ACT Public Service Pay Scales 2026 — ASO & SOG Salaries

Who sets these rates

The ACT Public Sector Administrative and Related Classifications Enterprise Agreement 2023–2026, a single-enterprise agreement approved by the Fair Work Commission on 13 September 2023 (AG2023/2959). It covers Administrative Services Officers (ASO 1 to 6) and Senior Officers (Grades C, B and A) across all ACT Government directorates, plus a number of related local classifications, in Annex A. ACT executives are not covered by it.

The agreement made seven increases between January 2023 and December 2025, the last being 1% plus a $1,000 flat-rate increase from the first full pay period on or after 1 December 2025 (4 December 2025). It passed its nominal expiry date on 31 March 2026. A proposed 2026–2029 replacement was put to a ballot that closed on 8 September 2026 and was not approved by employees, so the 2023–2026 rates continue to apply and no further increase is scheduled until a new agreement is made.

Across the schedule below, published salaries run from $65,124 to $172,246. Every figure on this page is transcribed from the instrument named beside it and was checked on 24 September 2026. Where a level could not be read from a primary source it is left out and listed further down rather than estimated.

ACTPS pay scales

How progression between pay points works

A new starter or promoted employee is paid the first pay point of the classification (clause C5.1), although the head of service can approve a start at a higher pay point (clause C5.2).

An eligible employee moves up one pay point each year on the anniversary of starting in the classification, provided no underperformance or discipline action is under way (clause C5.5). After 12 months of higher duties within a 24-month period, an increment is also paid at the higher classification (clause C5.3).

Moving from one class to the next — ASO 4 to ASO 5, or ASO 6 to Senior Officer Grade C — is a promotion to a position at that level, not an increment. The top of ASO 6 is $116,592 and the bottom of SOG C is $127,597.

Superannuation on top of the band

Clause D7.5 sets the employer contribution at 12.5% from 1 January 2026 for members of accumulation funds (it was 12% from 1 July to 31 December 2025), plus a further 1% in each pay period where the employee contributes 3% or more of ordinary time earnings. Members of the CSS and PSSdb defined-benefit schemes receive what their scheme rules specify instead.

The Superannuation Guarantee minimum is 12.0% from 1 July 2025, so a public sector employer contribution above that rate is real money you should count when you compare offers. Our superannuation calculator and superannuation guide work through the difference over a career.

What the band is worth after tax

The salaries above are gross. To check a payslip you need the figure after income tax, the Medicare levy and any study loan repayment. The mid-band link in each row opens the nearest published take-home page, and the calculators below take your exact salary:

• Income tax calculator — tax and Medicare levy on an exact salary.
• Take-home pay calculator — weekly, fortnightly and monthly net pay.
• Fortnightly pay calculator — most public service payrolls pay fortnightly, and the classification tables above are published as fortnightly rates.
• Pay rise calculator — what an increment or an agreement increase is worth in the hand.
• Salary sacrifice calculator — public sector employers commonly offer packaging; this shows the tax effect.
• Understanding your payslip — how a classification and pay point appear on the payslip itself.

What this page does not cover

These are the rates we could not read from a primary source. Nothing here is estimated in their place:

• Rates under the proposed Administrative and Related Classifications Enterprise Agreement 2026–2029 — employees voted it down in September 2026, so its figures are not in force and are not shown.
• ACT Public Service executive (SES-equivalent) remuneration, which is set outside this agreement.
• Graduate, cadet, trainee and apprentice rates, and the other local classifications in Annex A (Audit Office, Capital Linen Service, research officers, school assistants and others) — published in the same annex but not transcribed here.
• Retention points restricted to Trust Officers and DPP staff.
• Teachers, nurses, health professionals and other ACT staff on their own enterprise agreements (see the teacher and nurse pages).

ACTPS pay questions