WA Consultant Pay 2026–27: The Senior Practitioner Scale
Western Australia's specialist-level hospital doctors are called 'Senior Practitioners' under the WA Health System – Medical Practitioners – AMA Industrial Agreement 2024 (WAIRC WAH041), a state-system instrument (WAIRC, not Fair Work). Your salary depends on the Arrangement A or B private-practice election, and the ordinary full-time commitment averages 40 hours per week on a no-fixed-hours basis.
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
- Arrangement A vs B is a private-practice income election, not a seniority grade: under A you assign all private-practice income to the employer for the higher salary; under B you keep your own billings up to 25% of salary on top of the base rate. If you make no election you default to Arrangement A (cl 27(13)).
- Work beyond the 40-hour commitment is paid only as a recall (150–200% of a prescribed hourly rate), and shift/weekend penalties are always valued on the Arrangement B salary (cl 32(6)).
- Positions north of the 26th parallel use their own salary tables under Sch 3: Consultant Yr 1–6 runs $378,151–$448,030 under Arrangement A, plus a service gratuity and a commuted on-call allowance in place of hourly on-call and recall.
The award / agreement behind these rates
These salaried rates come from WA Health System – Medical Practitioners – AMA Industrial Agreement 2024 (WAH041, registered 2024 WAIRC 00992), read together with the determinations and bulletins listed under Sources. It sets the senior practitioner salary scale, allowances, on-call rates and private-practice arrangements:
- Senior Practitioner salary
- Private practice: the Arrangement A/B election
- On-call, callback & penalty rates
- VMO sessional rates
Which model applies?
Most Western Australia specialists work as Senior Practitioners, 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.
Senior Practitioner
Salaried employee under the WA AMA Industrial Agreement 2024 (WAH041). No-fixed-hours engagement averaging 40 hours/week. Your pay depends on the Arrangement A or B private-practice election.
Jump to Senior Practitioner ↓Visiting Medical Officer (VMO)
The agreement binds medical practitioners employed by the WA health service providers (cl 3(1)), so a specialist engaged for a set number of sessions a week is a sessional practitioner: a part-time employee on pro rata pay, pro rata leave and paid public holidays (cl 23(1), 23(5), 23(9)). A visiting practitioner engaged under a contract for services sits outside the agreement, and WA publishes no state-wide VMO rate schedule.
Jump to VMO ↓Senior Practitioner salary
Schedule 1 of the agreement publishes two consultant scales, one per private-practice arrangement: Arrangement A is a total salary rate (the former Private Practice Income Allowance was rolled into it in 2016, cl 26(8), cl 28(2)) paid where you assign all private-practice income to the employer, and Arrangement B is the base salary paid where you retain your own private billings. Rates below are the column in force on and from 3 September 2025; the PDA (Arrangement A) or Professional Expenses Allowance (Arrangement B) is additional.
| Grade | Base salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Consultant Yr 1 – Arrangement A | $333,305 | All private-practice income assigned to the employer; PDA $32,360 additional. |
| Consultant Yr 2 – Arrangement A | $343,711 | |
| Consultant Yr 3 – Arrangement A | $354,633 | |
| Consultant Yr 4 – Arrangement A | $366,107 | |
| Consultant Yr 5 – Arrangement A | $378,151 | |
| Consultant Yr 6 – Arrangement A | $390,794 | |
| Consultant Yr 7 – Arrangement A | $404,074 | |
| Consultant Yr 8 – Arrangement A | $418,017 | |
| Consultant Yr 9 – Arrangement A | $432,658 | Top of the Arrangement A scale ($445,638 from 3 September 2026). |
| Consultant Yr 1 – Arrangement B | $210,327 | Base salary; you retain your own private billings (capped at 25% of salary) plus a ~$8,035 Professional Expenses Allowance. |
| Consultant Yr 2 – Arrangement B | $220,734 | |
| Consultant Yr 3 – Arrangement B | $231,657 | |
| Consultant Yr 4 – Arrangement B | $243,131 | |
| Consultant Yr 5 – Arrangement B | $255,174 | |
| Consultant Yr 6 – Arrangement B | $267,819 | |
| Consultant Yr 7 – Arrangement B | $281,098 | |
| Consultant Yr 8 – Arrangement B | $295,040 | |
| Consultant Yr 9 – Arrangement B | $309,682 | Top of the Arrangement B scale ($318,972 from 3 September 2026). |
Hourly rates are derived as annual salary ÷ 52.1666 ÷ 40 (cl 26(7)). The agreement does not prescribe a superannuation rate: employer contributions follow the statutory Superannuation Guarantee (12%) up to the maximum contribution base of $270,830 for 2026–27, and Arrangement B private-practice retention is not salary for superannuation purposes (cl 29(8)).
