The 1 July 2026 increase is the last one written into the Crown Employees (Public Sector - Salaries 2024) Award, which remains in force until 30 June 2027. No later rate is published yet.
NSW prison officer pay 2026 at a glance
Full-time base salaries from 1 July 2026. Tap a table name for every row, or a salary to see it after tax.
Which agreement sets NSW prison officer pay
Prison officers employed by Corrective Services NSW are paid under the Crown Employees (Public Sector - Salaries 2024) Award. The rates below apply from 1 July 2026 and were read from the source on 9 October 2026.
Corrective Services NSW pay scale — every classification
Annual full-time base salary before tax and before superannuation. Part-time staff are paid pro rata.
Correctional officer ranks
Crown Employees (Correctional Officers) Award salaries, from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026 (a 3% increase). The incidental allowance in each note is paid on top, per year.
| Classification | Annual salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Probationary Correctional Officer | $77,406 | Incidental allowance: not paid in training; $1,272 a year on graduation |
| Correctional Officer 1st year | $78,821 | Incidental allowance $1,865 a year |
| Correctional Officer 2nd year and thereafter | $80,292 | Incidental allowance $2,552 a year |
| Correctional Officer, First Class 1st year | $84,799 | Incidental allowance $3,816 a year |
| Correctional Officer, First Class 2nd year and thereafter | $91,742 | Incidental allowance $3,816 a year |
| Senior Correctional Officer | $97,285 | Incidental allowance $6,362 a year |
Overseers
The overseer classifications are on the same salary points as the officer ranks, plus the award's industries and maintenance allowance shown in each note.
| Classification | Annual salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Overseer 1st year | $84,799 | Industries and maintenance allowance $12,491 a year |
| Overseer 2nd year and thereafter | $91,742 | Industries and maintenance allowance $5,543 a year |
| Senior Overseer | $97,285 | Industries and maintenance allowance $10,907 a year |
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.
Trainee and probationary prison officer pay
A new recruit is a Probationary Correctional Officer, paid $77,406 a year from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. The award table marks the incidental allowance as not applicable while the officer is in training; it is $1,272 a year once the officer graduates.
Shift penalties, loadings and allowances
Base salary is not the whole of it: prison officers on rotating rosters are paid extra for shift work. In summary, from the Crown Employees (Public Sector - Salaries 2024) Award:
- Shift allowances, other than at weekends or on public holidays: 10% for an early morning shift (starting before 6 am), 15% for an afternoon shift (C or D watch) and 17½% for a night shift (B watch) (clause 11(ii)).
- Continuous shift workers regularly rostered on Sundays and public holidays get half time extra for ordinary time on a Saturday, three quarter time extra on a Sunday, and half time extra when rostered on and working a public holiday, with six weeks' recreation leave a year (clause 16(ii)).
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 NSW prison officer salary is worth after tax
Every salary in the tables links to its take-home figure. Start with take-home pay on $77,000 for the entry rate or take-home pay on $97,000 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 NSW 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:
- Commissioned ranks (Assistant Superintendent and above), which are on a separate table in the same award.
- Overtime, on-call and other allowances in the Crown Employees (Correctional Officers) Award beyond the shift and weekend provisions summarised here.
NSW prison officer pay questions
Prison officer pay in other states
How this page is sourced▼
Every salary on this page was read from the Crown Employees (Public Sector - Salaries 2024) Award or Corrective Services NSW’s own published pay table on 9 October 2026, and applies from 1 July 2026. Nothing is estimated, averaged or interpolated. Where the instrument publishes a weekly or fortnightly rate, the annual figure is that rate multiplied out and the published rate is shown in the notes column.
Take-home figures come from the site’s own calculator using ATO rates for the current income year.
Sources & References
- 1Crown Employees (Public Sector - Salaries 2024) Award, Serial C9875 — Part B, Correctional Officers table— NSW Industrial Relations Commission (Industrial Gazette)
- 2Crown Employees (Correctional Officers, Department of Communities and Justice - Corrective Services NSW) Award — reprint, Serial C9952— NSW Industrial Relations Commission (Industrial Gazette)
Last verified: 9 October 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.
Anita Bell
AuthorFounder & Senior Bookkeeper
Accountancy degree (2015); certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One
Anita Bell earned her accountancy degree in 2015 and has worked as a senior bookkeeper with Prime Bookkeeping for over 5 years. This built her skills in Australian and New Zealand tax legislation and industry regulations. She is certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One, and works with payroll and rostering software including Gusto, Deputy, Tsheets and KeyPay. She has strong experience in hospitality, building and construction, financial services, real estate, ecommerce, and medical and health services.
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