New Cash Payment For Public School Teachers In NSW

Public school teachers in NSW will be offered a cash bonus of up to $4,000 on top of a higher salary, in a bid to encourage more professionals in expert teaching roles. 

NSW is currently under a “classroom crisis”. Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that NSW public schools have the country’s highest number of students per teacher. 

To solve the unbalanced ratio, the NSW government will offer cash payments to teachers who have obtained national Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) accreditation. 

Listen now: 

The HALT accreditation is a voluntary national certification recognising teachers who meet the Australian Professional Standards of Teachers. This new streamlined policy was introduced last year. 

The NSW government will pay the new incentives on top of a $7,000 pay rise, which will come into effect immediately after the teacher finalises their HALT accreditation. 

The new HALT incentives include a $2,000 one-off payment upon successful completion of HALT module 1, and another $2,000 upon completion of HALT module 2. 

Currently, 310 teachers are accredited at HALT levels in NSW, and almost 600 new teachers have signed up since last year. 

Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said, “...these new incentives will attract even more teachers to put their hand up and gain recognition for their work.”  

The government hopes to have at least 2,500 HALT-accredited teachers by 2025. 

“Importantly, HALT-accredited teachers will form a talent pool for potential selection in the NSW Liberal and Nationals’ Rewarding Excellence in Teaching pathway, which will offer our best teachers salaries of up to $152,000 to keep them in the classroom,” Ms Mitchell said. 

Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The National Briefing – keeping you in the loop with news as it hits: