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Police Salary Australia 2026 — Police officer Pay by State

Police officers start on $72,317 to $94,651 a year depending on the state, and the top of the police officer scale runs from $107,420 to $126,007. Each figure is read from the state’s own agreement or official pay table — there is no national award rate for police officers.

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Police officer salary by state

Base salary, full time, before tax, shift penalties and super. “Entry constable” is the first qualified or entry row of each state’s table and “Top of constable scale” the top of its core scale; supervisory and specialist rows are on the state pages.

Police officer pay by state
StateEmployerEntry constableTop of constable scaleRates from
NSWNSW Police Force$83,028$125,2811 July 2026
VICVictoria PoliceIncludes a 13% commuted penalty allowance for weekend and shift liability.$84,060$126,0071 June 2026
QLDQueensland Police Service$78,505$118,1271 July 2026
WAWA Police Force$94,651$124,5581 July 2026
TASTasmania Police$73,518$107,4201 December 2025
ACTAFP (ACT Policing)$72,317$111,8619 December 2025
NTNorthern Territory Police$87,005$120,5397 August 2026

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.

NSW police officer pay — NSW Police ForceVIC police officer pay — Victoria PoliceQLD police officer pay — Queensland Police ServiceWA police officer pay — WA Police ForceTAS police officer pay — Tasmania PoliceACT police officer pay — AFP (ACT Policing)NT police officer pay — Northern Territory Police

Not yet verified — see the official source

We could not read a current table for these from a primary source, so we show no figure rather than an estimate.

SA — SA Police (SAPOL)

We could not find an official instrument that prints SA Police salaries from January 2026 increment by increment. The last registered salary schedule (South Australia Police Enterprise Agreement 2021, varied 27 February 2024) shows January 2024 rates, which have since been increased, so we do not publish them as current.

South Australia Police Enterprise Agreement 2021 (as varied)

How police officer pay is set

Police officers are not covered by a national modern award. Each state and territory police force sets pay in its own award, enterprise agreement or determination, and the Australian Federal Police — which provides ACT Policing — has its own enterprise agreement.

Sworn pay is organised by rank and then by years at that rank: a probationary or first-year constable starts at the bottom of the constable scale, moves up yearly, and senior constable, sergeant and senior sergeant have their own increments.

Recruits are paid differently while they train at the academy — how, and how much, varies by state, and each state page says what its instrument or recruiting authority sets.

Police officer pay after tax

Each salary in the table links to its take-home page. Shift penalties, overtime and allowances are taxed as ordinary income on top of base salary, so for your real pay enter your expected total in the take-home pay calculator. Overtime is covered by the overtime pay calculator.

Police officer pay questions

It depends on the state. Across the 7 states and territories whose police officer pay tables we have verified, the entry rate runs from $72,317 (ACT) to $94,651 (WA) a year, and the top of the police officer scale from $107,420 (TAS) to $126,007 (VIC). These are base salaries before tax, shift penalties and super.

Of the states we have verified, Victoria has the highest top-of-scale base salary at $126,007, and Western Australia the highest entry rate at $94,651. Base salary is only part of the picture: shift penalties, allowances and how quickly you progress differ by state, so compare the state pages rather than one figure.

No national modern award sets police officer pay. Each police force pays under its own state or territory instrument (an enterprise agreement, state award or determination), which is why pay differs between states and why this site publishes each state's table separately.

Yes. Shift penalties, overtime and most allowances are ordinary taxable income and are taxed through PAYG withholding with your salary. Use the take-home pay calculator with your total expected pay, not just base salary, to see what lands in your account.

We publish a state's table only after reading it from the official instrument or the employer's own published pay table. For SA we could not verify the current table from a primary source, so the hub links to the official source instead of showing an estimate.
How these pages are sourced▼

Each state page is transcribed from that state’s enterprise agreement, award, determination or the employer’s own published pay table, on the date shown on the page. Nothing is estimated, averaged or interpolated, and states we could not verify carry no figures.

Sources & References

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Last verified: 24 September 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.

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