APS Pay Scales 2026
The salary range every Australian Public Service agency must pay at least, from APS Level 1 to Executive Level 2, in force from 12 March 2026. Set by the Australian Public Service Commission for all agencies, with fortnightly pay and what comes next.
The short answer
There is no single APS pay scale. Each agency’s enterprise agreement sets its own salaries, but since 2024 every agency’s range must meet the APSC’s thresholds. From 12 March 2026 the lowest an agency can set is $57,497 for APS Level 1, and the thresholds rise to $111,701 at the top of APS Level 6 and $153,336 at the top of Executive Level 2. The last pay rise was 3.4% from 12 March 2026.
These are floors. An agency’s range can sit above them, so an APS 4 in one agency and an APS 4 in another can be on different salaries. The next increase is being bargained now: the Commonwealth tabled a pay offer on 13 October 2026, and it is a proposal, not an agreed rise.
APS salary thresholds from 12 March 2026.
Each agency’s salary range for a classification must start at or above the minimum threshold and reach at least the maximum threshold. Fortnightly pay uses the APS formula, annual salary times 12, divided by 313.
| Classification | Minimum a year | Maximum a year | A fortnight * | Take-home at minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APS Level 1 | $57,497 | $60,946 | $2,204.36 to $2,336.59 | $48,578 |
| APS Level 2 | $62,775 | $68,425 | $2,406.71 to $2,623.32 | $52,167 |
| APS Level 3 | $70,477 | $76,820 | $2,701.99 to $2,945.18 | $57,404 |
| APS Level 4 | $79,125 | $86,246 | $3,033.55 to $3,306.56 | $63,285 |
| APS Level 5 | $88,834 | $96,829 | $3,405.78 to $3,712.29 | $69,887 |
| APS Level 6 | $99,734 | $111,701 | $3,823.67 to $4,282.47 | $77,299 |
| Executive Level 1 | $121,755 | $132,713 | $4,667.92 to $5,088.04 | $92,273 |
| Executive Level 2 | $140,675 | $153,336 | $5,393.29 to $5,878.70 | $104,742 |
* Worked out here with the common clause’s formula and rounded to the cent. Take-home is an estimate for a single Australian resident for tax purposes with no study loan and no Medicare levy surcharge, on the same Wage Calculator used across this site. Employer superannuation of 15.4% is paid on top for members of accumulation funds.
How the thresholds moved since 2024.
The APSC set all three years of thresholds in advance. Each year’s figure is the one before it plus that year’s increase, with a 1% uplift in 2025 and a 2% uplift in 2026 to narrow the gap between agencies.
| Classification | From 14 March 2024 | From 13 March 2025 | From 12 March 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| APS Level 1 | $52,000 to $55,120 | $54,516 to $57,787 | $57,497 to $60,946 |
| APS Level 2 | $56,774 to $61,883 | $59,520 to $64,877 | $62,775 to $68,425 |
| APS Level 3 | $63,740 to $69,476 | $66,823 to $72,837 | $70,477 to $76,820 |
| APS Level 4 | $71,560 to $78,001 | $75,022 to $81,775 | $79,125 to $86,246 |
| APS Level 5 | $80,341 to $87,572 | $84,228 to $91,809 | $88,834 to $96,829 |
| APS Level 6 | $90,199 to $101,022 | $94,563 to $105,910 | $99,734 to $111,701 |
| Executive Level 1 | $110,115 to $120,025 | $115,443 to $125,832 | $121,755 to $132,713 |
| Executive Level 2 | $127,226 to $138,677 | $133,382 to $145,386 | $140,675 to $153,336 |
The general increases were 4% from 14 March 2024, 3.8% from 13 March 2025 and 3.4% from 12 March 2026, each from the first full pay period on or after 1 March. The APSC counts them as 11.2% over three years. An agency’s own salaries rose by the same percentages, and where a range still sat below a threshold it was lifted to meet it, which is how APS Level 1 in some agencies rose by more than 3.4% in 2026.
The APSC said the thresholds would lift salary scales in 83 agencies and cut the average gap between agencies from 25% to 13%. At APS Level 5 the threshold range is $88,834 to $96,829, and at APS Level 4 it is $79,125 to $86,246.
The next APS pay rise.
The current agreements nominally expire on 28 February 2027. They do not end on that date: each keeps operating until the Fair Work Commission replaces or terminates it.
The next round of APS-wide bargaining opened on 21 July 2026. On 13 October 2026 the Commonwealth tabled its pay offer: 3.2% from March 2027 or when the new agreement comes into effect if that is later, 3.0% from March 2028 and 2.8% from March 2029, which the APSC counts as 9% over three years. It also proposes up to 0.5% a year extra for some lower-paid salary ranges in some agencies, and a minimum 3.0% increase when an eligible employee moves up a pay point.
In the APSC’s words, “This proposal remains subject to bargaining, it is not an agreed outcome.” The thresholds on this page are the ones in force now, and none of the offer’s percentages has been applied to them. What the offer proposes, with the APSC's five worked examples checked step by step, is on APS Pay Offer 2026.
Finding your agency’s own scale.
