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NSW Consultant & Specialist Pay 2026–27
NSW specialist doctors work under one of two employment models: Staff Specialists (salaried hospital employees under the Staff Specialists (State) Award 2022) or Visiting Medical Officers (sessional contractors paid per 4-hour session). The two models differ markedly in base pay structure, leave entitlements, superannuation, and private practice access.
Last updated: 29 July 2026
By Jacob Stretton, RN & final-year medical student · figures sourced from the public EBAs & the ATO · About & methodology →
Key takeaways
$231,962–$313,390Effective base, Year 1 to Senior: Award salary plus the employer-paid 17.4% Special Allowance (interim 1 July 2025 rates).
120% guaranteedLevel 1 election: all billings assigned, package of $278,355–$376,068 printed in IB2026_006.
Up to 175%Level 5 ceiling with drawing rights up to 100%; its floor is 75% of salary with no guaranteed top-up.
No overtime paySalary is full compensation for all hours (Award cl 5(g)); on-call and recall sit inside salary.
$40,400 + 25 daysTESL funding and 25 calendar days of leave for 2025–26 under a Level 1 arrangement (IB2025_034); the 2026–27 funding amount is set annually and had not been published as at 29 July 2026.
- Rates are the interim '1 July 2025' column of IB2026_006. The NSW IRC arbitration has not handed down a final decision, so a further reset (possibly backdated) is still to come.
- Your private practice election is the biggest lever in the package. The chart under Private practice shows each level's guaranteed floor and ceiling at every seniority step.
- VMO sessional rates (~$673–$1,259 per 4-hour session) suit doctors working across multiple hospitals, but all leave, superannuation and insurance must be self-funded. The rates are unchanged since 1 July 2023 because the VMO determinations are under NSW IRC arbitration, decision reserved.
The award / agreement behind these rates
These salaried rates come from IB2026_006: Interim Salary Increases — Staff Specialists 2024 and 2025, read together with the determinations and bulletins listed under Sources. It sets the staff specialist salary scale, allowances, on-call rates and private-practice arrangements:
- Staff Specialist salary
- Private practice: the Level 1–5 election
- On-call, callback & penalty rates
- VMO sessional rates
Which model applies?
Most New South Wales specialists work as Staff Specialists, VMOs, or hold concurrent appointments across both models. For a national overview of how the two employment models differ on pay, leave, super and private practice, see staff specialist vs VMO explained.
Staff Specialist
Salaried NSW Health employee on the Award scale, with an elected private practice arrangement.
Jump to Staff Specialist ↓Visiting Medical Officer (VMO)
Contracted under an individual sessional service contract and paid an hourly rate for each ordinary hour, proportionate to the nearest quarter hour (IB2024_001 cl 1.3). Session length is set by your contract, not by the bulletin.
Jump to VMO ↓Staff Specialist salary
Staff Specialists are salaried NSW Health employees under the Staff Specialists (State) Award 2022 and the Staff Specialists Determination 2015; in NSW, 'Level 1–5' refers to your elected private practice arrangement, not your seniority. Years 1–5 progress by annual increment, and the Senior Staff Specialist rate requires appointment to a Senior Specialist position (Award cl 5(c)–(d)).
| Grade | Award rate | Special allowance (+17.4%) | Effective base | TESL (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff Specialist – Year 1 | $197,583 | $34,379 | $231,962 | $40,400 |
| Staff Specialist – Year 2 | $209,137 | $36,390 | $245,527 | $40,400 |
| Staff Specialist – Year 3 | $220,686 | $38,399 | $259,085 | $40,400 |
| Staff Specialist – Year 4 | $232,267 | $40,414 | $272,681 | $40,400 |
| Staff Specialist – Year 5 | $243,822 | $42,425 | $286,247 | $40,400 |
| Senior Staff Specialist | $266,942 | $46,448 | $313,390 | $40,400 |
Effective base = Award rate + the 17.4% Special Allowance, matching the 'Award Rate + 17.4%' column of IB2026_006 Attachment B. The TESL column is the Level 1 amount for 2025–26 only (IB2025_034): Levels 2–5 have no fixed entitlement and draw on the No 2 Account sub-ledger, Scheme D staff specialists receive none, and the 2026–27 amount had not been published as at 29 July 2026.
Data note: Figures are the interim '1 July 2025' column of IB2026_006, agreed while the Award is under NSW IRC arbitration. The final decision was still pending as at July 2026; check IB2026_006 before relying on a figure.
