NSW Government Grade 9/10 Salary 2026
Official NSW clerks stream from the Crown Employees (Public Sector – Salaries 2024) Award, using the 1 July 2026 column. Grade 9 and Grade 10 are separate cells. Victorian bands are the VPS salary 2026 scale. Northern Territory rates are NTPS pay scales.
1. NSW clerks pay scales (1 July 2026 column)
Award salaries from C2024-07. Super is 12% SG. Tax is Stage 3 PAYG plus 2% Medicare (no HECS). Confirm the cell on your letter of offer.
| NSW Classification Grade | Base Annual Salary | Employer Super (12%) | Estimated Annual Tax | Net Take-Home Pay | Net / Fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clerk Grade 1 — 1st year Operational support, client service, administrative processing. | $78,000 | $9,360 | $15,748 | $62,252 | $2,394 |
| Clerk Grade 1 — thereafter Second year in Grade 1 after satisfactory increment. | $80,292 | $9,635 | $16,481 | $63,811 | $2,454 |
| Clerk Grade 2 — 1st year Experienced clerical / service delivery. | $82,533 | $9,904 | $17,199 | $65,334 | $2,513 |
| Clerk Grade 2 — thereafter Grade 2 increment. | $84,799 | $10,176 | $17,924 | $66,875 | $2,572 |
| Clerk Grade 3 — 1st year Project officer, case management. | $87,199 | $10,464 | $18,692 | $68,507 | $2,635 |
| Clerk Grade 3 — thereafter Grade 3 increment. | $89,829 | $10,779 | $19,533 | $70,296 | $2,704 |
| Clerk Grade 4 — 1st year Regulatory / service-delivery specialist. | $92,632 | $11,116 | $20,430 | $72,202 | $2,777 |
| Clerk Grade 4 — thereafter Grade 4 increment. | $95,482 | $11,458 | $21,342 | $74,140 | $2,852 |
| Clerk Grade 5 — 1st year Senior project officer, policy support. | $102,936 | $12,352 | $23,728 | $79,208 | $3,046 |
| Clerk Grade 5 — thereafter Grade 5 increment. | $106,182 | $12,742 | $24,766 | $81,416 | $3,131 |
| Clerk Grade 6 — 1st year Technical specialist / team coordinator. | $110,345 | $13,241 | $26,098 | $84,247 | $3,240 |
| Clerk Grade 6 — thereafter Grade 6 increment. | $113,579 | $13,629 | $27,133 | $86,446 | $3,325 |
| Clerk Grade 7 — 1st year Principal officer / small-team supervisor. | $116,981 | $14,038 | $28,222 | $88,759 | $3,414 |
| Clerk Grade 7 — thereafter Grade 7 increment. | $120,478 | $14,457 | $29,341 | $91,137 | $3,505 |
| Clerk Grade 8 — 1st year Program manager, senior specialist. | $125,500 | $15,060 | $30,948 | $94,552 | $3,637 |
| Clerk Grade 8 — thereafter Grade 8 increment — still below Grade 9. | $129,492 | $15,539 | $32,225 | $97,267 | $3,741 |
| Clerk Grade 9 — 1st year Manager / senior strategic lead (GSC: grade 9). | $133,348 | $16,002 | $33,459 | $99,889 | $3,842 |
| Clerk Grade 9 — thereafter Grade 9 increment. | $137,098 | $16,452 | $34,806 | $102,292 | $3,934 |
| Clerk Grade 10 — 1st year Grade 10 is not Grade 9 — separate award row. | $142,695 | $17,123 | $36,989 | $105,706 | $4,066 |
| Clerk Grade 10 — thereafter Grade 10 increment. | $146,945 | $17,633 | $38,647 | $108,298 | $4,165 |
| Clerk Grade 11 — 1st year Associate director / branch lead. | $154,231 | $18,508 | $41,488 | $112,743 | $4,336 |
| Clerk Grade 11 — thereafter Grade 11 increment. | $160,771 | $19,293 | $44,039 | $116,732 | $4,490 |
| Clerk Grade 12 — 1st year Senior director classification. | $170,841 | $20,501 | $47,966 | $122,875 | $4,726 |
| Clerk Grade 12 — thereafter Grade 12 maximum in the clerks stream. | $178,369 | $21,404 | $50,902 | $127,467 | $4,903 |
2. NSW government Grade 9 versus Grade 10 salary
The query NSW government Grade 9/10 salary is two award cells. Under the Crown Employees (Public Sector – Salaries 2024) Award (C2024-07), from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026:
- Grade 9 — $133,348 (1st year) and $137,098 (thereafter).
- Grade 10 — $142,695 (1st year) and $146,945 (thereafter).
