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

On 1 July 2025, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) increased modern award wages in Australia by 3.5%. Given this, employers operating under the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 should make sure their employees are getting the correct pay and entitlements. 

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 state industrial instrument.
• To stay compliant, managers must consider:
  • Award coverage: Determine whether the employee is covered by the Educational Services Teachers Award 2020 as opposed to, say, 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: During term weeks, ordinary hours for teachers at primary or secondary schools are variable, but ordinary hours for teachers working in long day care (an early childhood service operating for 48 weeks or longer each year) are no more than 8 hours per day between 6:00 am and 6:30 pm from Monday to Friday.

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 deliver an educational program at such centres are usually covered by the Teachers Award.
• 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 was created as a part of the Fair Work system, which was established by the Fair Work Act 2009.

The Award contains the minimum employment conditions for qualified 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 11 basic entitlements such as annual leave and notice of termination, 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/accredited primary and secondary schools, as well as any preschool and early childhood education services provided within these schools.
• 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 schools or the children’s services and early childhood education industries.

Commonly covered roles under the Award include:

• Qualified teachers
• Unqualified teachers employed in a registered/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.
• Any teacher/integration aides, classroom assistants, or directors/supervisors (unless they’re university-qualified as early childhood teachers) working in:
  • Long day care centres
  • Stand-alone preschools
  • Out-of-school hours care 
  • Childcare or childminding centres
• The following instructors at schools, unless they’re teaching the school curriculum or actually part of the teaching staff:
  • Specialist tutors of individual students or small groups at schools, including tutors employed to instruct solely in music, dance, or language
  • Sports coaches, trainers, or early childhood physical education facilitators
  • Providers of religious instruction or services for students
• Employees (or their employers) covered by:
  • A modern enterprise agreement or enterprise instrument. For example, teachers in private or independent schools would likely be covered under an enterprise agreement for their specific school, not the Teachers Award.
  • A state reference public sector modern award or transitional award. Since state schools are government-run, teachers in these schools would likely be covered under either a state-specific public sector award, an enterprise agreement, or both.

Coverage self-check: Does the Teachers Award apply?

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

• I operate a school (e.g., a private/independent primary school or secondary school) or a children’s service or early childhood education service (e.g., a stand-alone preschool or day care centre) 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 
  • A primary or secondary school teacher 
  • A tutor or instructor delivering structured lessons or educational programs
• The employee’s primary duties involve teaching or delivering educational programs, such as:
  • Preparing lesson plans and teaching materials
  • Delivering lessons to students
  • Assessing or monitoring student learning
  • Contributing to curriculum planning or student development
• The employee isn’t a specialist instructor who’s excluded from the Award, such as sports coaches or providers of religious instruction.
• The employee isn’t covered by an enterprise agreement.

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 at schools, preschools, and early childhood services are employed to work an average of 38 ordinary hours each week. 

Part-time employees

Part-time employees are employed to work regularly for no more than 90% of the hours of a full-time employee in their school, education service, or childcare service. 

Casual employees

Casual employees can be employed for up to 38 hours per week. They’re employed for short-term engagements of no more than 4 consecutive weeks (or consecutive term weeks for teachers in preschools and schools). 

Fixed term employees

Fixed term employees may be employed either full-time or part-time for a specified fixed period. This can range from 4 weeks to 12 months, though it can extend to an extra 12 months if necessary.

The working hours of fixed term employees vary depending on the project or task they’re working on. They’re engaged for purposes such as working on a funded project or replacing an employee who’s on leave.

Classifications and levels

Under the Award, teachers are classified in line with their accreditation or registration status and their overall experience (“teaching service”). 

For example, graduate teachers are classified at Level 1, while teachers accredited/registered as proficient move up through Levels 2 to 4 over time. Teachers with a Highly Accomplished/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:

Check the Award for additional details on these classification levels.

Teachers Award Pay Rates and Entitlements Overview 

The Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 sets minimum pay rates and undergoes review each year by the FWC. However, it’s different from other modern awards in that it doesn’t offer penalty rates or overtime for most employees (except for teachers working in long day care).

