South Australia public hospital pay guide · 2025–26
SA Junior Doctor Salary & Take-Home Pay | 2025–26
Estimate South Australia junior doctor pay (Intern → Registrar) for 2025–26. The calculator helps you compare different terms by showing how penalties, overtime, tax and HECS/HELP move your take-home, with SA sources linked below for reference.
Estimate my pay (SA)What determines your pay in SA?
- Base rate: your level (intern → resident/medical practitioner → registrar) and year progression.
- Penalties: weekends, afternoons/evenings, nights, and public holidays.
- Overtime: SA is mostly calculated on total rostered hours per 2-week cycle (and above contracted hours for part-time).
- On-call & recall: remote call allowances + recall payments (plus travel rules).
- Allowances/protections: worked-through meal break penalty, fatigue taxi/facilities, regional incentives (where eligible).
- Tax + HECS/HELP: HECS is calculated on gross income; tax depends on taxable income after deductions/packaging.
- Salary packaging: can improve take-home without changing your roster (if eligible).
Levels and base rates (SA)
| Level | Base salary | After-tax + HECS (take-home) |
|---|---|---|
| Intern | $88,869 | $66,363 |
| Resident - Year 1 | $96,569 | $70,444 |
| Registrar - Year 1 | $104,266 | $74,523 |
| Registrar - Year 2 | $120,432 | $83,091 |
| Registrar - Year 3 | $130,438 | $88,285 |
| Registrar - Year 4 | $138,137 | $91,992 |
| Registrar - Year 5 | $145,834 | $95,379 |
| Registrar - Year 6 | $153,533 | $98,767 |
| Senior Registrar - Year 1 | $158,151 | $100,798 |
| Senior Registrar - Year 2 | $164,308 | $103,508 |
See how this state compares
Want the national picture? See how this state compares across base pay, take-home estimates, leave and penalties.
SA EBA high-yield summary
This section focuses on clauses doctors in training commonly use on roster and payroll queries.
Instruments referenced: SA Health Salaried Medical Officers Enterprise Agreement 2025 (Medical Practitioner Group / MPG) and the South Australian Medical Officers Award (exam leave clause 6.5).
Who this applies to
- Applies across SA Health public sector services including DHW, public hospitals under the Health Care Act 2008, and SA Ambulance Service (Cl 2.1).
- Junior-doctor-relevant stream is Part E: Medical Practitioner Group (MPG); Part D "Medical Officers" is legacy/no new appointments (Cl 49.1-49.2).
- MPG includes interns, medical practitioners, senior registrars (Part E coverage list).
- Exclusions include some other agreements and university employees (Cl 2.2).
Ordinary hours and roster protections
- Ordinary hours average 38/week; paid for all hours worked; roster set by employer (Cl 58).
- Hard roster caps (unless the clause exception applies):
- Max 12 hours/shift (meal breaks excluded) (Cl 58.4.1)
- Max 68 hours/week (Cl 58.4.2)
- Max 272 hours/4-week cycle (Cl 58.4.3)
- Rostered duty excludes proximate call/remote call/recall duty (Cl 58).
- Minimum 10 clear hours between rostered duties (unless otherwise agreed under clause 13) (Cl 61).
- Minimum shift engagement: 3 hours (Cl 61).
- Rosters must be published at least 28 days before they start; changes after publication are by agreement unless patient safety/clinical service risk applies (Cl 74).
