Educational Services (Teachers) Award: Pay Rates, Classifications and Obligations

From the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, minimum award wages increased by 4.75%. Employers operating under the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 should make sure their payroll settings, allowances, and current employee classifications reflect the new rates.

In this guide, we discuss who’s covered by the Teachers Award, how it classifies employees, and the rules it sets out so you can stay compliant and avoid any payment pitfalls.

The Teachers Award: A Quick Summary for Busy Managers

Pressed for time? Below are the essentials of the Award:

• The Educational Services (Teachers) Award [MA000077] sets minimum employment standards and pay rates for teachers working in primary schools, secondary schools, preschools, kindergartens, and day care centres not covered by an enterprise agreement or another applicable industrial instrument.
• To stay compliant, managers must consider:
  • Award coverage: Determine whether the employee is covered by the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 rather than, for example, the Children’s Services Award 2020 or the Educational Services (Schools) General Staff Award 2020.
  • Employee type: Check whether the employee works full-time, part-time, or casual hours, or whether they have fixed term employment. 
  • Employee classification: This ranges from Level 1, which includes newer teachers such as graduate teachers, to Level 5, which includes experienced teachers such as those who have Lead Teacher accreditation.
  • Hours and timing of work: For teachers covered by Schedule A, which applies to early childhood services operating for at least 48 weeks per year, ordinary hours are generally no more than 8 hours per day between 6:00 am and 6:30 pm, Monday to Friday. By individual agreement, a teacher may be rostered for up to 10 hours in a day.

Watch out for the following:

• A common issue is misclassifying university-qualified early childhood teachers at long day care centres as educators under the Children’s Services Award. Qualified teachers who fall within the Teachers Award classifications can be covered by the Teachers Award, while many other childcare roles are excluded.
• Other common compliance issues under the Teachers Award arise from misclassifying staff, such as classifying certain specialist instructors or tutors as teachers when they don’t meet the requirements of the Award.

Coming up: Award dates and deadlines you need to know

Award Basics

The Teachers Award is one of Australia’s modern national workplace awards. It operates within the Fair Work system established by the Fair Work Act 2009.

The Award contains the minimum employment conditions for teachers working in the school and early childhood education industries. It covers pay rates, working hours, and various entitlements such as leave and allowances.

Employees covered by the Teachers Award are also covered by the National Employment Standards (NES). The NES sets out minimum employment entitlements, while the Award contains additional industry-specific conditions.

Who is covered under the Teachers Award?

The Teachers Award applies to:

• Employers in the school education industry, including operators of registered or accredited primary and secondary schools, as well as preschool and early childhood education services operated by a school.
• Employers in the children’s services and early childhood education industries, including:
  • Long day care centres and kindergartens
  • Occasional care services
  • Nurseries and other childcare centres or day care facilities
  • Stand-alone preschools or kindergartens
  • Out-of-school hours care (OSHC), vacation care, and in-home care
• Employees who fit within the Award’s classifications.
• Labour hire businesses and the employees they supply as teachers to employers in the school education, children’s services, or early childhood education industries.

Commonly covered roles under the Award include:

• Qualified teachers
• Unqualified teachers employed in a registered or accredited school
• Teachers who’ve been appointed as directors in the children’s services and early childhood education industries

Who isn’t covered under the Teachers Award?

The Teachers Award doesn’t cover:

• School principals, vice principals, or deputy principals.
• Teacher or integration aides, classroom assistants, or directors or supervisors in children’s services and early childhood education services unless they are university-qualified early childhood teachers covered by the Award.
• Specialist tutors teaching individual students or small groups solely in areas such as music, dance, or language, unless they are teaching the school curriculum or are employed as part of the teaching staff.
• Sports coaches, trainers, or early childhood physical education facilitators, unless they are employed as teaching staff.
• Providers of religious instruction or services for students.
• Employees or employers covered by an enterprise agreement, enterprise instrument, state reference public sector modern award, or another excluded industrial instrument where the Award does not apply.

If your business employs both teachers and non-teaching staff, different awards can apply to different employees. Check the employee’s actual duties and the coverage provisions before choosing an award.

Coverage self-check: Does the Teachers Award apply?

Consider whether the following statements apply to you and your employee:

• I operate a school, children’s service, or early childhood education service and employ staff to deliver teaching or educational programs to students.
• The employee works in a teaching role, such as a preschool or early childhood teacher or a primary or secondary school teacher.
• The employee’s primary duties involve teaching or delivering educational programs, such as preparing lessons, teaching students, assessing learning, or contributing to curriculum and student development.
• The employee isn’t a specialist instructor or other worker excluded from the Award.
• The employee isn’t covered by an enterprise agreement or other instrument that displaces the Award.