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

Minimum base rates

Under the Award, teachers are paid according to their employee classification level and the type of service they’re employed in. The minimum base rates for employees covered by the Award are split as follows:

• Employees working in schools or preschools
• Employees working in children’s services or early childhood education services that normally provide long-day care

Full-time rates  

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

The rates for employees in long day care are 4% more than the rates for employees in schools and preschools because the Award bases the long day care rate on 48 weeks of work or more per year.

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 are entitled to the following rates:

• Employed for less than 5 consecutive days: No more than the minimum rate for the Level 3 classification, plus a 25% loading rate.
• Employed for 5 or more consecutive days: The applicable minimum rate for their classification, plus a 25% loading rate. 

In addition, the type of service casual employees work in determines their minimum engagement for each shift they work, as follows:

• Schools and preschools: Casual workers who usually work a half day are entitled to be paid for at least half a day, even if they work less than this on any particular day.
• Children’s services and early childhood education: Casual workers must be paid as follows:
  • Up to 2 hours of work: 2 hours minimum pay
  • Longer than 2 hours and up to 4 hours of work: 4 hours minimum pay 
  • More than 4 hours of work: Paid for the full day

Once you’ve worked out what rate applies for a casual employee, you can calculate their pay for the day from the applicable weekly rate, adding the 25% casual loading rate on top.

For more details on casual pay rates, see Schedule B. 

Penalty rates

The Teachers Award doesn’t apply overtime or penalty rates for teachers in schools or preschools. This means that school teachers’ pay normally stays at a fixed rate unless another entitlement comes into play.

However, the situation is different for employees working in long day care. In particular, long day care employees required to do shiftwork are entitled to shift rates, with shift penalties calculated as a percentage of their minimum hourly rate. For more information on this situation, see Schedule A.

Overtime rules and rates

While the Teachers Award doesn’t apply overtime or penalty rates for teachers in schools or preschools, long day care employees are entitled to overtime as follows:

• First 3 hours outside of or exceeding ordinary or rostered hours: 150% of the applicable minimum hourly rate
• After 3 hours: 200% of the applicable minimum hourly rate

There’s also a particular rule for part-time employees in early childhood services who agree to work extra hours. They’ll receive payment at ordinary rates for up to 8 hours within their ordinary hours of operation, but must be paid overtime after that.

Breaks and allowances

The Teachers Award has certain stipulations concerning breaks and allowances, especially regarding allowances given when an employee takes on more responsibility at work.

Breaks

The Award sets out these break types:

Note that the unpaid meal break doesn’t apply to teachers working in long day care. They’re covered by break provisions in Schedule A.

Allowances

Under the Award, there are 2 types of allowances: 

• Wage-related (extra pay for particular duties or working conditions).
• Expense-related (reimbursement for certain work costs).

These mandatory allowances include the following:

Leave entitlements

The majority of leave entitlements come from the NES, which applies to employees no matter what award they’re covered by. However, the Award adds to the rules in some areas, particularly in relation to annual leave.

Annual leave

Here are the Award fundamentals for annual leave:

• Full-time and part-time teachers (but not casual teachers) receive 4 weeks of paid annual leave per year. This amount is pro rata for part-time teachers.
• Teachers and long day care employees are entitled to receive 17.5% leave loading on their annual leave, subject to certain conditions.

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

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 a rostered shift from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday to Friday, including a 30-minute unpaid meal break each workday.
• 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 till 8:00 pm, using the time from 4:00 pm (the end of her rostered shift) until 6:00 pm on those days to assist with child supervision at the centre, and taking an unpaid dinner break between 6:00 pm and 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 who’s been employed to deliver an educational program in a long day care centre.

Classification and base rate: Sophia falls within the Level 1 employee classification level of the Award as a recently graduated teacher with a recognised university teaching qualification. Accordingly, she’s entitled to a minimum weekly rate of $1,444.90, which works out to a minimum hourly rate of $38.02. 

Penalty rates: Sophia doesn’t do any shiftwork involving starting early in the morning, afternoon, into the evening, or working on Saturdays, and so she’s not entitled to any shiftwork penalties.

