More than 300 industrial instruments determine remuneration in the NSW public sector. Remuneration data is reported as the total annual base full-time salary, and excludes other payments such as allowances, penalty rates and superannuation. Many employees in the NSW public sector are paid within a salary band or range that includes an annual increment, subject to meeting certain performance standards.
Median remuneration all employees
$95,984
+4.1% vs 2022
Median remuneration for non-casual employees in the NSW public sector was $95,984 in 2023, an increase of 4.1% from 2022. The NSW Government wages policy provided for annual increases of up to 2.53% effective 1 July 2022.1 This was below the increase in Sydney’s Consumer Price Index (6.6%)2, and was lower than the growth in average full-time weekly earnings in Australia (3.9%).3 Figure 9.1 shows that the median salary in the public sector increased steadily over the past decade, in accordance with wages policy. Notably this figure is similar to the increase in male median remuneration noted in Chapter 6 (4.4%).
Within the government sector, the Transport Service had the highest median remuneration in 2023 (see Table 9.1). In contrast, other Crown services had the lowest median remuneration, consistent with previous years. This largely relates to School Support Staff, which constituted 54.4% of other Crown services in 2023 and had a median salary of $59,280. Most of these employees were Education Aides (58.7%) or General Clerks (38.9%).
Table 9.1: Median remuneration of non-casual employees at census date, by service, 2022 to 2023
| Service | 2022 ($) | 2023 ($) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Service | 96,540 | 99,220 | 2.8 |
| NSW Health Service | 91,899 | 94,224 | 2.5 |
| NSW Police Force | 98,287 | 100,773 | 2.5 |
| Teaching Service | 109,978 | 113,042 | 2.8 |
| Transport Service | 127,648 | 134,580 | 5.4 |
| Other Crown services | 62,078 | 63,665 | 2.6 |
| Total government sector | 92,236 | 94,654 | 2.6 |
| State owned corporations | 105,215 | 109,385 | 4.0 |
| External to government sector | 131,653 | 134,698 | 2.3 |
| Total public sector | 92,236 | 95,984 | 4.1 |
In 2023, the Transport Service had the largest increase in median remuneration, at 5.4%. Contributing to this change were salary award negotiations at Sydney Trains and NSW Trains during 2022-23, which saw employees receive a one-off payment of $4,500 and a pay increase of 4.03% (plus super).
Notes
1Department of Premier and Cabinet (2022), ‘C2022-05 Crown Employees (Public Sector-Salaries 2022) Award’, accessed 26 September 2023
2Australian Bureau of Statistics (June 2023), Consumer Price Index, Australia, accessed 26 September 2023.
3Based on full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings in Australia; Australian Bureau of Statistics (May 2023), Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, ‘Table 1. Average weekly earnings, key statistics accessed 26 September 2023.
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Chapter 10
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