Skip to content
Police Pay Australia
Free calculator · 2026-27 rules

Police super calculator
what your super could grow to

Pick your force, enter your age, balance and salary, and see a projection of your super at retirement in today's dollars. It uses your force's employer rate and the 2026-27 caps, and tells you plainly when your scheme is defined benefit and can't be projected this way.

Start now
Updated 10 October 2026 15 min read Sources checked 10 October 2026 Independent, not advice

The short answer

Australian police receive between the 12% Superannuation Guarantee and 18% employer super: 18% in Queensland, 15.4% at the AFP, and at least 12% elsewhere. Victoria's operational police are in the ESSS defined benefit fund instead. On our assumptions, 30 years at 18% instead of 12% adds about $355,000 in today's dollars.

12% employer contribution for officers in accumulation super (reported; the pre-1988 and SASS schemes differ). Officers also pay 1.8% of salary towards the death and disability scheme.

Assumptions

Projected balance at 60

$965,000

in today's dollars · $2,025,000 in future dollars

3060

Illustrative income at 4.5% a year
$43,433 /yr today's $

Years of contributions
30

Your concessional contributions exceed the $32,500 cap in some years; amounts above it are taxed differently.

Projection only, not financial advice. Contributions taxed at 15%; return is after fees and earnings tax; no allowance for insurance premiums. You generally can't access super before your preservation age (60 for anyone born after 30 June 1964).

Retirement and Super Report

Retirement-age scenarios, with and without extra salary sacrifice, ready to print.

Secure payment by Stripe · Lifetime access · Price includes GST

AI

Ask about your super

Answers use your numbers above. General information, not financial advice. 2 free questions a day.
Contents +
  1. 1How the calculator works
  2. 2Employer super in each force
  3. 3Police super schemes
  4. 4Defined benefit vs accumulation
  5. 5What 18% vs 12% is worth
  6. 6Salary sacrifice
  7. 7The $32,500 cap
  8. 8When you can access it
  9. 9Payday Super
  10. 10Division 293
  11. 11Retirement and Super Report
  12. 12FAQs
  13. 13Sources

How this super calculator works

An accumulation projection, using your force's employer rate and the 2026-27 rules.

The calculator starts with your current balance and adds each year's contributions: your employer's rate on your salary, plus any salary sacrifice. Contributions are taxed at 15% as they go in. The balance then grows at a net return, after fees and earnings tax, while your salary grows each year. The result is shown in today's dollars, so you can compare it with what things cost now.

  1. 1

    Choose your force

    From the agreement

    The employer rate is filled in from our data: 18% for Queensland, 15.4% for the AFP, and the 12% minimum where a higher rate isn't confirmed. You can change it.

  2. 2

    Your age, balance and salary

    Your numbers

    Use the salary your super is paid on. In most forces that's your base salary, and in some it includes a loading or composite.

  3. 3

    Salary sacrifice

    Optional

    Add any pre-tax contributions. The tool warns you if your total concessional contributions pass the cap.

  4. 4

    Assumptions

    Adjustable

    A 6.5% net return, 3% pay growth and 2.5% inflation by default. Change them in the assumptions panel to test a cautious or optimistic case.

Projections are not predictions

Returns vary year to year, and a small change in the assumed return makes a large difference over 30 years. This is general information, not financial advice. For a personal recommendation, talk to your fund or a licensed financial adviser.

Employer super in each police force

What each force pays into your super, as its agreement or fund states it.

Employer super contributions for police, by force

NSW Police

Rate used in the calculator
12%
Employer contribution rule
12% employer contributions, the Superannuation Guarantee rate from 1 Jul 2025 (the Police Association of NSW quotes salaries 'plus 12% superannuation'). unconfirmed

Victoria Police

Rate used in the calculator
See rule
Employer contribution rule
Operational police and PSOs: employer contributions go to the pooled ESSS Defined Benefit Fund at an actuarially determined rate (no published percentage per member). Once a member reaches the maximum benefit multiple, the employer pays extra accumulation contributions: 9% (2024-25), 11% (2025-26), 12% (2026-27). Police Custody Officers: 12% of base salary (accumulation).

QPS

Rate used in the calculator
18%
Employer contribution rule
18% of ordinary time earnings for police officers (since 1 Jul 2023), with no compulsory member contribution. New non-casual police under 60 start on a default 6% member contribution, which they can reduce to zero. Other core government employees get 12.75%.