That is roughly $9,300 between Grade 9 1st year and Grade 10 1st year, before tax. Blending them as a single “Clerk Grade 9/10” marketing number (older tables used ~$129,800) understates Grade 10 and overstates a new Grade 9. Role evaluation, not a blended band, decides which cell you are offered.
3. Architecture of NSW Public Sector compensation
Employment is administered under the Government Sector Employment Act 2013 (NSW) and the Crown Employees clerks award. C2024-07 locked three increases: 4% from 1 July 2024, 3% from 1 July 2025, and 3% from 1 July 2026. This page uses the last of those columns because 15 September 2026 sits after the July 2026 commencement. Senior Executive Service bands sit above Grade 12 and use total remuneration packages, not the clerks table.
4. The 35-hour week, flex time, and higher duties
Standard full-time administrative roles operate on a 35.0-hour week. Flex agreements can bank surplus hours toward flex leave in the settlement period. Acting in a higher grade for five or more consecutive days usually attracts Higher Duties Allowance at the minimum of the higher grade — which is why a Grade 8 acting in a Grade 9 role should see the Grade 9 1st-year rate, not a blended 9/10 figure.
5. Superannuation is 12% SG, not APS 15.4%
NSW accumulation-scheme employees receive the Superannuation Guarantee (12.0% from 1 July 2025). That is not the federal APS 15.4% contribution. Legacy SASS members follow defined-benefit rules. Model cash with the take-home pay calculator after you lock the award cell; salary packaging (including some novated leases) changes taxable income, not the award salary.
6. What a Grade 9 role actually does versus a Grade 10 role
Classification is not a personality test. NSW agencies evaluate work-value: decision rights, span of control, statutory risk, and whether the occupant sets policy or implements it. A Grade 9 occupant typically owns a program, a complex casework stream, or a specialist advisory function with limited people-management. A Grade 10 occupant more often holds a manager-of-managers brief, a statewide policy lead, or a role that signs off on material expenditure and industrial risk. That is why the award refuses to blend the two cells. If your position description still says “Clerk Grade 9/10”, ask People & Culture which common salary point you will be paid on — CSP 101 / 104 (Grade 9) or CSP 108 / 111 (Grade 10) in Part B of the clerks table.
Higher Duties Allowance follows the same split. A Grade 8 officer acting in a Grade 9 vacancy for five or more consecutive working days is usually paid at the Grade 9 1st-year rate ($133,348 from 1 July 2026), not at a marketing midpoint. Acting in a Grade 10 vacancy uses the Grade 10 1st-year cell ($142,695). Do not let a spreadsheet labelled “G9/10 avg” set the HDA.
7. Common salary points, 1st year versus thereafter
Each clerks grade has two award rates: 1st year of service in that grade, then thereafter. Movement is not a promotion. It is an increment after (typically) twelve months of satisfactory performance at that grade, subject to the agency’s increment rules. Promotion from Grade 9 to Grade 10 is a new classification decision. That is the entity gap behind the search query: people type “Grade 9/10” because old job ads used a combined label, but payroll still has to pick one cell.
Worked numbers from the 1 July 2026 column of the Crown Employees (Administrative and Clerical Officers – Salaries) Award 2007, as updated by C2024-07:
- Grade 8 thereafter is $129,492 — still below Grade 9 1st year.
- Grade 9 1st year $133,348; thereafter $137,098.
- Grade 10 1st year $142,695; thereafter $146,945.
- Grade 11 1st year $154,231; Grade 12 1st year $170,841 and thereafter $178,369.
Those are annual salaries before salary packaging. The “package” column some agencies publish (for example NSW Health Ministry tables) adds the 12% Superannuation Guarantee on top of salary. A Grade 9 1st-year package near $151,000 is not a higher award rate — it is $133,348 plus 12% SG. Do not compare a NSW package figure to a private-sector cash salary without stripping super.
8. C2024-07 increases: 4%, then 3%, then 3%
On 19 November 2024 the Industrial Relations Commission made the Crown Employees (Public Sector – Salaries 2024) Award. Circular C2024-07 (issued 6 December 2024 by the Secretary, Premier’s Department) told agencies to apply:
- 4% from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2024;
- 3% from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2025;
- 3% from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026.
This page uses the last column because the editorial date is 15 September 2026. If you are reconstructing an older payslip, read the 1.7.24 or 1.7.25 column in Part B instead. Some specialist awards listed in Schedule A of C2024-07 took alternate increases (for example some psychologist streams). Clerks administrative and clerical officers follow the table on this page.
Superannuation Guarantee rose by 0.5 percentage points on 1 July 2024 and again on 1 July 2025, landing at 12.0%. That SG path is independent of the 4/3/3 salary increases. NSW accumulation members do not receive the APS 15.4% contribution rate.
