The rates below are the award's 9 October 2026 column, the last 3% rise it schedules, paid from the first full pay period on or after 9 October 2026 — so the first pay with the new rate can fall a little after that date. The award remains in force until 8 October 2027.
New South Wales teacher pay scale 2026 — every step
NSW writes the classroom teacher scale as Step 1 to Step 7 (Schedule 1A of the award). Steps 1 and 2 carry Graduate accreditation and Steps 3 to 7 Proficient accreditation; Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher certification is paid above Step 7.
Full-time annual salaries before tax and before superannuation. Part-time teachers are paid these rates pro rata on their time fraction.
Classroom teachers (Schedule 1A)
The standards-based salary scale that covers every classroom teacher in a NSW public school, primary and secondary alike. There is one scale — a primary teacher and a secondary teacher on the same step are paid the same.
| Step | Annual salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | $92,882 | Graduate accreditation |
| Step 2 | $99,889 | Graduate accreditation |
| Step 3 | $104,156 | Proficient accreditation |
| Step 4 | $108,421 | Proficient accreditation |
| Step 5 | $115,972 | Proficient accreditation |
| Step 6 | $124,696 | Proficient accreditation |
| Step 7 | $133,422 | Proficient accreditation — top of scale |
| Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher | $141,997 | Voluntary higher accreditation |
Every salary links to its take-home figure. Where a salary is not a round $5,000 the link goes to the nearest amount the calculator publishes.
NSW teacher salary 2026 at a glance
Full-time annual salaries from the first full pay period on or after 9 October 2026, read from the Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024. Tap a classification for every step, or a salary to see it after tax.
| Classification | Steps | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classroom teachers (Schedule 1A) | 8 | $92,882 | $141,997 |
| Head teachers, assistant principals and deputy principals (Schedule 3) | 8 | $153,531 | $179,255 |
| Principals (Schedule 2A) | 8 | $153,531 | $253,369 |
| School counsellors (Schedule 1B) | 6 | $104,156 | $165,812 |
New South Wales principal salary 2026
Principals are paid on their own scale, separate from the classroom teacher steps above. The figures below are read from the same Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024 schedule as the rest of this page and apply from the first full pay period on or after 9 October 2026.
| Principal scale | Lowest | Highest | Pay points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principals (Schedule 2A) | $153,531 | $236,318 | 7 |
The principal classification structure. A principal's classification is derived from their school's funding allocation, and P2 to P5 include a complexity loading on top of the base principal salary.
Every principal pay point is in the full table further down this page.
NSW leadership, specialist and other pay scales
Head teachers, assistant principals and deputy principals (Schedule 3)
School-based promotion positions. Head teacher and assistant principal sit on the same rate; deputy principal is a single rate regardless of primary, secondary or central school.
| Position | Annual salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Head Teacher, high school | $153,531 | |
| Head Teacher, central school | $153,531 | |
| Assistant Principal, primary school | $153,531 | |
| Assistant Principal, central school | $153,531 | |
| Deputy Principal, high school | $179,255 | |
| Deputy Principal, primary school | $179,255 | |
| Deputy Principal (Secondary), central school | $179,255 | |
| Deputy Principal (Primary), central school | $179,255 |
Every salary links to its take-home figure. Where a salary is not a round $5,000 the link goes to the nearest amount the calculator publishes.
Principals (Schedule 2A)
The principal classification structure. A principal's classification is derived from their school's funding allocation, and P2 to P5 include a complexity loading on top of the base principal salary.
| Classification | Annual salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching Principal 1 (TP1) / Associate Principal | $153,531 | |
| Teaching Principal 2 (TP2) / Associate Principal | $179,255 | |
| Principal 1 (P1) | $184,175 | |
| Principal 2 (P2) | $198,235 | Base + $14,060 complexity loading |
| Principal 3 (P3) | $219,681 | Base + $35,506 complexity loading |
| Principal 4 (P4) | $229,288 | Base + $45,113 complexity loading |
| Principal 5 (P5) | $236,318 | Base + $52,143 complexity loading |
| Executive Principal, Connected Communities | $253,369 | Plus a $50,000 allowance under clause 5.9 |
Every salary links to its take-home figure. Where a salary is not a round $5,000 the link goes to the nearest amount the calculator publishes.
School counsellors (Schedule 1B)
School counsellors are paid on their own standards-based scale, which tops out well above the classroom teacher scale.
| Step | Annual salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SC1 | $104,156 | |
| SC2 | $108,421 | |
| SC3 | $115,972 | |
| SC4 | $124,696 | |
| SC5 | $153,531 | |
| School Counsellor Advanced Certification | $165,812 |
Every salary links to its take-home figure. Where a salary is not a round $5,000 the link goes to the nearest amount the calculator publishes.
Which agreement sets NSW teacher pay
New South Wales public school teacher salaries are set by the Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024, the instrument NSW Department of Education pays against. The rates below took effect from the first full pay period on or after 9 October 2026 and were read from that instrument on 9 October 2026.