If these statements apply, the employee is likely covered by the Teachers Award.

Determining Teachers Award [MA000077] Requirements

To work out exactly what the Award requires from you, including pay, working hours, and allowances for your employees, you’ll need to take into account each employee’s employment type and classification.

Employment types

The Award groups employees into 4 main categories:

Full-time employees

Full-time employees are employed to work an average of 38 ordinary hours each week.

Part-time employees

Part-time employees are employed to work regularly for less than, but not more than, 90% of the hours of a full-time employee in their school, children’s service, or early childhood education service. If their hours rise above 90%, the Award generally treats them as full-time unless they requested the additional hours under the Award’s exception.

Casual employees

Casual employees can be engaged for no more than 4 consecutive weeks, or 4 consecutive term weeks for a teacher in a school or preschool. By agreement, the total engagement can extend to one school term for a school or preschool teacher, or up to 10 weeks in other cases.

Fixed term employees

Fixed term employees may be employed full-time or part-time for a specified period of at least 4 weeks and no more than 12 months for the Award’s permitted reasons, such as a specified funded project, a limited-duration task, or replacing an employee. A replacement arrangement can be extended for up to a further 12 months if it runs beyond the first 12 months.

The Award rules sit alongside the Fair Work Act’s fixed term contract limitations. Employers must also give eligible fixed-term employees the Fixed Term Contract Information Statement when they enter a fixed-term contract.

Classifications and levels

Under the Award, teachers are classified in line with their accreditation or registration status and their overall experience, referred to as teaching service.

For example, graduate teachers are classified at Level 1, while teachers accredited or registered as proficient move up through Levels 2 to 4 over time. Teachers with Highly Accomplished or Lead Teacher accreditation or registration, or an equivalent, are in Level 5, the highest level.

The roles included in Levels 1 to 5 can be seen below:

Level 1’s reference to “all other teachers” does not expand Award coverage by itself. For example, many aides, childcare workers, and non-university-qualified early childhood roles remain excluded even though Level 1 includes “all other teachers” as defined by the Award.

For progression to Levels 3 and 4, the Award requires 3 years of satisfactory teaching service at the previous level. If an employer says a teacher has not met the required professional standards, the Award sets written notice, support, feedback, and documented review steps before progression can be withheld.

Teachers Award Pay Rates and Entitlements Overview 

The Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 sets minimum pay rates and is reviewed as part of the annual wage review. Most school and preschool teachers do not receive separate overtime or penalty rates under this Award, while Schedule A sets specific overtime and shiftwork rules for teachers in early childhood services operating for at least 48 weeks per year.

Let’s review the Award’s pay rates and other entitlements.

Minimum base rates

The following minimum full-time rates apply from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. The Award splits the rates between school and preschool employees and full-time employees in children’s or early childhood services that usually provide services for at least 8 hours each day and 48 weeks or more per year.

Full-time rates

Here are the minimum base rates for full-time teachers, Levels 1 to 5:

The Award’s higher “long day care” rate is 4% above the school and preschool rate. It applies to a full-time teacher in a children’s or early childhood service that usually provides services for at least 8 hours a day and 48 weeks or more a year, because those employees are not covered by the ordinary-hours provisions in clause 15.

Part-time rates

Part-time employees are entitled to be paid pro rata based on the full-time rate applicable for their classification under the Award.

Casual rates

Casual employees receive a 25% loading. Where a casual is engaged for less than 5 consecutive days, the minimum rate cannot be higher than Level 3. For 5 or more consecutive days, the employee is paid at the minimum rate for their actual classification.

Minimum payments also depend on the type of service:

• Schools: A casual teacher must be paid for at least half a day, based on the school’s usual required attendance time.
• Children’s services and early childhood education services:
  • Up to 2 hours of work attracts a 2-hour minimum;
  • more than 2 and up to 4 hours attracts a 4-hour minimum;
  • more than 4 hours and up to a full day attracts the full-day rate.

For the current casual dollar amounts, use Schedule B of the Award or the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool.

Penalty rates

The Teachers Award doesn’t apply separate overtime or penalty rates to teachers in schools or preschools. Schedule A applies different rules to teachers employed in early childhood services operating for at least 48 weeks per year.

For Schedule A teachers, the current shift rates are 110% for an early morning shift, 115% for an afternoon shift, 117.5% for a rotating night shift, 130% for a non-rotating night shift, and 125% for Saturday shiftwork.

Overtime rules and rates

For employees covered by Schedule A, authorised work outside or in excess of ordinary or rostered hours is paid at 150% of the minimum hourly rate for the first 3 hours and 200% after that.

A part-time Schedule A employee who agrees to work extra hours can be paid ordinary time for up to 8 hours in a day if the extra time falls within the service’s ordinary operating hours. Work beyond 8 hours in a day attracts overtime.