Your salary is in the salary attachment to your agency’s enterprise agreement, usually Attachment A, with a column for each year of the agreement. Every agreement approved by the Commission is on its agreement search. Under the common salary setting clause, a new starter or a promoted employee is paid the minimum of the range unless the agency head sets a higher salary within it, having regard to experience, qualifications and skills.
ADF members are not APS employees and are paid under the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal’s determinations, set out on ADF Pay Scales. Who sets each scale, and when each next changes, is compared on Public Sector Pay Scales.
Where these figures come from.
Provenance
Verified- Source
- APS Bargaining Statement of Common Conditions
- Published by
- Australian Public Service Commission
- Dated
- 30 November 2023
- Thresholds in force from
- 12 March 2026
- Retrieved
- 27 September 2026
- Figures checked by compounding
- 80 of 80
The thresholds were read from the salary thresholds table in the APSC’s APS Bargaining Statement of Common Conditions, dated 30 November 2023. Every figure after the base column was checked by compounding the base through each printed percentage and rounding to the dollar, and matched to the dollar. The three general increases were matched across the Statement’s clause 5, its common pay clause and the threshold table, and against the APSC’s open letter of 29 August 2023, all read on 27 September 2026. The bargaining dates are from the APSC’s APS bargaining page and the proposed figures from its Pay Offer page, both read on 15 October 2026. Nothing here is copied from another pay site.
What is not cross-checked
Agency salary tables. The thresholds are the APS-wide floor, and no agency’s agreement was extracted for this page. The fortnightly and take-home figures are worked out here.
What this page does not cover.
Your agency’s own scale
Each agency’s enterprise agreement sets its pay points, which can sit well above the thresholds. Those tables are not extracted here yet.
Senior Executive Service
The thresholds cover APS Level 1 to Executive Level 2 only. SES pay is not published here.
Broadbands and specialist classifications
Job-specific classifications and broadbands, such as legal or science streams, can carry their own ranges in an agreement.
Allowances
Higher duties, workplace responsibility, community language and other allowances are paid on top of salary.
Pay point progression
How an employee moves up the range in their agency, and when, is set by the agreement’s incremental advancement clause.
Non-APS agencies
Commonwealth bodies outside the APS bargain separately. The ADF is paid under Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal determinations.
APS pay questions, answered.
What is the APS 3 salary?
No single APS 3 salary exists, because each agency's enterprise agreement sets its own range. What the APS-wide rules fix is the floor: from 12 March 2026, an agency's APS Level 3 range must start at $70,477 or more and reach at least $76,820. At those thresholds an APS 3 is paid $2,701.99 to $2,945.18 a fortnight. An agency can pay above them, so check the salary table in your own agency's agreement.
What is the EL2 salary in the APS?
From 12 March 2026, every agency's Executive Level 2 range must start at $140,675 or more and reach at least $153,336. Those are the APS-wide thresholds, not a typical salary: agencies set their own EL 2 ranges in their enterprise agreements, often above the thresholds. Executive Level 1 thresholds are $121,755 and $132,713.
When is the next APS pay rise?
The last general increase under the current agreements was 3.4% from 12 March 2026. Those agreements nominally expire on 28 February 2027 but keep operating until replaced. APS-wide bargaining for the next round began on 21 July 2026, and on 13 October 2026 the Commonwealth tabled a pay offer of 3.2% from March 2027 or when the new agreement comes into effect if that is later, 3.0% from March 2028 and 2.8% from March 2029. The APSC says the proposal remains subject to bargaining and is not an agreed outcome, so no new rate applies yet.
How much did APS pay go up in 2024, 2025 and 2026?
The 2023 APS-wide bargaining round set 4% from 14 March 2024, 3.8% from 13 March 2025 and 3.4% from 12 March 2026, which the APSC describes as 11.2% over three years. The thresholds themselves rose faster than that, by an extra 1% before the 3.8% increase and 2% before the 3.4% one, so an agency whose range sat near the bottom was lifted by more than the general increase.
What is APS pay fragmentation?
The gap between what different APS agencies pay for the same classification. The APSC's 2023 package set a minimum salary range for each classification from APS Level 1 to Executive Level 2, which it said would cut the average fragmentation from 25% to 13% over three years and lift salary scales in 83 agencies, benefiting almost 8,000 employees. Those minimum ranges are the thresholds on this page.
How is APS fortnightly pay calculated?
The common clause in APS agreements pays fortnightly salary as the annual salary times 12, divided by 313. There are 313 fortnightly pay cycles in 12 years, so the formula gives the same fortnightly rate every year. On the APS Level 1 minimum of $57,497 it gives $2,204.36 a fortnight.
How much super do APS employees get?
The common superannuation clause sets an employer contribution of 15.4% for employees in the Public Sector Superannuation Accumulation Plan (PSSap) and other accumulation funds, worked out on either fortnightly contribution salary or ordinary time earnings depending on the agency. It is paid on top of salary. For other funds the clause requires the contributions the applicable legislation and fund rules set.
See what your APS salary leaves you with.
Enter the salary from your agency’s agreement to work out take-home pay for each fortnight.
Open the pay calculator