NSW Police to get huge pay rise under historic deal
NSW Police officers will get a huge pay rise under a historic deal, with some officers set to earn an extra $47,000 a year.
NSW
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Cops on the thin blue line will get a big fat pay rise under the biggest wage deal offered to NSW Police in its history.
The offer, designed to stop the NSW Police Force haemorrhaging experienced staff, is the biggest pay agreement offered to any public sector workers since the Minns government came to power.
The historic offer, negotiated by the NSW Police Association, will deliver pay boosts of between 22.3 per cent and a whopping 39.4 per cent. Across the entire force, the wage offer amounts to a 19 per cent increase over four years.
REVEALED: See how much extra each police rank will get
Some officers will earn up to $47,107 extra in their base salary as a result of the deal, while police who train the next generation of cops will get extra payments worth thousands of dollars per year.
The pay deal comes after one of the state’s most senior officers issued a desperate plea for help to Police Commissioner Karen Webb, declaring that chronic shortages were impacting the ability to prevent and disrupt crime in South West Sydney.
The government would not say how much the pay offer will cost in total.
Police Association President Kevin Morton labelled the offer a “generational change” for police in NSW.
The biggest percentage pay boost will go to a Senior Constable Level 1, who will get 39.4 per cent more in their base take-home pay as a result of the offer.
An officer who became a Senior Constable in 2023 will get a pay rise of more than $45,000 over the next 30 months.
A Sergeant, promoted in 2023, will receive more than $43,000 extra. That officer today earns $119,000 in base pay, and will get a starting salary of more than $163,000 from July 2027.
And, by 2027, a probationary constable starting in the force will earn $110,000 in base salary per year.
The changes to the award will slash the time taken for officers to climb the ladder to the top Senior Constable salary; it will take nine years to reach the highest pay band, down from 15.
It means that an 18-year-old Probationary Officer joining the force today would be earning $146,000 in base pay in nine years’ time, just on award progression alone.
“It creates financial security, but it also breaks down barriers to career recognition and career pathways,” Mr Morton said.
For the first time, an additional shift-by-shift payment will be given to officers working with Probationary Constables. This payment will be worth up to $5000 per year by 2027.
Payments for officers working nights and afternoons will also increase by 26 per cent, with cops on night shifts set to add an average of $7000 to their take-home pay this financial year.
“Increases to the shift allowance and the new training allowance, which are in addition to the quantum, reflects the respect for our police that respond to the call for help 24/7,” Mr Morton said.
“This offer retains and respects our police that are turning up day in, day out,” he said.
The longest serving Sergeants already at the maximum pay rates will get more than $32,000 in salary increases and retention payments.
The Police Association has now sent the pay offer to its members. If voted up by PANSW members, it will be backdated to 1 July 2024.
The Daily Telegraph understands that the pay rise, if agreed to, will be funded by a recent overhaul to the Police insurance scheme.
The changes removed massive lump sum payments to officers who left the force due to total, permanent disability, in favour of smaller yearly payments for up to 10 years.
Police Minister Yasmin Catley said the offer came after “very hard” work with the PANSW.
“We’re proud to have reached an offer that recognises the difficult and dangerous work police do every day to keep us safe,” she said.
“The offer is now being put to a vote of members so we’ll await the result of that before commenting further.”
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