Every year Baptist Churches of SA & NT provides a minimum recommended ministers stipend package, as the basis for payment to pastors and church workers.
In 2024, a Stipend Review Taskforce was established to review the basis for recommendations, including the appropriateness of benchmarking to teachers’ salaries, the appropriateness of the current seven levels of stipends, and the development of NT specific recommendations. A final report was received and accepted by the Nomination and Remuneration Committee and the Assembly Board on 30 September 2024, with the implementation effective from 1 January 2025.
For 2025, both the “new” Matrix Framework and the “old” 7 Level stipend calculations were provided to allow for some transitional time between the systems. This has continued for 2026, and we encourage churches to have conversations with their pastors and move towards using the matrix at an agreed level by the beginning of 2027.
In the resource link below is a letter from Melinda Cousins as well as the new Pastoral Stipend & Employment Recommendations for 2026.
Churches can adapt the recommendation to suit the particular circumstances of the pastor and the church.
Link to Salary, Wage and Stipend Resources
The following documents are available via the link above:
- Pastoral Stipend & Employment Recommendations for SA & NT churches (effective 1 January 2026)
- A folder containing documentation for 2025, in case it is needed through to Dec 2025.
- Pastoral Stipends – A perspective
- Using the Pastoral Stipend Recommendations
- Using a Pastoral Exempt Benefits Account
- Exempt Benefits 101 – ATO TR 2019/3
- Excel worksheets for SA & NT to assist with 2025 stipend calculations