Allowances on top of the effective base
| Allowance | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Managerial Allowance (Levels 1–3) | $27,405 / $47,961 / $68,514 | Set by scope: a unit or department, then multiple units or a division, then area-wide. The levels are not cumulative, the allowance can be withdrawn on a month's notice, and it counts as salary for superannuation (Award cl 11(c)–(i); rates are the 1 July 2025 column of IB2026_006). |
| Emergency physician allowance (emergency medicine only) | 25% loading | Emergency medicine only, and only if you have elected a Level 1 private practice arrangement. Calculated on salary plus the Special Allowance plus the Level 1 private practice allowance, paid 6-monthly in arrears, pro rata if part time, and superable (PD2025_029 s 2, which covers services to 30 June 2026 and carries a 1 July 2026 review date). |
| Special service allowance (emergency medicine alternative) | 25% loading, fortnightly | The alternative to the allowance above, for emergency physicians rostered across 5 days a week on shifts of at least 6 hours who provide 15 or more clinical shifts a year at a designated special service facility. Unlike the allowance above it is not counted when penalty rates are calculated (PD2025_029 s 4). |
| Psychiatry attraction and retention allowance | $21,634 – $35,448/yr | Ten per cent of salary plus the Special Allowance plus the Level 1 private practice allowance, which the award fixes as a flat amount per level: $26,238 at Level 1 rising to $35,448 for Senior, and $21,634 for a post-graduate fellow. RANZCP fellows working as psychiatrists only, paid fortnightly and superable; it commenced 3 October 2025 for 12 months, so it lapses around 3 October 2026 unless it is varied or remade (Psychiatry Staff Specialists Attraction and Retention (State) Interim Award 2025, cl 3.1, 3.2(b) and 6). |
Private practice: the Level 1–5 election
What each level pays: guaranteed floor to maximum package
Each bar runs from the guaranteed minimum to the cap on total package, as a percentage of your salary plus Special Allowance (the 100% line).
Every package builds the same way: Award salary, plus the employer-paid 17.4% Special Allowance, plus whatever your private practice election adds.
Level 120% allowance, all billings assigned · No drawing rights
Level 214% allowance · Drawings up to 24%
Level 38% allowance · Drawings up to 36%
Level 4No allowance · Drawings up to 50%
Level 575% of salary only · Drawings up to 100%
Dollar figures are your effective base multiplied by the guaranteed and maximum percentages, so they are approximate to the nearest dollar. The exact printed matrix for every level and step is in IB2026_006 Attachments A and B. Level 5 pays 75% of the Award salary with no guaranteed supplementation; its ceiling depends entirely on your billings.
You can change your election before 30 June each year, effective 1 July, and your level rather than your specialty sets the percentages. Salary, the Special Allowance and the private practice allowance are PAYE-taxed and superannuable; drawing rights sit outside both but continue during paid leave (Determination cl 2(a)(iv)).
On-call, callback & penalty rates
| Payment type | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Overtime | None (no paid overtime) | The word 'overtime' does not appear in the Award or the Determination. 'Except as provided for elsewhere in this Award and other relevant industrial instruments, the salary ... will be full compensation for all aspects and hours of work' (Award cl 5(g)). Excess hours are managed by roster review or time in lieu (Determination cl 6(c)). |
| On-call & recall | Included in salary | You must be available for reasonable on-call and recall outside Normal Duties (Award cl 4(e)); 'there is a component within the salary which reflects this' (Determination cl 6(a)). There is no separate availability allowance and no callback minimum payment. |
| Abnormal working hours payment (discretionary) | Up to 5% (Chief Executive) or 10% (Director-General) | Of the Level 1-arrangement rate (salary + Special Allowance + Level 1 Private Practice Allowance). Only where regularly required abnormal hours over a six-month period cannot be reduced; reviewed six-monthly; limited to 10% of a PHO's Staff Specialists without written Director-General approval; does not count as salary for entitlements (Determination cl 6(e)–(h)). Staff specialist psychiatrists have a separate attraction and retention allowance, set out in the allowances table above. |
| Shift penalties (Emergency medicine only) | +12.5% (6pm–midnight Mon–Fri), +50% Sat, +75% Sun, +150% public holidays | Applies only to specialties listed in Part C Schedule 3 of the Award, currently a single entry (Emergency medicine), for rostered Normal Duties shiftwork. Calculated on salary + Special Allowance + Level 1 Private Practice Allowance, not salary alone (Award cl 4(d)(iii)). |
VMO sessional rates
NSW VMOs are engaged under individual sessional service contracts, not as employees: you cover your own leave, superannuation, indemnity and income protection, and most bill as ABN contractors. IB2024_001 sets hourly rates only, payable for each ordinary hour and proportionate to the nearest quarter hour (cl 1.3).