Schedule A also requires at least 10 consecutive hours off between periods of duty. If an employer requires an employee to continue or resume work without that break, special protections and double-time rules can apply.

Breaks and allowances

The Teachers Award has specific rules for meal breaks and allowances, including extra payments for particular responsibilities.

Breaks

For Schedule A employees, a meal break that is interrupted or cut short because the employee is called back to duties is paid at 150% of the minimum hourly rate for at least 15 minutes and then to the nearest quarter hour until an uninterrupted break, or the balance of the break, is taken.

Schedule A also provides non-contact time. A teacher responsible for preparing, implementing, or evaluating a developmental program gets at least 2 hours per week. An educational leader gets at least another 2 hours per week. These entitlements are cumulative, so an educational leader who also has those programming responsibilities gets at least 4 hours of non-contact time per week.

Allowances

Under the Award, there are 2 broad types of allowances:

• Wage-related allowances, which provide extra pay for particular responsibilities.
• Expense-related allowances, which reimburse certain work costs.

Key current allowances include:

Leadership allowance categories are based on school size: Category A is more than 600 students, Category B is 300 to 600 students, and Category C is 100 to 299 students. Level 1 is the highest level of additional responsibility and Level 3 is the lowest.

Leave entitlements

The majority of leave entitlements come from the NES. The Award adds industry-specific rules, especially for annual leave and school-year arrangements.

Annual leave

Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to paid annual leave under the NES. Casual employees do not receive paid annual leave.

For employees who serve throughout the school year, the Award provides 17.5% leave loading on 4 weeks’ annual leave. The Award’s school-year leave-loading formula does not apply to teachers covered by Schedule A.

School, preschool, and kindergarten employees normally take annual leave during non-term weeks. The Award contains detailed rules for school-year salary calculations, employees who start partway through the year, and leave without pay.

Other NES leave

Both the NES and the Award cover public holidays and other types of leave, including:

• Personal/carer’s leave
• Compassionate leave
• Parental leave and related entitlements
• Community service leave
• Family and domestic violence leave

Other employer obligations to watch

The pay rates are only part of the compliance picture. Employers should also check these current obligations:

• Appointment letters: For employees other than casuals, the Award requires a letter stating the employee’s classification and salary rate, face-to-face teaching load, and extracurricular commitment. Fixed-term letters must also state the reason, start date, and period of the fixed term.
• Right to disconnect: All employers covered by the Award are now within the Fair Work Act right-to-disconnect framework. Employers must not prevent employees from exercising the right, subject to the Act’s reasonableness rules.
• Pay records and payslips: Employers generally need to keep employee records for 7 years and issue payslips within one working day of payday. The Award also notes that allowances must be separately identified in pay records and payslips where required.
• Payday Super: From 1 July 2026, the federal Payday Super changes require super guarantee contributions to be paid on payday, with contributions generally needing to reach the employee’s fund within 7 business days. The super guarantee rate is 12%.

How to Determine Teachers Award Coverage

Any incorrect coverage or classification for your employees under the Educational Services (Teachers) Award could result in compliance issues and financial headaches down the line. 

Here are some examples of how to determine whether the Award applies, and if so, how to apply it.

Teachers Award [MA000077]: A Practical, Real-World Example 

Sophia is a 25-year-old full-time early childhood teacher who:

• Has recently graduated from university after four years of study with a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and is registered with the relevant teacher registration authority in her state.
• Has just started working at a small newly established long day care centre with opening hours from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm.
• Works an agreed Schedule A roster of 152 hours over 19 days in each 4-week cycle, with one paid rostered day off. On her normal working days, she works from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and takes a paid meal break of between 20 and 30 minutes.
• Has been appointed as an educational leader at the centre, and is responsible for planning and delivering the centre’s preschool educational program for children aged 3–5.
• Prepares weekly lesson plans, documents children’s learning and development, and communicates their progress to parents.
• Provides guidance to a team of childcare educators assisting in her classroom at the centre.
• Attends a staff meeting at the centre once a month from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. On that day, she also assists with child supervision from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm and takes an unpaid break from 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm.

How the Award applies to Sophia:

Coverage: Sophia is covered by the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 because she’s a qualified early childhood teacher employed in an early childhood education service and falls within the Award’s teacher classifications.

Classification and base rate: Sophia is Level 1 as a graduate teacher. Because the centre usually provides services for at least 8 hours a day and 48 weeks or more a year, the current full-time Level 1 weekly rate is $1,513.60, equal to about $39.83 per ordinary hour when divided by 38.

Penalty rates: Sophia’s normal 8:00 am to 4:00 pm shift does not attract a Schedule A shift penalty. Her monthly overtime is calculated under the overtime provisions instead.

