Queensland public hospital pay guide · 2025–26
QLD Junior Doctor Salary & Take-Home Pay | 2025–26
Estimate Queensland junior doctor pay (Intern → Registrar) for 2025–26 based on your actual roster. Add your mix of nights, weekends and overtime to see the flow-on effect to take-home pay after tax and HECS/HELP.
Estimate my pay (QLD)Levels and base rates (QLD)
| Level | Base salary | After-tax + HECS (take-home) |
|---|---|---|
| Intern | $94,670 | $69,437 |
| Resident - Year 1 | $102,059 | $73,353 |
| Resident - Year 2 | $109,583 | $77,341 |
| Registrar - Year 1 | $133,848 | $90,024 |
| Registrar - Year 2 | $137,558 | $91,738 |
| Registrar - Year 3 | $141,292 | $93,380 |
| Registrar - Year 4 | $147,008 | $95,896 |
| Registrar - Year 5 | $150,874 | $97,597 |
| Registrar - Year 6 | $154,749 | $99,302 |
| Senior Registrar - Year 1 | $170,214 | $106,106 |
| Senior Registrar - Year 2 | $176,024 | $108,663 |
| Senior Registrar - Year 3 | $181,824 | $111,392 |
| Senior Registrar - Year 4 | $187,569 | $114,322 |
See how this state compares
Want the national picture? See how this state compares across base pay, take-home estimates, leave and penalties.
QLD MOCA7 high-yield summary
This section adds the key points from your QLD EBA summary for quick payroll and roster checks.
Instruments: Medical Officers' (Queensland Health) Certified Agreement (No. 7) 2025 (MOCA7) and Medical Officers (Queensland Health) Award - State 2015.
Who this applies to (MOCA7 cl 3.4)
- Intern: PGY1 practitioner with provisional registration in supervised practice toward general registration.
- Junior House Officer (JHO): PGY2 practitioner with general registration in supervised hospital training.
- Senior House Officer (SHO): post-PGY2 practitioner not appointed as PHO or Registrar, undertaking general hospital duties.
- Principal House Officer (PHO): role with higher clinical responsibility, usually in/eligible for vocational training entry.
- Registrar: position in a recognized specialist vocational training program or equivalent structured pathway.
- Senior Registrar: advanced vocational trainee with substantial supervisory and clinical responsibilities.
Ordinary hours and roster setup
- Ordinary full-time hours are 76 hours per fortnight (MOCA7 cl 11.1.1).
- Hours can be rostered as 7.6 hours/day, variable daily hours across the fortnight, or longer days with ADOs (cl 11.1.1).
- By agreement, ordinary hours may be rostered up to 12.5 hours in a day inclusive of meal break (cl 11.1.2).
- Hours beyond 10 in one shift are overtime (cl 11.1.2).
- Employer may change roster method with 14 days notice (cl 11.1.5).
- Up to 6 ADOs may be banked and must be taken within 12 months (cl 11.1.7).
- Overtime should not be rostered on an ADO unless agreed; emergent recall on an ADO attracts overtime (cl 11.1.8).
- Maximum duty is 12 hours 30 minutes including a paid meal break (cl 6.4).
Penalty rates and overtime
| Item | Rate / rule | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday ordinary hours | 150% | Award cl 19.3.3 |
| Sunday ordinary hours | 200% | Award cl 19.3.4 |
| Public holiday work | Applicable public holiday rate; minimum 4 hours payment | Award cl 19.3.5, cl 26; MOCA7 cl 11.15 |
| Afternoon shift | 15% loading (majority of hours 18:00-24:00, finishing on/before midnight) | MOCA7 cl 11.3.2-11.3.3 |
| Night shift | 20% loading (finishes after midnight and at/before 08:00, or starts at/after 20:00 and finishes at/after midnight) | MOCA7 cl 11.3.2-11.3.3 |
| RMO overtime Mon-Sat | 150% first 3 hours, then 200% | MOCA7 cl 11.11.2.1 |
| RMO overtime Sunday | 200% | MOCA7 cl 11.11.2.1 |
| RMO overtime public holiday | 250% | MOCA7 cl 11.11.2.1 |
Unrostered overtime does not need prior approval if clinically necessary, but it still must be submitted through payroll for approval/payment (MOCA7 cl 11.11.4-11.11.5).
On-call and recall
- Remote on-call: must be able to attend within 30 minutes; paid 8% of Salary Level 4 hourly rate per hour on call (MOCA7 cl 11.17.3.2, cl 11.17.4.1).
- Proximate on-call: must be able to attend within 10 minutes; paid 10% of MEDREG6 (L9) weekly rate per 24 hours (Mon-Sat) or 15% where period starts Sunday (MOCA7 cl 11.17.3.3, cl 11.17.4.2).
- Stacking rule: proximate on-call is once per 24-hour period, and if proximate is paid you cannot also claim remote on-call for the same period (MOCA7 cl 11.17.6-11.17.7).
- Digital recall (no return onsite): minimum 30 minutes at applicable overtime rate per instance, with evidence/documentation requirements (MOCA7 cl 11.17.8.1-11.17.8.2).
- If digital recall is followed by physical recall within 30 minutes: minimum 2.5 hours at overtime rate (MOCA7 cl 11.17.10).