WA Police

Rate used in the calculator
12%
Employer contribution rule
12% Superannuation Guarantee ('The WA Police Force contribute 12% as part of the Superannuation Guarantee scheme', recruiting site). WA Treasury's choice-of-fund brochure says shift loadings attract super.

SAPOL

Rate used in the calculator
See rule
Employer contribution rule
10% or the Commonwealth Superannuation Guarantee rate, whichever is greater, for compliant police members; that means 12% from 1 Jul 2025. The 12% is inferred from the SG rate and the rule comes from public summaries of Super SA material, so it is not verified. unconfirmed

Tasmania Police

Rate used in the calculator
12%
Employer contribution rule
Not stated in the award. Tasmanian Government defined-contribution employer contributions are understood to be the Superannuation Guarantee rate (12% from 1 July 2025), but this is not confirmed for police on a primary source. unconfirmed

NT Police

Rate used in the calculator
See rule
Employer contribution rule
Believed to be the 12% Superannuation Guarantee (from 1 July 2025) paid into the member's chosen fund; no police-specific higher employer rate was found. Not confirmed on a primary source. Salary for super purposes is gross salary before any salary sacrifice (CA 2022 cl.13, verified). unconfirmed

AFP

Rate used in the calculator
15.4%
Employer contribution rule
15.4% of ordinary time earnings for PSSap and other accumulation fund members (EA s17(5)), paid during paid leave including paid parental leave. Staff employed before the EA get 15.4% of Fortnightly Contribution Salary unless they opt to the OTE basis. The 22% Core Composite counts for super; the High Volume 35%, Critical Event Composite, Temporary Operational Composite, Remote Localities Allowance and Rapid Deployment Allowance do not.

'unconfirmed' means the rule comes from a secondary source or search summary and we haven't confirmed it on a primary source.

Only two forces clearly pay above the minimum to every accumulation member. Queensland pays 18% of ordinary time earnings with no compulsory member contribution, although new officers under 60 start on a default 6% member contribution they can reduce to zero. The AFP pays 15.4%, and the 22% core composite counts as super salary.

For NSW, WA, SA, Tasmania and the NT, our data points to the 12% Superannuation Guarantee, but several of those rates are flagged as not yet confirmed on a primary source. NSW officers also pay 1.8% of salary towards the Enhanced Police Support Scheme for injury and death cover. SA police have a minimum member contribution into Triple S, also not yet confirmed.

Police super schemes by force

The schemes new officers join, and the closed schemes long-serving officers may still be in.

Super schemes open to police officers

NSW Police

Open scheme
Aware Super (accumulation)
How it works
Accumulation super with Aware Super (formerly First State Super) is the default for current officers; the award lists the Aware Super Act 1992 among the schemes (cl 8.13.5 as varied). Whether officers can choose another fund is not verified.

Victoria Police

Open scheme
ESSS Defined Benefit Fund (ESSSuper)
How it works
Operational police officers join automatically; PSOs starting on or after 5 Jul 2010 are classified operational and also join. Lump sum = Accrued Benefit Multiple x Final Average Salary (average of the last 2 years). Member contributions 0/3/5/6/7% after tax (catch-up 8/9/10%); the default is nil until the member elects. 7% for 30 years reaches the maximum multiple of 7.5 x FAS (8.4 untaxed Optional Benefit). Lump sum payable from age 50 (not disability); operational members who leave at 55+ get a lump sum rather than a disability pension.

Victoria Police

Open scheme
ESSS Accumulation Fund
How it works
Police Reservists are members of the ESSS Accumulation Fund.

Victoria Police

Open scheme
Police Custody Officers (VPS) accumulation
How it works
PCOs receive 12% of base salary as accumulation super.

QPS

Open scheme
QSuper Accumulation account (Australian Retirement Trust)
How it works
Default fund for current officers. QSuper is now part of Australian Retirement Trust after the 2022 merger with Sunsuper.

WA Police

Open scheme
GESB Super or West State Super (default), or a fund of choice
How it works
WA public sector employees have had choice of fund since 30 March 2012; officers who don't choose are defaulted to GESB (GESB Super or West State Super), per WA Treasury's choice-of-fund brochure (September 2026).