9. Take-home pay, HECS, and salary packaging
Net cash in the table is Stage 3 resident tax plus the 2% Medicare levy, with no HECS-HELP, no Medicare levy surcharge, and no salary sacrifice. A Grade 9 1st-year officer on $133,348 with a remaining HELP debt will see extra withholding under the 2025–26 HELP rates — model that on the HECS-HELP repayment guide after you lock the award cell. Novated leases and other packaging reduce taxable income; they do not change the Crown Employees salary. Compare two job offers (NSW 35-hour week versus a 38-hour private package) on the salary comparison tool, and convert hourly quotes on the hourly-to-salary calculator before you treat them as equivalent.
Fortnightly cash is annual net divided by 26 in this orientation table. NSW pays on a fortnightly cycle; some agencies still quote weekly. Do not annualise a fortnightly figure by ×52.
10. Senior Executive Service is not a clerks grade
Roles above Grade 12 leave the clerks award and enter the NSW Public Service Senior Executive (PSSE) framework. Those packages are total remuneration packages, not the clerks Part B cells. If a job ad says “Grade 11/12 or PSSE Band 1”, you are looking at two different industrial instruments. This page does not invent Band 1 TRP figures — confirm the current Public Service Commissioner determination.
Mobility into the APS also changes the super story: APS employer contributions are typically 15.4% of superannuation salary, not 12% SG. A NSW Grade 10 cash salary can look competitive against an APS EL1 until you add super and the 35-hour versus 37.5-hour week. Start at the state and APS salary hub before you accept a mobility offer.
11. How to verify a NSW offer letter
- Read the classification (Grade and whether 1st year or thereafter).
- Match it to Part B of the Crown Employees (Public Sector – Salaries 2024) Award — clerks table (Administrative and Clerical Officers).
- Reject a single “Grade 9/10” salary unless the letter names one grade and one common salary point.
- Confirm the increase column (1 July 2026 versus an older payslip column).
- Confirm super is 12% SG (or SASS rules), not an APS 15.4% line copied from a federal calculator.
- Compare net pay on the job-offer comparator if you are weighing a private-sector package that includes 12% super against a NSW package on 35 hours.
Primary sources: C2024-07 and the award PDF hosted by the Public Service Association. This page is an orientation layer with estimated tax — payroll still wins.
Related calculators on this site: the master take-home pay calculator, Victorian VPS salaries, NTPS administrative salaries, NSW nursing salaries (different award), NSW teacher salaries (different award), and NSW stamp duty if a relocation is part of the offer.
Other state public service scales
Compare NSW clerks against APS and other state spines before you accept a mobility offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Official Australian tax, superannuation, and take-home pay guidance grounded in current ATO rulings.
What is NSW government Grade 9/10 salary in 2026?
They are two grades. From the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026 the Crown Employees (Public Sector – Salaries 2024) Award sets Grade 9 at $133,348 (1st year) and $137,098 (thereafter), and Grade 10 at $142,695 (1st year) and $146,945 (thereafter). A combined “9/10” figure hides a $9,000–$10,000 gap.
What are the NSW Public Service clerk salaries for 2025–2026?
The clerks stream runs Grade 1 ($78,000 1st year from 1 July 2026) through Grade 12 ($170,841–$178,369). Rates follow C2024-07: 4% from 1 July 2024, then 3% from 1 July 2025, then 3% from 1 July 2026.
How much superannuation do NSW public servants receive?
Most accumulation-scheme employees receive the 12.0% Superannuation Guarantee from 1 July 2025. Legacy SASS / State Super defined-benefit members follow those scheme rules, not a 15.4% APS rate.
How do annual salary increment steps work in NSW Government?
Each clerk grade has a 1st-year and thereafter rate. Movement is usually after 12 months of satisfactory performance inside that grade, not an automatic jump from Grade 9 to Grade 10.
Is the NSW week 35 hours or 38 hours?
Standard full-time administrative roles under the Crown Employees clerks framework are a 35-hour week. Flex time can bank surplus hours toward flex leave in the settlement period.
Where is the official NSW salary award?
NSW Industrial Relations Circular C2024-07 and the Crown Employees (Public Sector – Salaries 2024) Award. Confirm the classification on your letter of offer against Part B of that award — not a blended 9/10 marketing figure.
What common salary points are Grade 9 and Grade 10?
In the clerks table, Grade 9 is CSP 101 (1st year) and CSP 104 (thereafter). Grade 10 is CSP 108 (1st year) and CSP 111 (thereafter). An offer that only says “9/10” has not named a payable cell.
Does a NSW “package” figure include super?
Often yes. Agency package columns typically add 12% SG to the award salary. Grade 9 1st year salary is $133,348; a package near $151,000 is that salary plus super, not a higher award rate. Compare cash to cash, or package to package — not mixed.