Private practice: the Arrangement A/B election
| Step | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deduction from receipts | 17.5% + indemnity premium | Administration costs and your indemnity premium come off receipts to reach 'nett earnings' (cl 29(3)(b)). Facility charges are paid next. |
| You retain | Up to 25% of salary | Base salary plus any Head of Department allowance (cl 29(4)(a)). |
| Excess to the PD cost centre | 50% | An approved restricted professional-development cost centre. Pathologists and Nuclear Physicians: 65% (cl 29(3)). |
| Excess to you | 50% | For Pathologists and Nuclear Physicians the remainder is pooled equally (cl 29(3)). |
| Low-biller top-up | To 16% of salary | Topped up from facility charges once a year, or to 25% where contributions allow (cl 29(7)). |
On-call, callback & penalty rates
| Payment type | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Overtime | No paid overtime | Senior Practitioners are engaged on a no-fixed-hours basis averaging 40 hours/week (cl 22); the overtime clause (cl 17) sits in Part 2 (Doctors in Training) and does not apply. Work beyond the commitment is paid only where it qualifies as a recall. |
| Weekday evening (6pm–midnight) | +20% penalty | Cl 32(1). |
| Weekday night (midnight–8am) | +25% penalty | Cl 32(2). |
| Saturday | +50% penalty (150% total) | Cl 32(3). |
| Midnight Saturday – 8am Monday | +75% penalty (175% total) | This window is the agreement's 'Sunday' band (cl 32(4)). |
| Public holiday (midnight–8am day after) | +150% penalty (250% total) | Or, by agreement, +50% plus a day in lieu; no more than five days may be accumulated (cl 32(5)). |
| How penalties are valued | On the Arrangement B salary | For Senior Practitioners every penalty is calculated on the Arrangement B salary, even if you are paid Arrangement A (cl 32(6)); this persists under salary packaging (cl 60(12)). Only the highest of overlapping penalties is payable (cl 56). |
| On-call availability | $25.26/hour (from 3 September 2025) | 18.75% of the Consultant Yr 7 Arrangement B hourly rate (cl 33(1)(c)(ii)); $26.02 from 3 September 2026. Not paid for periods paid as recall; maximum 1-in-3 on-call roster without Association agreement or an emergency. |
| Recall requiring attendance | 150% / 175% / 200% of a prescribed hourly rate | 150% for 6am–midnight any day, 175% Sunday 6am–midnight, 200% midnight–6am, on the cl 33(2)(c)(v) table (Consultant Yr 1–9: $160–$209/hour from 3 September 2025). Senior Practitioners are paid for actual time worked; the three-hour minimum does not apply (cl 33(2)(e)). |
| Telephone / telehealth recall | Minimum 1 hour at the ordinary base hourly rate | Arrangement B hourly rate for Senior Practitioners; 150% between midnight Saturday and 8am Monday, 250% on public holidays (cl 33(3)). |
| Professional Development Allowance (Arrangement A) | $32,360/year (from 3 September 2025) | Paid pro rata fortnightly; $33,331 from 3 September 2026 (cl 30(6)(a)). Across WA Country Health Service the replacement rate is $34,696 (Sch 2). |
| Professional Expenses Allowance (Arrangement B) | 3% of Consultant Yr 6 Arrangement B salary (~$8,035/year) | Paid pro rata fortnightly in place of the PDA (cl 30(9)). |
| Professional development leave | 3 weeks a year, plus 5 weeks after each 5 years | Three weeks of paid professional development leave for each year of continuous service, accumulating for no more than two years (cl 30(1)), plus an additional five weeks of paid overseas study leave after each five years of continuous service (cl 30(2)). Conference and overseas study leave are not available as monetary payments in lieu (cl 30(5)); Schedule 2 cl 5 carries the same entitlements across WA Country Health Service. |
| Head of Department allowance | $10,473–$55,257/year (from 3 September 2025) | Banded by staff under direct supervision: 1–4 staff $10,473; 5–9 $18,616; 10–20 $34,315; over 20 $55,257 (cl 20(9)). Not counted as base salary. |
VMO sessional rates
WA publishes no state-wide VMO sessional rate, so there is no rate table to show here. Sessional and on-call arrangements sit in subsidiary agreements (WA Emergency General Surgery 2024, Pathologists Agreement 2024, Orthopaedic Trauma 2024) or are negotiated with the individual health service.
Contact AMA (WA) or the relevant health service for current sessional rates.
Standard Award penalty rates (overtime, callbacks) do not apply to VMO sessions, so any such entitlements must be specified in the individual VMO contract. Fee-for-service VMOs billing Medicare directly are not covered by any health service sessional arrangement and set their rates under MBS or private schedules.
Senior Practitioner vs VMO
| Feature | Senior Practitioner | VMO |
|---|---|---|
| Employment type | Salaried employee (state industrial system) | Independent contractor |
| Pay structure | Arrangement A or B salary (private-practice election); 40h average week | Per-session rate (negotiated) |
| Annual leave | Paid | No (self-funded) |
| Sick leave | Paid | No |
| Superannuation | 12% statutory SG (rate not set by the agreement), paid up to the maximum contribution base of $270,830 for 2026–27, a ceiling of about $32,500 | Self-funded |
| PDA | $32,360/yr under Arrangement A ($34,696 WACHS); Arrangement B gets ~$8,035 expenses allowance | No |
| Private practice | Arrangement A: income assigned to employer; Arrangement B: retain own billings up to 25% of salary | Independent billing |
| Insurance | WorkCover covered by employer | Self-funded medical indemnity + income protection |
| Industrial system | WAIRC (state), not federal Fair Work | N/A |
| Salary packaging | ~$9,010 FBT-free (EPHA; verify with WA Health) | Not applicable |