Rates are the 1 July 2023 column of IB2024_001, still the operative bulletin as at 29 July 2026, and new rates await the reserved NSW IRC arbitration decision. The session figures below are this site's illustration at 4 contracted hours; IB2024_001 publishes no session rate.
| Service type | Rate per session (4 h) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Visiting GP (< 5 years' experience) | $672.80 (4 hrs × $168.20) | The published rate is $168.20 per ordinary hour, effective 1 July 2023 (IB2024_001 cl 1.3), paid proportionate to the nearest quarter hour. |
| Visiting GP (5+ years / FRACGP / FACRRM) | $864.60 (4 hrs × $216.15) | The published rate is $216.15 per ordinary hour, effective 1 July 2023 (IB2024_001 cl 1.3), paid proportionate to the nearest quarter hour. |
| Specialist | $978.80 (4 hrs × $244.70) | The published rate is $244.70 per ordinary hour, effective 1 July 2023 (IB2024_001 cl 1.3), paid proportionate to the nearest quarter hour. |
| Specialist + Background Costs (Anaesthetist / Physician) | $1,103.40 (4 hrs × $275.85) | Two separate published hourly rates: $244.70 per ordinary hour plus $31.15 an hour in background practice costs (IB2024_001 cl 1.3). |
| Specialist + Background Costs (Surgeon) | $1,187.00 (4 hrs × $296.75) | Two separate published hourly rates: $244.70 per ordinary hour plus $52.05 an hour in background practice costs (IB2024_001 cl 1.3). |
| Senior Specialist | $1,050.40 (4 hrs × $262.60) | The published rate is $262.60 per ordinary hour, effective 1 July 2023 (IB2024_001 cl 1.3), paid proportionate to the nearest quarter hour. |
| Senior Specialist + Background Costs (Surgeon) | $1,258.60 (4 hrs × $314.65) | Two separate published hourly rates: $262.60 per ordinary hour plus $52.05 an hour in background practice costs (IB2024_001 cl 1.3). |
Extras on top of the session rate
| Extra | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| On-call (rostered) | $15.50/hr | Payable while rostered on call (IB2024_001). |
| Call-back loading | +10% / +25% / +50% | +10% weekdays 8am to 6pm, +25% outside those hours, +50% on public holidays. Standard Award overtime does not apply to VMOs. |
| Regional call-back | further +10% | For VMOs appointed 12+ months at one of the 23 regional hospitals listed in IB2024_001, living within 50 km of that hospital. |
| Background practice costs | +$31.15 or $52.05/hr | Hourly overheads allowance on top of the ordinary hourly rate: $31.15/hr for anaesthetists, physicians and GPs; $52.05/hr for surgeons. It is paid proportionate to the nearest quarter hour, like the ordinary rate. |
IB2024_001 does not cover VMOs on the rural doctors' settlement package, pathologists, or radiologists without agreed sessional rates. Fee-for-service VMOs bill Medicare directly and sit outside the bulletin entirely.
Staff Specialist vs VMO
| Feature | Staff Specialist | VMO |
|---|---|---|
| Employment type | Salaried employee of NSW Health | Independent contractor |
| Base pay structure | Award rate + 17.4% Special Allowance + elected private practice arrangement | Per-session rate (4 hours) |
| Annual leave | 5 weeks paid + leave loading (17.5% of four weeks' salary, capped) | No (built into session rate) |
| Sick leave | Paid sick leave entitlement | No |
| Superannuation | 12% on salary + Special Allowance + PPA (drawings excluded), paid up to the maximum contribution base of $270,830 for 2026–27 | Self-funded or negotiated |
| TESL | 25 days' leave + $40,400 funding (Level 1 arrangement, 2025–26; the 2026–27 amount is not yet published) | No |
| Private practice | Elected Level 1–5: 20/14/8% allowance and/or drawing rights up to 100% | Independent billing, no hospital restriction |
| On-call obligations | Required; compensated within salary, no separate allowance | Negotiated per individual contract |
| Insurance | WorkCover covered by employer | Self-funded medical indemnity + income protection |
| Career progression | Year 1 → Year 5 by annual increment; Senior Staff Specialist by appointment | No set progression; renegotiate each contract |
| Salary packaging | ~$9,010 FBT-free (EPHA, standard public hospital) | Not applicable |
Frequently asked questions
What is TESL and when does it kick in?