SAPOL

Open scheme
Super SA Triple S (Southern State Superannuation Scheme)
How it works
Membership is mandatory for new SAPOL police officers. Triple S is untaxed, and police can access it on retirement from age 50 (55 for other members). Police must contribute at least 4.5% of super salary after tax or 5.3% before tax (from a public summaries of the Super SA form; not verified).

Tasmania Police

Open scheme
Tasmanian Accumulation Scheme (Public Sector Superannuation Reform Act 2016)
How it works
Police officers are members unless they elect another complying fund or are in the closed Defined Benefits Scheme; existing arrangements continue. The default fund is not confirmed. Employer pays SG-rate super on unpaid parental leave in the first 12 months and on the unpaid half of half-pay parental leave.

NT Police

Open scheme
Choice of fund (Superannuation Guarantee)
How it works
Members who started after 9 August 1999: NT Government pays the SG into the member's chosen fund (as described by NT Treasury).

AFP

Open scheme
PSSap (Public Sector Superannuation Accumulation Plan, run by CSC)
How it works
Default fund. Employees may instead choose another fund that accepts fortnightly EFT.
Closed police super schemes

NSW Police

Closed schemes (existing members only)
Police Superannuation Scheme (PSS); State Authorities Superannuation Scheme (SASS)

Victoria Police

Closed schemes (existing members only)
None recorded

QPS

Closed schemes (existing members only)
QSuper Police account (defined benefit); QSuper Defined Benefit account (State)

WA Police

Closed schemes (existing members only)
Gold State Super

SAPOL

Closed schemes (existing members only)
SA Police Superannuation Pension Scheme (Police Superannuation Act 1990)

Tasmania Police

Closed schemes (existing members only)
Retirement Benefits Fund / Defined Benefits Scheme

NT Police

Closed schemes (existing members only)
Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS) / NTGPASS

AFP

Closed schemes (existing members only)
CSS (Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme); PSS (Public Sector Superannuation Scheme)

If you've served for decades you may be in one of the closed schemes, which can be very valuable. The NSW Police Superannuation Scheme, closed since 1988, pays up to 72.75% of salary as a pension after 30 years at 60 or over. The QSuper Police defined benefit account, closed since 1993, pays a CPI-indexed pension capped at 75% of final average salary. This calculator can't value those; ask your scheme for a benefit estimate. More detail is in police superannuation explained.

Defined benefit vs accumulation: why it changes everything

In an accumulation scheme, your super is a balance: contributions go in, investment returns are added, fees and tax come out, and you get what's there. The calculator projects that balance. In a defined benefit scheme, your benefit is set by a formula, usually years of service times a salary measure, and investment returns are the fund's problem, not yours.

Defined benefit (e.g. Victoria's ESSS)

  • ✓Benefit set by formula: no investment risk for you
  • ✓Victoria's ESSS: lump sum = accrued multiple × final average salary, up to 7.5 × after 30 years at 7%
  • ✓Disability pension projected to age 55 for operational members

Accumulation (most forces)

  • ✕Your balance depends on returns and fees
  • ✕Easy to see, track and roll over when you change jobs
  • ✕Higher employer rates (18% in Queensland) can build a large balance

Victorian members choose their own contribution rate: 0, 3, 5, 6 or 7% after tax, with a default of nil until they elect. That choice drives the multiple you build, so it's worth deciding early. The ESSS lump sum is generally payable from age 50 (not on disability). If you're a Victorian officer, use the calculator only for any separate accumulation account and get your defined benefit estimate from ESSSuper.

What 18% instead of 12% is really worth

Same officer, same career, three employer rates.

Take a 30-year-old officer with $40,000 in super, on a salary of $118,127 (Queensland's top senior constable rate, QPS's official CPI Uplift Adjustment schedule), retiring at 60. Using the calculator's default assumptions, here's the projected balance at three employer rates.

18% (Queensland)

$1,190,000

today's dollars at 60

15.4% (AFP)

$1,037,000

today's dollars at 60

12% (SG minimum)

$836,000

today's dollars at 60

12% + $100/fortnight sacrifice

$930,000

today's dollars at 60

The 6-point difference between 18% and 12% is worth about $355,000 at 60 in today's dollars on these assumptions. That's one reason a straight salary comparison between forces misses so much. The pay comparison calculator lets you add employer super to the comparison.