These are the government (public) school scales. Catholic systemic and independent schools in New South Wales negotiate their own agreements and are not covered here.
Casual and relief teacher rates
Casual teachers in New South Wales are paid a fixed rate per engagement rather than an annual salary.
| Classification | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Casual Teacher 1 (CT1) | $480.43 per day | Graduate accreditation |
| Casual Teacher 2 (CT2) | $538.73 per day | |
| Casual Teacher 3 (CT3) | $599.85 per day |
To turn a daily rate into an annual equivalent, and then into take-home pay, use the NSW pay calculator.
Which step am I on?
This is the part most teachers get wrong on their own payslip. Progression in New South Wales is not simply one step per calendar year — the rules below are what NSW Department of Education actually applies.
Where you start
Your starting step is set by your level of accreditation on the day you are employed, not by your degree. A teacher accredited at Graduate starts on Step 1. A teacher accredited at Proficient starts on Step 3. A teacher accredited at Highly Accomplished or Lead starts on the Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher salary.
Step 1 to Step 2
Takes effect from the first full pay period after you complete one year of full-time service at Step 1, subject to satisfactory performance of your duties through the annual performance and development process.
Step 2 to Step 3 — the accreditation gate
This is the one step that is not just time served. It takes effect from the first full pay period after the Teacher Accreditation Authority confirms your Proficient accreditation, provided you have been employed for at least one year full-time at Step 2.
If your Proficient accreditation is confirmed before you have a full year at Step 2, you move up from the first full pay period after you complete that year of full-time service instead.
Step 3 through Step 7
One step a year. Each of Step 3 to 4, 4 to 5, 5 to 6 and 6 to 7 takes effect from the first full pay period after you complete one year of full-time service on that step, provided you keep meeting the requirements of Proficient accreditation (including maintenance) and your performance is satisfactory.
Step 7 to Highly Accomplished / Lead
Not automatic and not time-served — you have to gain the higher accreditation. It takes effect from the first full pay period after the Teacher Accreditation Authority confirms your Highly Accomplished or Lead accreditation, provided you have been paid at Step 7 for at least one year full-time.
What counts as a year
For salary progression, the award defines one year of full-time service as 203 days. Part-time and casual service accrues pro rata, so a 0.5 load takes roughly twice as long to earn a step.
Payment at any step is conditional on maintaining the appropriate level of accreditation.
Checking your payslip: find the classification code on your payslip, match it to the first column of the tables above, and compare the annual figure. If your gross fortnightly pay does not divide back to the annual salary for your step, you are either on the wrong step or being paid pro rata on a time fraction. The NSW pay calculator will convert an annual salary to fortnightly for you.
What a NSW teacher salary is worth after tax
Gross salary is not what lands in your account. A graduate on $92,882 and a top-of-scale teacher on $133,422 both pay income tax and the Medicare levy, and most also have a compulsory HECS-HELP repayment deducted at these income levels. Every salary in the tables above links to its take-home figure — start with take-home pay on $95,000 or take-home pay on $135,000.
Superannuation sits on top of these salaries rather than inside them. Check the exact figure for your own step with the take-home pay calculator, and if you have a study debt the HECS repayment calculator shows what comes out at your income.
To check the PAYG amount on a single payslip, look up your gross pay in the ATO fortnightly tax table or, if your school pays monthly, the monthly tax table.
Salary packaging available to NSW teachers
Public school teachers can salary sacrifice into superannuation, which reduces taxable income at your marginal rate. Because the classroom teacher scale runs through the 30% and 37% brackets, the saving is meaningful at the top of the scale and smaller at the graduate step. Work out your own number with the salary sacrifice calculator.
Salary sacrificing also lowers the income your compulsory HECS-HELP repayment is assessed on only in limited cases — reportable fringe benefits and reportable super contributions are added back for that test. If you are packaging, check the effect on repayment income before assuming a saving.
What this page does not show
We publish only what we could read from a primary source. These are deliberately left off rather than estimated:
- Locality allowances for rural and remote schools (Schedule 8) — these vary by school and are not a salary rate, so they are not tabled here.
- Non-school-based teaching service classifications (education officers, senior education officers) beyond those shown.
For anything in that list, go to NSW Department of Education.
NSW teacher salary questions
Teacher salaries in other states
How this page is sourced▼
Every salary on this page was read from the Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024 or from NSW Department of Education’s own published salary schedule on 9 October 2026, and applies from the first full pay period on or after 9 October 2026. Nothing is estimated, averaged or interpolated: a step we could not read from a primary source is listed under “What this page does not show” rather than filled in.
State scales step up on dates written into the agreement, so re-check after the next scheduled increase. Take-home figures come from the site’s own calculator using ATO rates; because those pages exist in $5,000 steps, a salary that is not a round $5,000 links to the nearest one and says so.
Sources & References
- 1Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024 (Serial C9868)— Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales
- 2Salary of a teacher— NSW Department of Education
- 3Awards and determinations— NSW Department of Education
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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