TESL (Training, Education and Study Leave) has two parts under the Staff Specialists Determination 2015 and PD2026_011: 25 calendar days of leave per year, and a funding entitlement of $40,400 for the 2025–26 financial year under a Level 1 arrangement, able to accumulate to a maximum of two years' value ($80,800 at 30 June 2026), or three years where parental leave, caring duties, illness or injury got in the way. It is reimbursement-style funding you claim against conferences, courses, research and study, not cash added to your salary. The Level 1 amount is set each year by agreement between the Ministry and ASMOF, and the 2026–27 figure had not been published as at 29 July 2026; the bulletin that set the 2025–26 amount, IB2025_034, carries a 4 September 2026 review date. Level 1 is the only tier with a fixed entitlement: for Levels 2–5 the amount comes from the relevant No 2 Account sub-ledger rather than the PHO's general funds and is approved by that sub-ledger's management committee within the funds available, and Scheme D staff specialists receive no TESL at all (they keep Conference and Study Leave under Circular 90/39). TESL is not available to VMOs, Postgraduate Fellows or Clinical Academics. A separate device-funding arrangement of $2,621 per year (maximum $7,863 over three years) covers a laptop or mobile device.
Is the 17.4% Special Allowance included in my superannuation base?
Yes. Under the Staff Specialists Determination 2015, the Special Allowance and the Private Practice Allowance are PAYE-taxed salary components that count for superannuation, so the 12% Superannuation Guarantee (from 1 July 2025) is calculated on Award rate + Special Allowance + PPA combined. Drawing rights are the exception: they are paid without PAYE withholding and are excluded from superannuation and entitlement calculations. The Superannuation Guarantee also stops at the maximum contribution base, which the ATO sets at $270,830 of qualifying earnings for 2026–27, so compulsory employer super is capped at about $32,500 for the year. Every step on the NSW scale from Year 1 up reaches that ceiling once the Special Allowance and a private practice allowance are counted, so do not read the 12% as applying to your whole package.
Can I do private practice as a Staff Specialist in NSW?
Yes. You elect one of five arrangements under the Staff Specialists Determination 2015 and can change it before 30 June each year. The chart under Private practice shows what each level guarantees and caps at your seniority step, and the printed dollar matrix is in IB2026_006 Attachments A and B.
As a UK NHS consultant, what level would I start at?
NSW Staff Specialist entry step (Year 1–5) is assessed by the appointing LHD based on years of post-Fellowship specialist experience and relevant seniority. NSW doesn't use a UK-equivalent point system. UK consultants with several years' post-CCT experience would typically negotiate entry above Year 1, but the specific step is confirmed at appointment. Note that in NSW 'Level 1–5' refers to the private practice arrangement you elect, not your seniority step.
Do NSW Staff Specialists get overtime, on-call allowances or callback pay?
No. Salary is full compensation for all aspects and hours of work (Award cl 5(g)), and there is no separate on-call allowance or callback minimum for Staff Specialists. The On-call, callback & penalty rates table lists the only paid exceptions; VMOs are paid differently again, under IB2024_001.
When I move from registrar to Staff Specialist, does the pay jump happen on day one?
Yes. The pay jump to the Staff Specialist scale is immediate on appointment. There is no transitional grade. The move from a Senior Registrar on ~$166,000 base to a Year 1 Staff Specialist effective base of $231,962 (Award + Special Allowance) happens from your first pay period.
How does NSW total compensation compare to QLD or VIC?
Step for step, NSW's effective base (Award rate + 17.4% Special Allowance, $231,962–$313,390) is close to QLD's base scale ($223,136–$310,804), though QLD adds a general attraction and retention allowance of up to 50% of base on top, and VIC's standard (Table 1.1) scale is higher at comparable steps. Where NSW stands out is that the guaranteed private-practice minimums (120–125% of salary + allowance) are printed dollar figures rather than negotiated extras. NSW's $40,400 TESL entitlement is the largest headline professional development figure of the eight states, but it is reimbursement funding for education expenses rather than salary, it is only fixed if you elect Level 1, and it is the 2025–26 amount. The nearest published comparison is WA's Professional Development Allowance, which WAH041 sets at $34,696 a year across WA Country Health Service and $32,360 in the metropolitan area from 3 September 2025, rising to $35,737 and $33,331 from 3 September 2026, and which is paid pro rata each fortnight as cash rather than claimed back. The private practice upside beyond the guaranteed minimum depends on your billings, specialty and LHD.