Over a career, the employer super rate can matter as much as a pay rise.

Salary sacrifice: what it costs and what it adds

Salary sacrifice means asking your employer to pay part of your pre-tax salary into super. It's taxed at 15% going in, instead of your marginal rate. For most officers, who pay 32% including Medicare on their top dollars, that means more goes into super than comes out of take-home pay.

$100 a fortnight of salary sacrifice, 2026-27, calculated by us

Sacrificed per year

WA first-year constable ($94,651)
$2,600
NSW top senior constable ($139,688)
$2,600

Take-home pay falls by

WA first-year constable ($94,651)
$1,768
NSW top senior constable ($139,688)
$1,586

Into super after 15% tax

WA first-year constable ($94,651)
$2,210
NSW top senior constable ($139,688)
$2,210

Net gain to you

WA first-year constable ($94,651)
$442
NSW top senior constable ($139,688)
$624

Assumes the sacrifice comes off taxable income and doesn't change your employer's contribution. Check with your payroll how your employer calculates super on a sacrificed salary.

The benefit is bigger for officers already above $135,000, where each sacrificed dollar saves 39 cents of tax instead of 32. It's smaller for anyone in the 15% bracket, where it saves almost nothing. The trade-off is access: sacrificed money is preserved until you meet a condition of release, usually 60 and retired. Read more in salary sacrifice for police.

Check what happens to your employer contribution

Some employers calculate super on your salary before sacrifice, others on the reduced figure. NT police super, for example, is calculated on gross salary before any salary sacrifice under the 2022 agreement. Ask your payroll team before you set it up.

The $32,500 concessional cap for 2026-27

Employer contributions and salary sacrifice share one cap.

From 1 July 2026 the concessional contributions cap is $32,500, up from $30,000. It covers your employer's contributions, salary sacrifice and any personal contributions you claim a tax deduction for. Amounts over the cap are added to your taxable income and taxed at your marginal rate, with an offset for the 15% already paid.

Concessional cap headroom at the top of senior constable, 2026-27

NSW Police

Top senior constable
$139,688
Employer rate
12%
Employer contribution
$16,763
Room left for salary sacrifice
$15,737

Victoria Police

Top senior constable
$118,945
Employer rate
Defined benefit
Employer contribution
Ask ESSSuper how your contributions count
Room left for salary sacrifice
Ask ESSSuper

QPS

Top senior constable
$118,127
Employer rate
18%
Employer contribution
$21,263
Room left for salary sacrifice
$11,237

WA Police

Top senior constable
$124,558
Employer rate
12%
Employer contribution
$14,947
Room left for salary sacrifice
$17,553

SAPOL

Top senior constable
$117,542
Employer rate
12% (minimum; actual not confirmed)
Employer contribution
$14,105
Room left for salary sacrifice
$18,395

Tasmania Police

Top senior constable
$107,420
Employer rate
12%
Employer contribution
$12,890
Room left for salary sacrifice
$19,610

NT Police

Top senior constable
$120,539
Employer rate
12% (minimum; actual not confirmed)
Employer contribution
$14,465
Room left for salary sacrifice
$18,035

AFP

Top senior constable
$111,861
Employer rate
15.4%
Employer contribution
$17,227
Room left for salary sacrifice
$15,273

Calculated by us: employer rate × headline salary. Your fund counts the actual contributions received, which can differ.

Queensland officers have the least room because their employer already pays 18%. If your total super balance was under $500,000 on 30 June of the previous year, you can use unused cap amounts from up to 5 previous years. That can help after parental leave or a career break, when contributions dropped.

Free

See salary sacrifice in your fortnightly pay

Use the take-home pay calculator to see exactly how much your pay changes when you sacrifice into super.

Open the take-home calculator →

When you can access your super

Preservation age is 60 for anyone born after 30 June 1964.

For most officers, super is locked away until preservation age, which is 60 for everyone born after 30 June 1964. After that you can generally access it when you retire, when you leave a job at 60 or over, or at 65 even if you're still working. A transition-to-retirement income stream is also available from preservation age.

