ADF Pay Scales 2026
Official path into 2025–2026 ADF Military Salary: tri-service rank tables, pay grades 1–10, and where Army, Navy, and Air Force pay actually live — without adding a retired Service Allowance on top.
Army Rank Pay Scales
Private through Lieutenant Colonel Military Salary, pay groups, and how PACMAN maps an Army Lieutenant (example: $111,517 at PG4, increment 1).
View Army pay scales →Navy Rank Pay Scales
Seaman to commissioned officer equivalents on the same spine, plus where maritime disability allowances sit outside Military Salary.
View Navy pay scales →Air Force Rank Pay Scales
Aircraftman through officer equivalents, flying-related allowances, and the same PG 1–10 structure used by Army and Navy.
View Air Force pay scales →Equivalent Rank Comparison
Map Corporal / Leading Seaman / Corporal RAAF and officer equivalents before you open the salary PDF.
View rank equivalence →1. ADF pay scales 2025–2026: one spine, three uniforms
Searchers looking up ADF pay scales or ADF pay scales 2026 are usually trying to read the Defence Pay and Conditions salary tables (PACMAN), not a civilian award. Those tables are Military Salary amounts determined by the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal. PACMAN currently publishes rates effective 6 November 2025 under the ADF Workplace Remuneration Arrangement 2023–2026.
Army, Navy, and Air Force members at the same rank-equivalent, pay grade, and increment read the same cell. What changes is the service column you start in, plus environment allowances (maritime, flying, field) that PACMAN keeps in the allowances determination — not in the salary grid.
2. How to read official ADF salary tables
- Open the Officers or Other Ranks schedule for Permanent Forces (or Reserves if that is your service category).
- Find your rank in the Army, Navy, or Air Force column.
- Select the increment (years at rank / competency step).
- Read across to your pay grade (PG 1–10 for most other ranks; officer grades follow the officer schedule).
PACMAN’s public worked example: a Permanent Forces Army Lieutenant at pay grade 4 with one increment has Military Salary of $111,517. That figure already includes the former Service Allowance. Use it as a checksum against any third-party table that still adds $15,411 on top.
3. Service Allowance was rolled into Military Salary
Until 13 May 2021, many Permanent Force members received a separate Service Allowance. The Tribunal then determined that Service, Reserve, Trainee and Uniform Allowances are rolled into salary to establish Military Salary. Modelling 2026 take-home pay as “base + $15,411 Service Allowance + 16.4% super” is the pre-2021 structure. Current packages are Military Salary + remaining pay-related allowances + ADF Super.
4. Superannuation and take-home pay
ADF Super employer contributions are typically 16.4% of ordinary time earnings — materially above the 12.0% Superannuation Guarantee that applies to most civilian jobs from 1 July 2025. Super is not cash in the fortnightly payslip. Stage 3 PAYG withholding still applies to Military Salary and taxable allowances; estimate net cash with the Australian take-home pay calculator after you have the PACMAN cell.
5. Which ADF pay page to open next
- Australian Army pay scales — army salary, soldier and officer ranks, PG walkthrough.
- Navy pay scales — RAN rank titles and maritime context.
- Air Force pay scales — RAAF rank titles and flying-related pay context.
- Tri-service rank equivalence — convert a Navy title before you read the Army column (or the reverse).
6. ADF pay scales 2026 and the Workplace Remuneration Arrangement
Queries for ADF pay scales 2026 are looking for the current Military Salary determination, not a 2024 blog scrape. The ADF Workplace Remuneration Arrangement 2023–2026 is the industrial deal that feeds DFRT salary determinations. PACMAN’s public salary page currently states rates as of 6 November 2025. Determination 2 of 2017 (Salaries) was last consolidated on 13 April 2026. When a third-party table still shows a 2023 cell plus Service Allowance, it is stale on two axes: the WRA increase path, and the 13 May 2021 roll-in.
There is no single dollar figure named “the ADF pay scale.” Other ranks read one schedule (rank × increment × pay grade 1–10). Officers read another. Trainees and some specialist streams have their own rows. Reserves use different tables again. This directory exists so “ADF pay scales” lands on a map of those schedules instead of a Navy-only card.
7. Rank, pay grade, and increment are three different axes
Rank is the uniform title (Private, Leading Seaman, Aircraftman, Lieutenant, and so on). Equivalent ranks across Army, Navy, and Air Force sit on the same Military Salary spine — that conversion is the job of the ranks page. Pay grade (especially PG 1–10 for other ranks) is skill and employment category inside that rank. Increment is advancement within the rank block. Changing any one of the three moves the cell. Recruiter quotes that omit pay grade are not complete ADF pay scales.
