Teacher Pay Australia — Salary Scales by State & Experience Level

Teacher Salary by State

Teacher salaries differ across states and territories because each jurisdiction negotiates its own enterprise agreement for government school teachers. The table below shows the approximate annual salary at three key points on the classroom teacher pay scale: starting salary (Graduate), mid-band (typically Year 5–6), and top of band (the maximum a classroom teacher can earn without moving into a leadership role).

The ACT consistently offers the highest teacher salaries in Australia, followed by WA and NSW. Tasmania and South Australia sit at the lower end of the scale. These figures apply to government school teachers — Catholic and independent school salaries may differ based on their own enterprise agreements or individual contracts. Use the NSW Pay Calculator or VIC Pay Calculator to calculate after-tax pay in your state.

Teacher Classification Levels

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers define four career stages that correspond to salary classification levels across all states and territories:

• Graduate Teacher: Newly qualified teachers in their first 1–2 years of practice. Graduate teachers enter at the bottom of the salary scale and are working towards demonstrating proficiency against the teaching standards.
• Proficient Teacher: Teachers who have demonstrated competence against all 7 teaching standards. Most teachers reach Proficient status within 2–3 years and continue progressing through annual salary increments within this classification.
• Highly Accomplished Teacher: An advanced voluntary certification recognising teachers who demonstrate exemplary practice. Not all states offer additional salary for this classification, but some provide allowances of $5,000–$10,000 per year.
• Lead Teacher / Head Teacher: The highest classification for teachers who take on leadership, mentoring, and curriculum development responsibilities. Head teachers in NSW earn $130,000–$145,000, while equivalent roles in other states carry similar salary premiums above the top-of-band classroom teacher rate.

How Progression Works

Teacher salary progression is largely automatic within the classroom teacher band. After achieving Proficient status (typically Year 2–3), teachers receive annual increments that move them through the salary scale until they reach the top of band. The number of increments varies by state — NSW has 13 steps from Graduate to top of band, while Victoria has 12.

Progression beyond the top of band requires moving into a leadership or specialist role (Head Teacher, Deputy Principal, Principal) or achieving Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher certification. Principal salaries range from $130,000 to $200,000+ depending on school size, location, and complexity. Rural and remote school teachers may receive additional allowances of $3,000–$15,000 per year as an incentive for working in hard-to-staff locations.

Teachers can also increase their income through additional responsibilities such as year coordinator, subject head, or sports coordinator roles, which typically attract allowances of $2,000–$8,000 per year on top of the classroom teacher salary.

Teacher Salary After Tax

A mid-career teacher earning $95,000 per year pays approximately $21,717 in income tax and Medicare levy for FY2025-26, leaving a take-home pay of $73,283 per year (approximately $2,819 per fortnight). On top of this, the employer pays superannuation at 12% ($11,400), bringing the total remuneration package to $106,400.

Government school teachers may also benefit from salary sacrifice into superannuation, which can reduce taxable income. Contributing an extra $5,000 per year through salary sacrifice saves approximately $1,500 in tax for a teacher on $95,000. See the Salary Sacrifice Calculator for exact savings at your salary level.

Teacher Pay vs Other Professions

Teacher pay in Australia is often debated in the context of attracting and retaining talent. At the graduate level, teacher starting salaries of $70,000–$78,000 compare favourably with many other graduate roles. However, the salary ceiling for classroom teachers ($104,000–$118,000) is reached relatively quickly (within 10–13 years) and remains fixed without moving into leadership.

By comparison, graduate engineers start at $65,000–$75,000 but can reach $120,000–$160,000 as senior engineers. Graduate accountants start at $55,000–$65,000 but can reach $100,000–$150,000 within 8–10 years. The national average full-time salary is approximately $98,000, meaning a mid-career teacher earning $95,000 is close to the national average. Visit Average Salary Australia for broader comparisons across industries.

Frequently Asked Questions