Public Sector Pay Scales
Public sector pay is not set by a modern award. Each workforce has its own instrument: a tribunal determination for the Defence Force, an enterprise agreement for each Commonwealth agency, and state instruments for state employees. Each scale here is read from that instrument, with its date.
The short answer
A Private in the ADF on pay grade 1 is paid $79,096 a year from 6 November 2025, and a 3% rise follows on 5 November 2026. In the Australian Public Service, no agency may start an APS Level 1 below $57,497 from 12 March 2026, and each agency sets its own scale above that floor.
Pay scales covered.
ADF Pay Scales
Navy, Army and Air Force salaries by rank, pay grade and increment from 6 November 2025, from $79,096 for a Private on pay grade 1 to $248,376 for a Colonel on pay grade 10, with Reserve daily rates and recruit pay.
APS Pay Scales
The salary range every APS agency must pay at least from 12 March 2026, from $57,497 at APS Level 1 to $153,336 at the top of Executive Level 2, and where the next pay round stands.
Who sets the pay, and what changes next.
| Workforce | Set by | Current rates from | Next change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Defence Force | Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal, Salaries Determination | 6 November 2025, up 3.4% | 3% from 5 November 2026, decided 24 September 2026 |
| Australian Public Service | Each agency’s enterprise agreement, within APSC thresholds | 12 March 2026, up 3.4% | Being bargained; Commonwealth pay offer tabled 13 October 2026, not agreed |
ADF salaries are made by the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal under the Defence Act 1903. Its Salaries Determination sets one scale for the Navy, Army and Air Force, and the yearly increases come from Workplace Remuneration Arrangements agreed between the ADF and the Commonwealth, which the Tribunal gives effect to. Every rank, pay grade and increment, with Reserve daily rates, is tabled on ADF Pay Scales.
APS salaries sit in each agency’s enterprise agreement, approved by the Fair Work Commission. Since the 2023 bargaining round the pay increases, their dates and a minimum salary range for each classification have been common to every agency, so the thresholds the Australian Public Service Commission published are the nearest thing to an APS-wide pay scale. Those thresholds, from APS Level 1 to Executive Level 2, are set out on APS Pay Scales.
Not covered yet.
State public servants, government school teachers, public hospital nurses, paramedics and police are paid under their own state and territory agreements and awards, which differ by jurisdiction. Each is its own instrument, so each will be added only once it has been read from that instrument and checked. None of their figures is published here.
Nurses and teachers outside the public sector have a national award floor, published on Nurses Award Pay Rates and Teachers Award Pay Rates.
Work out what a public sector salary leaves you with.
Enter the salary from your scale to see take-home pay after income tax and the Medicare levy.
Open the pay calculator