Police-specific rules to check

  • ✓ Victoria's ESSS: lump sum payable from age 50 (not on disability)
  • ✓ SA's Triple S: police reported to access it on retirement from 50 (not yet confirmed)
  • ✓ Medical retirement can release benefits early under scheme rules
  • ✓ Compulsory retirement ages differ between forces
  • ✓ Closed defined benefit schemes have their own early-retirement factors
  • ✓ Insurance inside super can pay out on total and permanent disability

Retiring before 60 means you'll usually need other income until your super is available. The paid report's scenario table marks ages under 60 for exactly this reason. See medical retirement if you're leaving because of injury or illness.

Payday Super from 1 July 2026

From 1 July 2026, employers have to pay the Superannuation Guarantee each payday rather than quarterly, and it's calculated on "qualifying earnings", which replaces ordinary time earnings as the base. Overtime is still not qualifying earnings, so SG isn't paid on it.

For police, the practical change is that contributions should reach your fund within days of each fortnightly pay. That makes it easier to check: compare the employer contribution on your payslip with the transaction in your fund. If contributions are missing or late, raise it with payroll first.

SG rate

12%

unchanged in 2026-27

Paid

Each payday

from 1 July 2026

Base

Qualifying earnings

replaces OTE

Division 293: the extra tax above $250,000

If your income plus concessional contributions is above $250,000, the ATO charges an extra 15% on the contributions above the threshold, so they're taxed at 30% instead of 15%. The tax is 15% of whichever is smaller: the amount over $250,000, or your concessional contributions.

Few police reach it. Calculated by us, a NSW Superintendent at the top of the scale on $261,813 receives about $31,418 in employer super at 12%, bringing the total to $293,231. Their Division 293 tax would be about $4,713 a year. Super is still taxed less than salary at their marginal rate, so it remains worthwhile. More in Division 293 for police.

Retirement and Super Report

Optional. The calculator above is free and always will be.

If you want to compare retirement ages side by side, the Retirement and Super Report (A$24.99, one-off) adds a scenario table to the calculator. It shows your projected balance and an illustrative income at each retirement age from 55 to 67, as you are now and with an extra $2,600 or $5,200 a year of salary sacrifice. You can print it or save it as a PDF from your browser.

It also raises the AI retirement assistant's allowance from 2 questions a day to 80, so you can work through medical retirement, salary sacrifice or cap questions in one sitting. It's not financial advice, and it can't value a defined benefit scheme.

Retirement and Super Report

Retirement-age and salary sacrifice scenarios you can print, plus 80 AI questions a day

A$24.99one-off, no subscription

  • ✓Retirement-age scenario table, ages 55 to 67
  • ✓Columns for an extra $2,600 and $5,200 a year of salary sacrifice
  • ✓Print or save as PDF from your browser
  • ✓AI retirement assistant: 80 questions a day instead of 2

Secure payment by Stripe · Lifetime access · Price includes GST

Free email alerts

Get told when the super rules that affect police change

Caps, the Superannuation Guarantee and police scheme rules change most years. We email you when they do, with what it means for your force.

  • ✓New contribution caps before 1 July
  • ✓Changes to your force's scheme or employer rate

Sent by Police Pay Australia when there's news. Unsubscribe any time. See our privacy policy.

Frequently asked questions

How much super do police get in Australia?

It depends on the force. Queensland police receive 18% employer super with no compulsory member contribution, and the AFP pays 15.4%. NSW, WA, SA, Tasmania and the NT pay at least the 12% Superannuation Guarantee, though some rates aren't confirmed on a primary source. Victoria's operational police are in a defined benefit scheme.

Is police super a defined benefit scheme?

Mostly not any more. Victoria's ESSS Defined Benefit Fund is still open to operational police and PSOs. Most other police defined benefit schemes closed long ago, such as NSW's Police Superannuation Scheme in 1988 and the QSuper Police account in 1993. New officers elsewhere are in accumulation super.

When can police access their super?

For anyone born after 30 June 1964, the preservation age is 60. You can generally access super after reaching it and retiring, or when you leave a job at 60 or over, and at 65 regardless. Some police schemes have their own rules, such as ESSS lump sums payable from age 50.

Should police salary sacrifice into super?

It depends on your goals, not just tax. Salary sacrificed contributions are taxed at 15% instead of your marginal rate, so most officers on 32% put more into super than they lose in take-home pay. But the money is locked away until preservation age. Keep total concessional contributions under $32,500, and get advice if you're unsure.

