For the first time in memory, police will be paid to stay rather than incentivized to leave.

The vote was scheduled to take place over two weeks, but the Police Association of NSW (PANSW) announced the result this morning, with the majority of members voting yes.

The reform also includes a lump sum payment and improvements to allowances and pay scales.

Voting for the bid opened on Monday, November 18. By yesterday, 70 per cent of PANSW members had voted in favor of the pay offer – the highest turnout on record for such a vote.

The ‘yes’ vote in favor of accepting the offer was 96 per cent – an overwhelming endorsement of the Government’s pay offer by NSW police officers.

The reform was carried out under the Labor government’s win-win bargaining framework, which replaced the former Liberal-National government’s widely resent pay cap, which drove back police numbers and revenue.

The pay rise is funded by reforming the Police Blue Ribbon Insurance (PBRI) scheme and bringing it into government ownership to return money to frontline police rather than private insurance company profits.

The new enhanced support scheme for police officers better supports injured officers, surrounds their services and focuses heavily on helping them return to work wherever possible.

Members of the Police Association voted to accept:

• 19% base pay increase for NCOs over four years, plus allowances that will augment this base pay increase;
• Accelerated pay scales – currently, it takes 16 years for a probationary agent to reach the top level of senior agent. Now it will only last 10 years;
• Consolidating pay scales for senior constables, sergeants and inspectors to remove overlapping pay scales, retain experienced officers longer and speed up progression for serving officers;
• Updated and improved odds;
• Moving to a full-time equivalent (FTE) model to allow police to work part-time or job-share if they can’t handle a full-time workload but don’t want to leave, a landmark reform;
• A one-off leadership maintenance payment of $5,400 to senior police officers who undertake a leadership and wellbeing training program focused on supporting and rehabilitating injured officers and helping them return to work wherever possible;

Under the new agreement, a probationary agent’s starting salary — including loading — will increase from $81,517 to $84,777 and further increase to $97,206 through 2027.

The salary of a level 1 senior constable – including loading – will rise from $101,516 to $105,577 and further increase to $121,054 in 2027.

The Minns Labor Government’s work to support NSW police officers and address the chronic shortage of police officers presided over by the former National Liberal government also included:

• elimination of the salary ceiling;
• the introduction of a historic new scheme to pay students to study to become an officer, which has already seen a 55% increase in applications compared to the previous year; and
• two recently announced programs specifically aimed at attracting both experienced officers and regional recruits. This is part of the NSW Government’s long-term plan to rebuild our essential services, including addressing the crisis in the recruitment and retention of frontline workers.

Thanks to Labour’s recruitment plan, we are on track to see more than 1,000 recruits certify in 2025.

The Minns Labor Government was elected with a mandate to rebuild public services and reinvest in our frontline workforce and ensure we deliver support when NSW people need it most.

It’s part of our plan to build a better NSW.

Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis said:

“This four-year pay agreement with the NSW Police Association recognizes and rewards the efforts of our officers.

“We were elected with a mandate to fix the recruitment and retention crisis in essential services and that’s what we’re doing.”

Policing and Counter Terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley said:

“I am proud and excited to have made this historic progress for our police force. It is the result of a lot of hard work for almost a year and some tough negotiations.

“I want to pay tribute to the leadership of the NSW Police Association. They are tough negotiators and do everything they can to get results for their members, NSW Police. Working together, we achieved a monumental result for our police officers.

“From day one in this job I said I was only here to support the police. Officers risk their lives every day to keep us safe, and it’s critical that we recognize and thank them with a well-deserved pay raise.

“This is the generational change that will pay the police properly for the first time in more than a decade. It will attract lots of recruits and, crucially, encourage lots of experienced officers to stay in a police force that values ​​them, their service and their unique knowledge.

“The former Liberal Government had no recruitment plan, no retention plan and sent police salaries back. That ends today under the Minns Labor Government.”