Australia Salary Calculator: What Jobs Pay (Official ABS Data)
If you are weighing a move to Australia, most salary figures online are job-board averages or a recruiter's guess. This calculator uses official numbers instead: median full-time earnings from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Employee Earnings and Hours survey, May 2025, as compiled by Jobs and Skills Australia for 296 occupations.
Pick an occupation and see the typical full-time pay for it, per year, per month and per hour, before tax and before employer superannuation. Scroll down for how pay is spread across broad occupation groups and states, the factors that move your number, and the full sources.
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What do Australian jobs actually pay?
Official median full-time earnings by occupation. This is what the typical full-time worker in the job earns.
Source: ABS Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia, May 2025 (released 23 January 2026), median weekly total cash earnings of full-time employees by ANZSCO occupation, as published by Jobs and Skills Australia (Occupation data, February 2026). Annual pay is the weekly median × 52. Total cash earnings are before tax and exclude employer superannuation. Hourly figures assume 38 hours a week. Data last verified: October 3, 2026.
What actually moves your salary in Australia
Two people with the same job title can get very different offers. These are the factors that usually explain the gap.
Credential recognition
Regulated professions such as nursing and medicine (AHPRA), engineering, teaching and law require registration or a skills assessment before you can work at full scope. Until then you may be offered a lower-paid role in the same field.
State and cost of living
In the ABS data the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Western Australia have the highest median pay, and Tasmania and South Australia the lowest. Sydney and Melbourne rents can cancel out a higher wage, so compare pay with housing costs.
Sector and employer
Mining, finance and government roles often pay above the median for the same occupation, while retail and hospitality pay below it. Many jobs are set by awards or enterprise agreements, so pay can be quite uniform inside one employer.
How your resume frames your experience
Employers can only pay for what they can see. A resume that does not translate your foreign job titles, metrics and scope into terms an Australian hiring manager recognizes will undersell you.
Common questions
Where does this salary data come from?
From the ABS Employee Earnings and Hours survey, May 2025, released on 23 January 2026. Jobs and Skills Australia turns it into occupation profiles; we use its February 2026 ANZSCO file, which gives the median weekly total cash earnings of full-time workers for 296 four-digit occupations. We multiply the weekly figure by 52 to get a yearly pay.
Why only a median, not entry-level or senior pay?
The ABS does not publish pay by experience, or the full spread of pay for individual occupations; it publishes percentiles only for 8 broad occupation groups and for states. Rather than invent ranges, the calculator shows the real median and the tables below the calculator show the real spread for the broad groups and states. Half of full-time workers in an occupation earn less than the median and half earn more.
Is this salary before or after tax and does it include super?
The figure is gross, before tax, and total cash earnings, so it includes overtime, bonuses and allowances paid in cash but not employer superannuation. Employers must pay superannuation on top of pay (12% since 1 July 2025). Australian residents pay progressive income tax with a tax-free threshold of $18,200, plus the 2% Medicare levy.
Can I see pay by state?
The ABS publishes pay by state for all employees together, not by occupation, so we show the state table instead of adjusting each occupation. As a rule of thumb, pay is highest in the ACT, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Does this account for my foreign experience?
No. The tool shows what the typical full-time worker in the occupation earns. How much of your foreign experience an employer credits depends on how clearly your resume translates it into Australian terms and, for regulated professions, on registration or a skills assessment.
Why is my occupation not listed or marked as unavailable?
ANZSCO has been replaced by the new OSCA classification, and Jobs and Skills Australia no longer updates its ANZSCO profiles. The ABS hides earnings where the sample is too small, so we only list the 296 occupations that have a published median. If yours is missing, pick the closest broader occupation.
Pay for the 30 largest occupations
The most common jobs in Australia and what a typical full-time worker in each earns. The calculator above covers all 296 occupations.
| Occupation | Median full-time pay (per year) |
|---|---|
| Sales Assistants (General) | A$64,530 |
| Aged and Disabled Carers | A$91,570 |
| Registered Nurses | A$113,980 |
| General Clerks | A$74,780 |
| Retail Managers | A$84,240 |
| Accountants | A$104,160 |
| Software and Applications Programmers | A$131,920 |
| Electricians | A$113,930 |
| Truck Drivers | A$101,920 |
| Child Carers | A$69,730 |
| Receptionists | A$63,910 |
| Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Manager | A$139,200 |
| Storepersons | A$69,060 |
| Primary School Teachers | A$115,750 |
| Secondary School Teachers | A$120,740 |
| Contract, Program and Project Administrators | A$110,760 |
| Commercial Cleaners | A$65,210 |
| Carpenters and Joiners | A$91,520 |
| Kitchenhands | A$67,180 |
| Office Managers | A$89,960 |
| Accounting Clerks | A$74,980 |
| Education Aides | A$69,780 |
| Construction Managers | A$195,050 |
| Chefs | A$74,000 |
| Waiters | A$69,990 |
| Purchasing and Supply Logistics Clerks | A$80,760 |
| Metal Fitters and Machinists | A$135,510 |
| Checkout Operators and Office Cashiers | A$56,000 |
| Bar Attendants and Baristas | A$78,000 |
| Motor Mechanics | A$84,340 |
Source: ABS, Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia, May 2025 (CC BY 4.0) and Jobs and Skills Australia, Occupation profiles (ANZSCO), February 2026. Figures are gross and exclude employer superannuation.
How pay is spread across Australia
The ABS publishes the full spread of pay (percentiles) only for broad occupation groups and for states, not for individual occupations. These two tables use weekly total cash earnings of all employees, part-time included, so they sit below the full-time medians in the calculator above.
Weekly pay by broad occupation group
| Occupation group | 10th percentile | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managers | A$1,248 | A$1,808 | A$2,596 | A$3,470 | A$4,596 |
| Professionals | A$822 | A$1,443 | A$1,979 | A$2,534 | A$3,236 |
| Technicians and trades workers | A$706 | A$1,088 | A$1,539 | A$2,192 | A$3,043 |
| Community and personal service workers | A$203 | A$497 | A$968 | A$1,419 | A$1,912 |
| Clerical and administrative workers | A$472 | A$957 | A$1,346 | A$1,730 | A$2,191 |
| Sales workers | A$153 | A$381 | A$818 | A$1,222 | A$1,629 |
| Machinery operators and drivers | A$785 | A$1,143 | A$1,500 | A$2,070 | A$2,898 |
| Labourers | A$175 | A$468 | A$990 | A$1,414 | A$2,000 |
| All Occupations | A$378 | A$878 | A$1,436 | A$2,122 | A$2,952 |
Weekly pay by state and territory
| State or territory | 10th percentile | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | A$385 | A$888 | A$1,436 | A$2,181 | A$3,000 |
| Victoria | A$356 | A$859 | A$1,408 | A$2,063 | A$2,894 |
| Queensland | A$434 | A$936 | A$1,467 | A$2,112 | A$2,892 |
| South Australia | A$317 | A$745 | A$1,319 | A$1,906 | A$2,587 |
| Western Australia | A$382 | A$842 | A$1,484 | A$2,334 | A$3,258 |
| Tasmania | A$400 | A$788 | A$1,300 | A$1,830 | A$2,400 |
| Northern Territory | A$554 | A$1,040 | A$1,627 | A$2,343 | A$3,229 |
| Australian Capital Territory | A$386 | A$1,036 | A$1,704 | A$2,474 | A$3,218 |
| Australia | A$378 | A$878 | A$1,436 | A$2,122 | A$2,952 |