Key allowances
| Allowance | Rate / rule | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Vocational Training Subsidy (VTS) | $4,534 p.a. from 1 Jul 2025; $4,647 from 1 Jul 2026; $4,763 from 1 Jul 2027 (paid fortnightly after proof of acceptance, backdating usually capped at 3 months) | MOCA7 cl 7.4.1, Schedule 1 Table 1.4 |
| Professional Development Allowance (PDA) | For RMOs who are not interns and not receiving VTS: $2,719 p.a. from 1 Jul 2025; $2,787 from 1 Jul 2026; $2,857 from 1 Jul 2027 | MOCA7 cl 7.4.2, Schedule 1 Table 1.4 |
| Motor vehicle allowance | $0.82/km when authorized to use private vehicle | Award cl 17.2 |
| Meal allowance (overtime) | $14.10 per occasion in specified overtime circumstances | Award cl 17.3 |
Leave entitlements
Annual, personal, study
- Annual leave: 5 weeks/year standard, 6 weeks/year for continuous rotating shift workers, and 5.5 weeks/year for weekend roster workers not receiving shift loading (Award cl 22.1.1-22.1.3).
- Sick Leave leave: 10 days/year. Medical certificate required for absences greater than 3 days (Award cl 23).
- Exam leave: exam day plus 3 paid days per exam; rostered shifts must not be altered to remove access (MOCA7 cl 7.5.3-7.5.4).
Parental, long service, other
- Parental leave: no qualifying period; maternity leave start and post-birth timing protections apply unless medically certified (Award cl 24.2.1, cl 24.4, cl 24.5).
- Long service leave: 13 weeks after 10 years continuous service (Award cl 25.1.1).
- Domestic and family violence leave: 10 paid days/year (MOCA7 cl 11.30.7).
- Lactation breaks: 1 hour paid lactation break(s) per 8 hours worked (MOCA7 cl 11.31.2).
- Purchased leave: 1 to 6 weeks unpaid per year (MOCA7 cl 11.29.1).
Safe rostering and fatigue protections
- Maximum duty length is 12 hours 30 minutes including paid meal break (MOCA7 cl 6.4).
- Minimum break between duties is 10 consecutive hours off duty (MOCA7 cl 6.6.1).
- If required to work without that 10-hour break, double rates apply until released, then you remain off duty until 10 consecutive hours off is achieved (MOCA7 cl 6.6.4).
- Weekend on-call protection: you cannot be recalled for 12+ consecutive hours without an immediate 10-hour break afterwards (MOCA7 cl 6.7).
- Late-night overtime protection applies where there is >2 hours overtime from 22:15 on a non-rostered day and insufficient 8-hour break before next shift (MOCA7 cl 6.8.1).
- Roster notice should be 4 weeks where practicable, otherwise minimum 2 weeks, and emergent changes require consultation and written reasons (MOCA7 cl 11.2.1-11.2.3).
- Meal break should be 30 minutes clear of work; if not provided it is paid at overtime rates (MOCA7 cl 11.9).
- Rest pauses: 1 x 10-minute paid rest pause if working <=6 hours, 2 x 10-minute paid pauses if >6 hours (or 1 x 20-minute break by agreement) (MOCA7 cl 11.10).
Worked examples (QLD)
Intern
- Roster: 38h/wk, some evenings, one weekend shift/month, some public holidays.
- Includes: penalties for nights/weekends; occasional overtime, four weeks of leave.
RMO
- Roster: ~40–44h/wk, some evenings/nights, 2–3 weekend shifts/month, some public holidays.
- Includes: penalties for nights/weekends; occasional overtime, four weeks of leave.
Year 3 Registrar
- Roster: 45–55h/wk, every second weekend, some public holidays, overtime most weeks.
- Includes: mix of nights/afternoons and ~5 weeks of leave (annual + study).
* After tax and HECs repayments have been deducted
FAQ
What is the difference between Gross and Net?
Gross pay is your total earnings before anything is taken out (base pay + penalties + overtime + allowances). Net pay (take-home) is what you actually receive after deductions like tax and HECS/HELP withholding.
How is HECS/HELP calculated?
From the 2025–26 income year, compulsory HECS/HELP repayments use marginal rates — meaning you only pay the higher rate on the part of your income above each threshold.
- $0 – $67,000: Nil
- $67,001 – $125,000: 15c for each $1 over $67,000
- $125,001 – $179,285: $8,700 + 17c for each $1 over $125,000
- $179,286 and over: 10% of your total repayment income
How do I increase my income?
The biggest levers for junior doctor pay are:
- Roster mix: more nights/weekends/public holidays usually increases penalties.
- Overtime: paid at higher rates (but comes with fatigue risk).
- Allowances: if your role attracts them (on-call/call-back, specific units/sites).
- Salary packaging: can improve take-home without changing hours (if eligible).
- Progression: moving up levels (intern → RMO → registrar) increases base rates over time.
What is salary packaging?
Normally: you get paid → tax gets taken out → you spend what’s left. Salary packaging lets you use some of your pay before tax for approved expenses, so less of your income is taxed. It’s not “free money” — it’s a tax benefit available to many healthcare workers because of special rules.
How much can you salary package?
Typical caps (varies by employer/provider):
- Living expenses cap: about $9,010 per FBT year (FBT year runs 1 April to 31 March)
- Meal entertainment cap: up to $2,650 per FBT year (often via a meal/entertainment card)
A common “headline” maximum is ~$11,660 per FBT year packaged if you’re eligible for both and your employer allows both.
Sources and disclaimer
Estimates only; confirm with the state/territory award/EBA and your employer’s HR/payroll.