Environment allowances (maritime disability, flying, field) are a fourth axis. They are determined in the allowances chapter of PACMAN, not by adding a retired Service Allowance to the salary grid.
8. Service Allowance roll-in (13 May 2021) still trips search snippets
Until 13 May 2021 many Permanent Force members received a separate Service Allowance (commonly quoted around $15,411 in older civilian tables). The Tribunal rolled Service, Reserve, Trainee and Uniform Allowances into salary to establish Military Salary. DVA documents the same roll-in for incapacity calculations. If a SERP competitor still prints “ADF salary + Service Allowance,” treat that as a pre-2021 stack. Current packages are Military Salary + remaining current allowances + ADF Super (typically 16.4%).
Use PACMAN’s public checksum whenever you audit a competitor table: Permanent Forces Army Lieutenant, pay grade 4, increment 1 = $111,517 Military Salary. If their Lieutenant line is ~$96,000 plus $15,411, they are reconstructing the old split, not the current cell.
9. Superannuation, tax, and what this hub does not calculate
ADF Super employer contributions are typically 16.4% of ordinary time earnings — above the 12.0% Superannuation Guarantee that applies to most civilian jobs from 1 July 2025. Super is not payslip cash. Stage 3 PAYG still applies to Military Salary and taxable allowances. Estimate net cash on the Australian take-home pay calculator after you lock the PACMAN cell. HELP repayment, salary sacrifice, and Defence housing are separate. This hub does not replace PACMAN Chapter 3 or a Defence pay clerk.
Flexible service (SERCAT 6): PACMAN warns that fortnightly salary is reduced by the value of non-working days beyond four. Do not scale the $111,517 example by a civilian 0.8 FTE factor without reading that rule.
10. How this directory is meant to be used
- Land here for the query ADF pay scales / ADF pay scales 2026.
- Open Army, Navy, or Air Force once you know the service.
- Open ranks if you need to convert a title across services.
- Confirm the cell in PACMAN (Officers vs Other Ranks; increment; pay grade).
- Refuse any model that still adds standalone Service Allowance to a current table.
Defence salary enquiries: 1800 333 362. Primary sources linked above. Related civilian tools: public service salaries if you are comparing an ADF package to APS or state clerks, and the job-offer comparator for two cash packages after you have both official cells.
Australian Army salary tables
Army-specific rank matrix and the Lieutenant $111,517 PACMAN checksum.
Frequently Asked Questions
Official Australian tax, superannuation, and take-home pay guidance grounded in current ATO rulings.
Where are the official ADF pay scales for 2025–2026 published?
Military Salary tables are set by the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal and published in Defence’s Pay and Conditions Manual. PACMAN currently points to ADF Military Salary rates effective 6 November 2025. Rank, pay grade, and increment all change the cell you read — there is no single “ADF pay scale” dollar figure.
Is Service Allowance still paid on top of ADF salary in 2026?
No for current Permanent Force members. From 13 May 2021 the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal rolled Service, Reserve, Trainee and Uniform Allowances into Military Salary. Adding a standalone $15,411 Service Allowance on top of today’s tables double-counts the old structure.
How do I look up an Army lieutenant’s salary in the official tables?
Open the Officers table, find Lieutenant (LT) in the Army column, choose your increment row, then read across to your pay grade. PACMAN’s worked example is a Permanent Forces Army Lieutenant at pay grade 4 with one increment: $111,517 Military Salary.
Do Navy, Army, and Air Force use the same pay groups?
Yes. ADF other-rank and officer pay groups are tri-service. Equivalent ranks (for example Corporal / Leading Seaman / Corporal RAAF) sit on the same Military Salary spine; environment allowances (maritime, flying, field) sit on top and are determined separately.
What superannuation rate do ADF members receive?
Most Permanent Force members in ADF Super receive a 16.4% employer contribution, which is above the 12.0% Superannuation Guarantee that applies to ordinary civilian employment from 1 July 2025.
Should I use the Army, Navy, or ranks page for “ADF pay scales”?
This directory is the hub for ADF pay scales and 2026 rate questions. Use the Army, Navy, or Air Force pages when you already know the service. Use the tri-service ranks page to map equivalent ranks across the three services.