Allowances: As an educational leader at the centre, Sophia is entitled to an educational leader allowance under the Award of $4,567.31 per year.

Overtime: As an employee in a long day care centre, Sophia is entitled to receive overtime for her additional hours of work and staff meeting attendance once a month. Between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm on those days, she’s entitled to 150% of her hourly rate of $38.02 for each of those 2 hours, which is 150% x 2 x $38.02 = $114.06. For the staff meeting between 6:30 pm and 8:00 pm, she’s entitled to be paid for the first hour at 150% of her hourly rate (150% x $38.02 = $57.12) and the last half hour at 200% (200% x 0.5 x $38.02 = $38.02), for a total of $95.14. Therefore, her total overtime each month will be $114.06 + $95.14 = $209.20. 

Breaks: Because Sophia works more than 5 hours per day, she’s entitled to a paid meal break of between 20 and 30 minutes each day. 

Common Scenarios and Compliance Tips

Let’s look at the key checks to carry out for some common situations.

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 the school’s covered by an enterprise agreement that applies to its staff. If an enterprise agreement applies, do a BOOT check.
• 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/instructors teaching individual students or small groups at schools unless they’re:
  • Teaching subjects that are part of the official school curriculum (e.g., classroom music or a language subject)
  • Formally engaged as members 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 and degree-qualified early childhood teachers as well as childcare workers

Key checks

• Check that the centre isn’t incorrectly categorising the qualified teachers under the Children’s Services Award, which mainly applies to early childhood educators and childcare workers.
• Make sure the teachers’ duties at the centre align with a teacher’s role under the Teachers Award, which is primarily to teach and deliver an educational program. Check they’re not mainly performing childcare worker duties such as facilitating children’s daily routines, supervising children, and assisting with meals and hygiene in the centre.
• Check that the teachers are paid properly for any overtime or additional hours they work outside ordinary arrangements, including penalty rates for shiftwork involving early mornings or late nights.

Common Employer Mistakes to Avoid

• Forgetting that casual employees receive the casual loading rate instead of paid leave entitlements.
• Applying the Teachers Award to non-teaching staff at a school or day care centre. This includes administrative staff, support staff, or teaching assistants at schools, as well as educators or childcare workers at day care centres. 
• Using a previous year’s pay rate by accident. Since wages are typically increased each year, it’s important to keep up with the current rate.

Glossary

Better off overall test (BOOT)

The Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) is a test the Fair Work Commission uses to make sure that employees covered under an enterprise agreement instead of any relevant modern award are in a better position than they would be under the 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 important for effectively managing teachers in day care centres, which operate for extended hours and may have teachers working different start and finish times.

Shiftwork

Under the Award, shiftwork refers to rostered work covering different parts of the day in children’s services and early childhood education services with extended operating hours, such as long day care centres.

Resources and Links

• Teachers Award [MA000077]: A Fair Work Ombudsman document summarising who is and isn’t covered under the Teachers Award. 
• Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020: The full Fair Work Ombudsman document detailing all pay rates, conditions, and classifications under the Teachers Award.
• Downloadable Pay Guide: Downloadable Educational Services (Teachers) Award pay guide from the Fair Work Ombudsman.
• Educational Services (Teachers) Award review (AM2014/266): The FWC’s review of the Teachers Award as part of its 4 yearly review of modern awards.

FAQs

What is the educational services (Teachers) Award 2020?

The Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 is a modern Australia workplace award that sets out the minimum base rates, entitlements, and other employment rules for teachers in the school education, children’s services, and early childhood education industries. 

What changes have been made to the Australian Teacher Award?

From 23 January 2026, the FWC made minor amendments to the Award in relation to workplace delegates’ rights and superannuation, and introduced a new definition of “employee organisation”. It also brought in a 3.5% increase in modern award wages in Australia from 1 July 2025.

Does teaching service include employment in a TAFE program?

The definition of “teaching service” under the Award doesn’t include employment as a teacher in a Technical and Further Education (TAFE) program, unless they’ve been employed to teach a Vocational and Educational Training (VET) program.

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.