Does employer super count towards the concessional cap?

Yes. Your employer's contributions and any salary sacrifice both count towards the $32,500 concessional cap for 2026-27. At 18%, a Queensland officer on $118,127 already uses about $21,263 of it. If your total super balance was under $500,000, you can carry forward unused cap amounts from up to 5 previous years.

What is Payday Super?

From 1 July 2026, employers must pay the Superannuation Guarantee with each pay rather than quarterly, calculated on 'qualifying earnings'. For police it mainly means contributions reach your fund sooner and are easier to check against your payslip.

Do senior police pay Division 293 tax?

Only if their income plus concessional contributions is above $250,000. That mostly affects superintendents and above. A NSW Superintendent at the top of the scale on $261,813 with 12% employer super would pay about $4,713 of Division 293 tax, calculated by us.

What does the Retirement and Super Report include?

For A$24.99 one-off, it adds a retirement-age scenario table (ages 55 to 67) with columns for an extra $2,600 and $5,200 a year of salary sacrifice, a print or save-as-PDF option, and raises the AI assistant from 2 questions a day to 80.

Evidence

Sources and how we checked them

Every figure on this page comes from the sources below, read on 10 October 2026. Pay rates and rules change when new agreements are made, so check the source for the date you're reading this. Where we couldn't confirm something from an official source, the page says so instead of guessing. Spotted an error? Read our corrections policy.

  1. PANSW / NSWPF Enhanced Police Support Scheme FAQ v2 (21 Aug 2024) — NSW Police super
  2. ESSSuper: ESSS Defined Benefit Fund PDS (issued 28 Feb 2025) — Victoria Police super
  3. Superannuation (State Public Sector) Regulation 2023 (SL 2023 No 47), explanatory notes — QPS super
  4. WA Treasury: Choice of super fund in the WA state public sector (2026) — WA Police super
  5. Super SA: Triple S — SAPOL super
  6. Police Award No. 2 of 2026 (Consolidated), TIC T15311 of 2026 (read via Wayback Machine copy 2026-05-20) — Tasmania Police super
  7. NT Treasury: Other superannuation arrangements (as summarised publicly) — NT Police super
  8. Australian Federal Police Enterprise Agreement 2024-2027 (FWC AE526995, [2024] FWCA 4231) — AFP super
  9. ATO: Concessional contributions cap — $32,500 from 1 July 2026; carry-forward
  10. ATO: Super guarantee — 12% and Payday Super
  11. ATO: Explaining qualifying earnings — Payday Super
  12. ATO: Division 293 tax — $250,000 threshold
  13. ATO: When you can withdraw your super — preservation age

Related guides

Police superannuation explained → Every force's scheme, in plain English. Salary sacrifice for police → How it works, what it costs you and when it's worth it. Take-home pay calculator → See what salary sacrifice does to your fortnightly pay. Compare pay across forces → Salary, take-home and super in every force.

Tools and calculators

More in this series

Money calculators Police borrowing power calculator A borrowing range that shows how lenders treat shift pay and overtime, plus police LMI waivers. Pay calculators Police take-home pay calculator Any force and rank, with shifts, overtime, 2026-27 tax, HELP and super. AI prep tools AI police mock interview Answer panel questions by typing or speaking and get a STAR score, fixes and a model answer. Pay calculators Police overtime calculator What an overtime shift is worth after tax in any force, on your agreement's own hourly rule. Pay calculators Police pay comparison calculator Pay, take-home and super at every career stage across all 8 forces, compared fairly. AI prep tools Police entrance exam practice Free AI-written numeracy, verbal, reasoning and spelling sets, a marked written exercise, and what each force's test covers. AI prep tools Police promotion prep AI practice for sergeant and inspector interviews, with STAR scores, model answers and each force's promotion rules. Fitness tools Beep test audio Run the 20 m shuttle test in your browser with spoken levels, plus every force's minimum level. Fitness tools Police fitness test checker Enter your beep level, push-ups and plank to see which forces' standards you'd meet today.
See every tools and calculators guide →

General information, not advice. This guide explains published rules and rates. It doesn't consider your personal circumstances and isn't financial, legal, tax or credit advice. Confirm anything you rely on with your force, your police association, the ATO or a licensed professional.