We believe that by investing in our teachers we are investing in our students, which is why our full-time beginning teacher salary is one of the highest starting salaries in the country.
Here’s what you can expect to earn as a teacher in Queensland state schools.
State school salaries
Your teacher salary is determined by your years of service, qualifications and prior teaching and/or industry experience. Salaries are based on the current awards and agreements for public sector employees.
For a permanent or temporary beginning teacher with a 4-year degree, the base salary in Queensland state schools is approximately $84,078 per year. Casual teachers in Queensland state schools are paid approximately $94 per hour.
As you progress through your career and gain more years of experience teaching in our schools, your salary can increase. The following is one example of how your teaching career and salary could progress.
(As at July 2024)
Salary rates
For specific information about salary rates in Queensland state schools, download the
salary classification levels (XLS, 209KB). Note: A beginning teacher with a 4-year degree will start on band 2, step 1.
After teaching for a while, you can apply to become a Senior Teacher, Experienced Senior Teacher or Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher while you continue to work in the classroom. If leadership is something you aspire to, you could pursue leadership roles starting at Head of Department (Curriculum) right through to Principal.
We have schools located throughout the state from metropolitan schools in Brisbane to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and many in between. Many of our schools in rural, remote and regional communities attract additional financial incentives and benefits.
Learn more about our recognition of rural and remote service scheme.
Benefits and leave entitlements
In addition to offering our teachers highly competitive starting salaries, we provide multiple leave entitlements to help you maintain a well-balanced life.
This includes:
- sick and carers leave, and reproductive health leave
- long service leave (1.3 weeks for each year of continuous service, which can be accessed after 7 years)
- paid parental leave, including maternity, paternity, surrogacy and adoption leave
- leave for study and examination purposes
- special leave for absences of specific purposes, such as compassionate grounds, sporting competitions or jury duty
- up to 7 years of unpaid leave for family responsibility reasons for permanent employees.
Other rewards and benefits can include:
Flexible work options
We support flexible work practices in our schools, regional and corporate offices and provide options for our teachers to balance the demands of their professional and personal life. Flexibility also helps us embrace diversity and inclusion in our workplaces.
Flexible work options for teachers in our schools can include:
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Part-time work: Employees work less than the prescribed full-time weekly hours.
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Job sharing: Where 2 employees share the duties and responsibilities of 1 position.
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Casual and relief teaching: providing flexibility in availability across the school term and within preferred schools and geographic areas.
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Deferred salary scheme: Allows permanent state school teachers to defer part of their annual salary over 4 years. The deferred salary is then paid to an employee during the fifth year while they access a pre-approved period of leave.
For more information about what may be available to you when working in our state schools, see our
flexible employment options.