Australian teacher salary comparison: which state pays the most in 2026?

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If you're deciding where to teach or whether to move states, the salary difference is real. The Northern Territory pays graduate teachers $96,180; Victoria pays $79,589 under its current scale — a $16,591 gap before allowances. This guide presents 2026 government school teacher salary scales for all eight states and territories, the allowances that can move the number significantly, and a take-home pay comparison for a 5-year teacher in four capital cities. All figures are base salary excluding superannuation unless stated, current as at May 2026.

1. The comparison at a glance

The table below shows government school teacher salaries at four career points: graduate entry, approximately 5 years' service, top of classroom teacher scale, and top senior/specialist classification.

Sources: NSW DoE; WA DoE (education.wa.edu.au); NT OCPE (ocpe.nt.gov.au); TAS DECYP; ACT Gov (act.gov.au); QLD DoE; SA DoE; AEU Victoria. Figures current to most recent EA effective date for each state.

2. What the table doesn't show

A single number comparison is misleading without context. Three factors change the picture substantially.

Step structure and time to top scale

Each state uses a different number of salary steps and a different increment timeline. NSW moved to a simplified 7-step scale in 2024 — a teacher who starts at $90,177 can reach $129,536 in approximately 6 years with satisfactory annual performance. WA has 9 levels at the classroom teacher range (L2.1–L2.9), reaching $127,737 in approximately 8 years. NT has 9 CT steps, also reaching top-of-scale in approximately 8 years. TAS Band 1 has 13 levels — the progression is longer, though isolated school appointees can start at Level 8 (rather than Level 5) to accelerate the timeline.

The implication: a teacher deciding between NSW and WA cannot simply compare graduate salaries. At 5 years, NSW Step 5 is $112,594 against WA Level 2.5's $110,925 — close. At 8 years, NSW's top classroom scale ($129,536) exceeds WA's L2.9 top ($127,737), but WA has a Level 3 pathway that takes a classroom teacher to $147,077 with no formal principal or executive role required.

Superannuation rates are not uniform

The national Superannuation Guarantee rate is 12% from 1 July 2025 — the final scheduled legislated increase. But not all states pay only the minimum. [Source: ATO, July 2025]

For a teacher earning $100,000, the difference between 12% ($12,000) and 12.75% ($12,750) is $750 per year in additional super contributions — worth approximately $30,000–$50,000 over a career, depending on investment returns. This is rarely mentioned in salary comparisons.

Victorian pay is about to change materially

Victoria's current graduate rate of $79,589 is below every other state. However, an in-principle enterprise agreement reached in May 2026 delivers a 12% increase from October 2026, raising the graduate salary to approximately $89,140 — broadly in line with NSW and ACT. The agreement delivers 28.3%–32.4% total over four years.

3. State-by-state breakdown

4. Allowances that change the number

Base salary is only part of the picture. Depending on where and what you teach, allowances can add $3,000–$30,000+ per year.

Remote and rural incentives

Sources: NSW DoE subsidies and allowances page; WA DoE incentives page; QLD DoE; NT EA 2024–2027 Schedule 4; TAS DECYP.

Subject and specialist allowances

Subject shortage and specialist teaching allowances exist in most states. NSW pays a Special Education allowance of $3,217/year; VIC pays STEM and languages specialists $5,000–$10,000/year. QLD includes subject-specific loadings under some circumstances. These are worth checking with your state DoE if you teach in a shortage area.

For NSW rural incentive schools and their transfer point ratings, see the Teacher Passport rural incentives page. For NT remote schools, see the NT teacher incentives page.

5. Beyond classroom teacher: senior salary bands

For experienced teachers willing to seek specialist accreditation or leadership positions, the salary ceiling rises substantially.

In NSW, both Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher accreditation lead to the same salary step of $137,861. Teachers apply to NESA for accreditation — NESA makes the final determination after a portfolio assessment against 20 Standard Descriptors and a site visit. [Source: NSW Gov, NESA HALT accreditation page]

In WA, the Level 3 pathway functions as a senior classroom teacher role rather than a principal position. L3.3 at $147,077 means no other state's classroom teacher pathway reaches this level.

In NT, the Senior Teacher scale runs to ST8 at $196,907 — above the equivalent senior rate in any other state. ST roles require demonstrated leadership in curriculum and pedagogy.

6. Take-home pay comparison: a 5-year teacher in four cities

What does the actual pay cheque look like? The following uses each state's salary at approximately the fifth year of service, applies 2025-26 income tax rates and the standard 2% Medicare levy, and excludes salary sacrifice. All figures are estimates.

*VIC estimate uses pre-October 2026 Range 1 figure. Tax estimates use 2025-26 marginal rates (nil to $18,200; 19% to $45,000; 32.5% to $135,000) plus 2% Medicare levy. Figures do not account for HECS repayments, salary sacrifice, or other deductions.

The Sydney and Perth take-home figures are similar ($1,600 vs $1,580/week), despite a $1,669 difference in base salary — the tax system compresses the gap. Brisbane teachers take home approximately $1,440/week on a lower base; Melbourne teachers are currently lowest at ~$1,330/week, rising to approximately $1,500/week after the October 2026 increase.

Superannuation deserves attention in this table: Queensland teachers accumulate $12,712/year in super contributions despite having a lower base salary than NSW, because QLD DoE pays 12.75% rather than 12%. Over a 30-year career, this difference compounds substantially.

7. What about Catholic and independent schools?

Catholic systemic schools in most states pay under a Multi-Enterprise Agreement that tracks closely to government scales — typically within 2–5% of the relevant state government rate. Most Catholic systemic teachers in NSW, VIC, QLD, and WA can expect salaries within that range of their government-sector equivalents.

Independent school pay varies significantly. Some independent schools (particularly elite non-systemic schools in NSW and VIC) pay above the government scale. Smaller community independent schools may pay below it. Independent school pay is not publicly standardised in the way government scales are. A full sector-by-sector comparison — including non-salary conditions like non-contact time, class sizes, and parental leave — will be covered in the companion guide Government vs Catholic vs independent: which sector pays teachers more?

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