ACT Doctor Pay Overview 2026–27
ACT public-hospital doctors are paid under a Fair Work Commission workplace determination made on 12 November 2025, not an enterprise agreement. The dual overtime trigger (shift >10 hours or fortnight >76 hours) means registrars can hit overtime on rosters that look unremarkable on any single day.
By Jacob Stretton, RN & final-year medical student · figures sourced from the public EBAs & the ATO · About & methodology →
Key takeaways
- Moving from intern to Resident - Year 1 adds $14,001 before penalties, overtime or packaging.
- Education allowance is $1,150 a year for interns, $3,319 for Resident Medical Officer Year 1, Senior Resident Medical Officer Year 1 and junior registrar rows, and $4,558 for Senior Resident Medical Officer Year 2 and above and registrar rows.
Which ACT pay page should you use?
Interns, residents, RMOs and JMOs
Use the early-career page if you want early postgraduate-year pay, the intern-to-resident jump, study leave notes and intern/resident calculator presets.
Open ACT Interns & Residents →Registrars and senior registrars
Use the registrar page if you want registrar progression, senior registrar rows, on-call, callback, overtime and heavier-roster take-home context.
Open ACT Registrar pay →Comparing beyond ACT? See junior doctor salary in Australia: every state's scale, per month, after tax and per hour.
ACT penalty rates & loadings
These are the main roster-driven loadings and overtime rules that move take-home pay above the base salary row. Use the ACT Interns & Residents page or ACT Registrar page for detailed penalty, on-call and callback modelling.
| Loading / penalty | Rate | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Evening ordinary hours | +12.5% | Applies to ordinary hours from 6pm to midnight Monday to Friday. |
| Night ordinary hours | +25% | Night-heavy rotations can lift pay above the base row. |
| Saturday / Sunday ordinary hours | +50% Saturday; +75% Sunday | Weekend mix is one of the clearest roster-driven pay variables. |
| Public holiday ordinary hours | +150% (2.5x total pay) | Public holidays are high-impact roster inputs. |
| Overtime trigger | All time above 10 hours in a shift | Long shifts can trigger overtime even when weekly totals look ordinary. |
| Overtime trigger (fortnightly) | All hours above 76 per fortnight at 1.5× | The ACT determination also triggers overtime when total paid hours exceed 76 per fortnight. Heavy call rosters can hit this even when no individual shift exceeds 10 hours. |
| On-call allowance | First hour of overtime per on-call period, once per 24 hours | Availability pay should be separated from recall work. |
| Recall / call-back | Digital recall 1-hour minimum; workplace recall 4-hour minimum | Remote and workplace recall have different minimums. |
ACT pay extras and entitlements
| Extra / entitlement | Why it matters | Applies mainly to | Where to check / model it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penalties and overtime | Evenings, nights, weekends, public holidays and long shifts can move pay above the base row. | All rostered doctors | Model early-career roster |
| On-call and recall | On-call availability, digital recall and workplace recall are separate pay concepts. | Mainly rostered after-hours roles | See registrar detail |
| Education allowance | The ACT determination lists annual education allowance amounts for interns, resident-style rows, junior registrars and registrar rows. | Junior Medical Officers and registrars | See education allowance notes |
| Annual and personal leave | Annual leave, extra Sunday-related leave and personal leave affect job value alongside base salary. | All levels, depending on roster | See leave notes |
| Study and conference leave | Study time, conference leave and protected teaching time can matter when comparing roles. | Resident Medical Officers, registrars and junior medical officers | See study notes |
| HECS/HELP and packaging | HECS/HELP withholding and salary packaging can both change net pay even at the same gross, worth modelling for any grade carrying a study debt. | Doctors with study loans or packaging | HECS/HELP and packaging guide |
| Salary packaging (EPHA – public hospital rate) | Canberra Health Services is an Eligible Public Hospital and Ambulance (EPHA): ACT doctors can package up to ~$9,010 FBT-free per year, the standard public hospital cap. This saves approximately $2,000–$2,500/year in after-tax income depending on salary level. | All doctors employed at Canberra Hospital / Canberra Health Services | HECS/HELP and packaging guide |
| Annual leave loading (17.5%) | The ACT determination provides a 17.5% loading on ordinary pay paid on commencement of annual leave, a concrete cash addition worth approximately $1,500–$4,000/year depending on grade. | All ACT doctors taking annual leave | Check the ACT determination |
ACT pay snapshot by career stage
Rates effective first full pay period on or after 1 December 2025 (final scheduled increase in the instrument; successor ACTPS agreement in bargaining as at July 2026) · ACT Public Sector Medical Practitioners Determination 2023–2026 (FWC workplace determination AG531082, made 12 November 2025), Annex A · source.
| Level | Base salary | Estimated take-home | Calculator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intern | $88,485 | $66,806 | Open calculator |
| Resident / RMO | $102,486 to $135,446 | $74,227 to $91,550 | Open calculator |
| Registrar / Senior Registrar | $125,473 to $173,760 | $86,410 to $108,408 | Open calculator |
Estimated take-home is after income tax, Medicare levy, and HECS/HELP repayment. No salary packaging applied.
Worked example snapshots
Intern: mostly day shifts
- A representative early-career roster with the occasional weekend, some after-hours and limited night work. Open in the calculator to adjust to your own roster.
RMO: mixed shifts with some overtime
- A busier roster with more weekend and after-hours shifts and occasional overtime. Open in the calculator to adjust to your own roster.
Registrar: heavier overtime
- A heavier registrar roster with more weekends, after-hours and overtime. Open in the calculator to adjust to your own roster.
* After income tax and HECS/HELP repayments have been deducted.
Frequently asked questions
Which ACT pay page should I start with?
Why does ACT take-home pay differ from the base salary?
Where should I check exact ACT award wording?
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