QLD Paramedic Salary 2026 — Queensland Ambulance Service Pay Scale

QLD paramedic pay 2026 at a glance

Full-time base salaries from 1 September 2026. Tap a table name for every row, or a salary to see it after tax.

Which agreement sets QLD paramedic pay

Paramedics employed by Queensland Ambulance Service are paid under the Queensland Ambulance Service Certified Agreement 2025. The rates below apply from 1 September 2026 and were read from the source on 24 September 2026.

Next scheduled increase: 1 September 2027. A further 2.5% from 1 September 2027 is written into the agreement and printed in the updated schedule: Level 2, Band 1, Increment 1 goes to $89,043 and Level 2, Band 2, Increment 7 to $110,201. A CPI Uplift Adjustment of up to 1% may be added if the March 2027 Brisbane CPI exceeds 2.5%.

Queensland Ambulance Service pay scale — every classification

Annual full-time base salary before tax and before superannuation. Part-time staff are paid pro rata.

Every salary links to its take-home figure. Take-home pages exist for every $1,000 up to $150,000 and in wider steps above that, so a salary without a page of its own links to the nearest one.

Graduate and intern paramedic pay

Graduates with a paramedic science degree start at Level 2, Band 1, Increment 1 while they complete QAS induction and the first half of the internship program: $86,877 a year ($3,330 a fortnight) from 1 September 2026.

After six months they move to Level 2, Band 1, Increment 2 ($88,808 a year, $3,404 a fortnight) to finish the internship, then to Level 2, Band 2 as a qualified Advanced Care Paramedic ($93,452 a year at Increment 1).

Critical Care Paramedic interns (who already hold a Graduate Diploma in Intensive Care Paramedical Practice or equivalent) are paid at Level 3, Band 1, Increment 1: $109,888 a year.

Shift penalties, loadings and allowances

Base salary is not the whole of it: paramedics on rotating rosters are paid extra for shift work. In summary, from the Queensland Ambulance Service Certified Agreement 2025:

• Shift allowance: 12.5% of the ordinary base hourly rate for each hour of an afternoon shift and 15% for each hour of a night shift (clause 26.1.1). Not paid for shifts that attract weekend, public holiday or overtime penalties.
• Night coverage allowance from 1 March 2026: 5% of the Level 2, Band 2, Increment 5 ordinary base hourly rate for each full ordinary hour of a night shift worked (clause 26.2).
• Ordinary time between midnight Friday and midnight Saturday is paid at time and a half; between midnight Saturday and midnight Sunday at double time (clause 26.10.1).

Check the instrument for the exact conditions that apply to your roster. Overtime is worked out separately — the overtime pay calculator handles time and a half and double time.

What a QLD paramedic salary is worth after tax

Every salary in the tables links to its take-home figure. Start with take-home pay on $87,000 for the entry rate or take-home pay on $108,000 for the top of the scale. Those figures cover base salary only; shift penalties and allowances are taxed as ordinary income on top.

Employer superannuation is paid on top of these salaries. For your own pay including penalties, a study loan or salary packaging, use the take-home pay calculator or the QLD pay calculator.

What this page does not show

We publish only what we could read from a primary source. These are left off rather than estimated:

• Level 4 and Level 5 supervisory and management rates are printed in the schedule but are not reproduced here because the role titles attached to each band were not confirmed from Schedule 3.
• Level 1 (patient transport and Ambulance Technician pathway) rates are not reproduced here.

QLD paramedic pay questions

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