Penalty rates and overtime
| Item | Rate / rule | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Weekend rostered duty | +50% (Fri 00:00 - Sun 24:00) | Cl 69.1 |
| Sunday rostered duty >8h | Extra hours at +75% (in lieu for those hours) | Cl 69.2 |
| Afternoon/evening duty | Start >=12:00 and finish after 18:00: +15% | Cl 70.1 |
| Night duty | 00:00-08:00: +25% | Cl 70.2 |
| Public holiday work (rostered/recalled; not prox call) | +150% for all time worked (in lieu of other penalties) | Cl 71 |
| Full-day public holiday on RDO (Mon-Fri) | 1 day added to annual leave | Cl 71 |
| Overtime (full-time) | >76 hours/2 weeks: +50% | Cl 62.1 |
| Overtime (full-time high) | >110 hours/2 weeks: +100% (in lieu) | Cl 62.2 |
| Sunday hours over 76 hours/2 weeks (full-time) | +100% (not in addition) | Cl 62.3 |
| Overtime (part-time) | Required hours above contracted fortnight hours: +50% | Cl 62.5 |
| Overtime (part-time high) | >110 hours/2 weeks: +100% (in lieu) | Cl 62.6 |
On-call and key allowances
| Allowance / payment | Rate / rule | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Remote call allowance (night/part day) | $48.38 (increases per schedule to $54.98 by 14 Apr 2028) | Cl 63 + Sch 3.2A |
| Remote call allowance (full day) | $76.85 (increases per schedule to $87.34 by 14 Apr 2028) | Cl 63 + Sch 3.2B |
| Recall (non-Sun/non-PH) | +50% first 3h then +100%; 15-min blocks; minimum 3h | Cl 64.1 + Cl 64.3.1 |
| Recall (Sunday) | +100%; 15-min blocks; minimum 3h | Cl 64.2 + Cl 64.3.1 |
| Recall includes travel | Paid from start of travel to return home | Cl 64 |
| Proximate call pay | Hourly rate per hour on prox call; if recalled +50%; public holiday prox call 1.75× | Cl 63 |
| Proximate call limits | After 10-12h duty prior; 21:00-08:30 min 8h; max 8 nights/28 days | Cl 63.4.1-63.4.4 |
| Proximate call fatigue protection | If work during prox call exceeds 5h -> no duty next 24h | Cl 63.4.3 |
| Worked-through meal break penalty | If instructed to work >6h without a meal break -> +50% until break taken/completed | Cl 73.3 |
| Regional incentive (eligible) | MMM4 $19,750; MMM5 $26,333; MMM6 $32,916; MMM7 $39,493 (indexed; max 5 years; not base salary) | Cl 12.1-12.3 |
| Fatigue facilities / taxi home | If unsafe to drive due to fatigue: facilities >=8h or taxi home if unavailable | Cl 16.1-16.3 |
| Recall travel costs | PV/taxi/govt vehicle + necessary parking reimbursement | Cl 65.1.1-65.1.4 |
| Childcare reimbursement | If <24h notice to work outside rostered/required hours and paid childcare needed | Cl 14.21 |
| Relocation expenses | Reimbursed per HR Manual | Cl 11.1 |
Leave and study entitlements used most by trainees
Annual and personal leave
- Annual leave: 28 calendar days per service year; 35 days if regularly rostered/required over 7 days incl Sundays/PHs (Cl 72.1.1-72.1.2).
- Minimum annual leave block: 7 calendar days; can be taken in 1-3 periods (Cl 72.5).
- Annual leave loading: 17.5% if more beneficial (Cl 72.7.3).
- Part-time sick leave: pro-rata of 91.2 hours (Cl 75).
Study / professional development
- Accredited trainees: exam leave is via the Award clause 6.5 (EBA Cl 76.1.1(a); Award cl 6.5).
- Accredited trainees: 5 paid PD days/year (accumulates to 10 days/2 years) (Cl 76.1.1(b)).
- Accredited trainees: PD reimbursement up to $10,000/year (accumulates to $20,000/2 years) (Cl 76.1.1(c)).
- Not in accredited training: 1 week PD leave/year (accumulates to 2 weeks/2 years) + reimbursement up to $4,500/year (accumulates to $9,000/2 years) (Cl 76.2.1).
Parental leave
- Paid maternity/adoption/surrogacy leave: 16 weeks (20 weeks with 5 years SA public sector service) after 12 months continuous service (Cl 14.9).
- Partner leave: up to 2 weeks/10 working days via accrued sick leave (Cl 14.15).
- Return part-time option until child’s second birthday (subject to notice requirements) (Cl 14.20).
Safe rostering and fatigue rules
- 4 days off (24h each) per 28-day cycle + 1 weekend free (Cl 59.1.1-59.1.2).
- Max 8 consecutive days (Cl 59.1.3). If required to exceed under the clause exception: +50% for the additional day(s) (Cl 59.1.4).
- If >1 hour overtime between 23:00-06:00: 10 consecutive hours off. If instructed back without the break: +50% until released + still get time off to reach the 10 hours (Cl 59).
- Day/night changeover: 48 hours off immediately before change (never <24h) unless the clause exception applies (Cl 60).
- Meal breaks: 30 minutes by 6 hours (Cl 73.1-73.2).
Practical junior doctor wins
- Accredited training pay bump: medical practitioner steps 2-5 accepted into accredited training move up one salary increment (Cl 56.2-56.3).
- Training time recognised: part of the 38-hour week is intended to support training/education activities; rosters should consider this (Cl 77.2).
Worked examples (SA)
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: SA doctor pay
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
- SA EBA 2025
- South Australian Medical Officers Award (exam leave clause 6.5)
- ATO study and training support loans rates and thresholds
Estimates only; confirm with the state/territory award/EBA and your employer’s HR/payroll.