queensland Teacher 1?
Is TAFE Queensland pay set by the Fair Work Commission?
Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-17
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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