Allowances: As an educational leader, Sophia is entitled to the current educational leader allowance of $4,784.28 per year. If she performs the role fewer than 5 days per week, the allowance is pro rated by days.

Overtime: Using the rounded ordinary hourly rate of $39.83, Sophia’s first 3 overtime hours are $59.75 per hour and the remaining half-hour is $79.66. The 2 hours from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm come to $119.50. The 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm meeting comes to $99.58. Her total overtime for that monthly extended day is therefore about $219.08.

Breaks and non-contact time: Because Sophia works more than 5 hours, Schedule A gives her a paid 20 to 30-minute meal break unless she agrees to an unpaid break during which she can leave and is not on call. As educational leader she also gets at least 2 hours of non-contact time each week. Because she is also responsible for the educational program, the 2-hour programming entitlement is cumulative, giving her at least 4 hours of non-contact time per week.

This example is illustrative. Always check the current Award, Pay Guide, and Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool against the employee’s actual classification and roster.

Common Scenarios and Compliance Tips

1. Independent primary school hires a new full-time classroom teacher to teach the Year 3 curriculum

Key checks

• Confirm whether the Teachers Award actually covers the primary school, or whether an enterprise agreement applies to its staff. If an enterprise agreement applies, make sure the agreement continues to meet the Fair Work Act requirements, including the Better Off Overall Test when relevant.
• If the Teachers Award does apply, confirm the teacher’s correct classification level under the Award, based on their qualifications, accreditation status, and experience.
• Verify that the teacher’s annual salary meets or exceeds the Award minimum rate for their classification level, and that they receive the correct leave entitlements and any relevant allowances. 

2. Private secondary school engages several specialist instructors to provide music and language lessons to students

Key checks

• Check whether the specialist music and language instructors are actually covered by the Teachers Award. It doesn’t usually cover tutors or instructors teaching individual students or small groups unless they are teaching subjects in the school curriculum or are employed as part of the teaching staff.
• If the specialist music and language instructors are covered by the Teachers Award, make sure they’re categorised under the correct classification level for their qualifications and experience.

3. Recently opened long day care centre employs a mix of educators, childcare workers, and degree-qualified early childhood teachers

Key checks

• Check that the centre isn’t incorrectly categorising qualified early childhood teachers under the Children’s Services Award if their role falls within the Teachers Award. Also confirm that educators, assistants, and other childcare roles that are excluded from the Teachers Award are classified under the correct instrument.
• Check the teachers’ actual duties and qualifications against the Teachers Award coverage and exclusions rather than relying on job titles alone.
• For teachers covered by Schedule A, check overtime, shiftwork, meal breaks, minimum rest between duties, and non-contact time.

Common Employer Mistakes to Avoid

• Forgetting that casual employees receive a 25% casual loading instead of paid leave entitlements.
• Applying the Teachers Award to non-teaching staff at a school or early childhood service without checking the coverage and exclusions.
• Using a previous year’s pay rate by accident. The current rates changed from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
• Treating every preschool casual as if the school half-day minimum automatically applies. The Award uses the school half-day rule for casuals in a school, while casuals in children’s services and early childhood education services have 2-hour, 4-hour, and full-day minimum payments.
• Using an unpaid meal break for a Schedule A employee without the agreement and conditions required by the Award.

Glossary

Better off overall test (BOOT)

The Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) is used by the Fair Work Commission when approving an enterprise agreement. Each award-covered employee, and each reasonably foreseeable award-covered employee, must be better off overall under the agreement than under the relevant modern award.

Rostering

Rostering is the process of planning and managing work schedules, including setting out when employees are expected to work and for how long. It’s particularly important for early childhood services with extended operating hours and teachers working under Schedule A.

Shiftwork

Under Schedule A, shiftwork covers specified early morning, afternoon, night, and Saturday shifts for teachers in early childhood services operating for at least 48 weeks per year. Different percentage rates apply depending on the shift.

Resources and Links

• Teachers Award [MA000077]: Fair Work Ombudsman award summary.
• Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020: Current consolidated Award text, including 2026 rates and allowances.
• Educational Services (Teachers) Award Pay Guide: Current Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide.
• Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool: Calculate current minimum pay rates and entitlements.
• Educational Services (Teachers) Award review (AM2014/266): Fair Work Commission review material.

FAQs

Disclaimer

The information provided here is a summary only and does not constitute legal advice. While we have made every effort to ensure the information provided is up to date and reliable, we cannot guarantee its completeness, accuracy, or applicability to your specific situation. Laws change frequently, and outcomes may vary depending on your business circumstances. We recommend consulting a qualified employment lawyer before making decisions related to workforce management. Please note that we cannot be held liable for any actions taken or not taken based on the information presented on this website.