What Is The Average Salary In Australia? (2023 Update)
— 4 August 2023

What Is The Average Salary In Australia? (2023 Update)

— 4 August 2023
Garry Lu
WORDS BY
Garry Lu

It makes the world go round, rules everything around us, and as per the assertions of modern American poet Christopher Wallace, creates mo’ problems.

Naturally, people are generally curious about money in two key regards, especially given the ongoing cost of living / rising inflation crisis:

  1. How do I get my hands on more of it?
  2. How does my take-home compare to the average annual salary in Australia (slash what are the key indicators that I’m earning enough)?

RELATED: How Much Money You Should Have Saved By 30 (According To Experts)

*Note: All $$$ = Before Tax

Average Salary Australia (2023)

According to data sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as of November 2022, full-time workers need to rake in an annual salary exceeding $94,000 to be considered an above-average income earner (average full-time weekly pay: $1,807.70).

This is, of course, a one-size-fits-all figure. The adjusted numbers will obviously vary depending on factors such as gender, sector, education level, qualifications, job title, industries, and geography. Plus none of these average figures account for performance bonuses, side hustles, and whatnot.

The average weekly earnings for all employees in Australia, on the other hand, sits at $1,344. This effectively translates to a significantly lower average annual salary of $69,888 when we include part-time, casual, and other workers outside of the full-time sphere in the mix.

And just in case you were curious: as determined by the Fair Work Commission, as of July 2022, the minimum wage in Australia is $812.60 per week for full-time employees (38 hours per week). Or a minimum of $21.38 per hour.

Is it time to start working weekends or is it time to schedule a meeting with the boss?

RELATED: Australians Are (Still) The World’s Richest People

Average Australian Salary By Gender & Sector

Male

Public SectorPrivate Sector
Average Weekly Earnings$2,091.20$1,874.40
Average Salary$108,742.40 $97,468.80

Female

Public SectorPrivate Sector
Average Weekly Earnings$1,857.50$1,573.00
Average Salary$96,590$81,796
Average Australian Salary By Gender & Sector

RELATED: What It Takes To Be A Top 1% Earner Around The World

Average Australian Salary By State & Territories

New South Wales

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$1,894.30$1,686.10$1,810.20
Average Salary$98,503.60$87,677.20$94,130.40

Victoria

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$1,896.30$1,640.10$1,793.90
Average Salary$98,607.60$85,285.20$93,282.80

Queensland

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$1,865.30$1,590.00$1,760.70
Average Salary$96,995.60$82,680.00$91,556.40

South Australia

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$1,704.30$1,568.50$1,658.00
Average Salary$88,623.60$81,562.00$86,216.00

Western Australia

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$2,162.80$1,684.70$1,988.50
Average Salary$112,465.60$87,604.40$103,402.00

Tasmania

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$1,621.90$1,525.10$1,586.40
Average Salary$84,338.80$79,305.20$82,492.80

Northern Territory

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$1,868.20$1,525.10$1,603.20
Average Salary$97,146.40$83,366.40$90,693.20

Australian Capital Territory

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$2,116.20$1,914.60$2,019.10
Average Salary$110,042.40$99,559.20$104,993.20
Average Australian Salary By State & Territories

RELATED: Australia’s Highest-Earning Postcode Has An Average Income Of $325,000

The 5 Highest Average Salaries By Profession

Mining Industry

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$2,896.10$2,429.70$2,811.70
Average Salary$150,597.20$126,344.40$146,208.40

Information Media and Telecommunications

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$2,401.90$1,996.60$2,270.70
Average Salary$124,898.80$103,823.20$118,076.40

Financial and Insurance Services

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$2,412.30$1,952.20$2,201.50
Average Salary$125,439.60$101,514.40$114,478.00

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$2,344.70$1,846.50$2,140.40
Average Salary$121,924.40$96,018.00$111,300.80

Electricity, Gas, Water, and Waste Services

MaleFemaleOverall
Average Weekly Earnings$2,137.30$1,953.20$2,098.20
Average Salary$111,139.60$101,566.40$109,106.40
The 5 Highest Average Salaries By Profession - Australia

RELATED: The Companies Paying Aussie Graduates Big Bucks (And The Ones That Aren’t)

Median Salary in Australia (2023)

While “average salary Australia” is the search term that brought you here, a more realistic read of what you should be earning lies in the country’s median salary.

Considering an average is calculated by adding every recorded value of a dataset before being divided by the total number of values, the 1%-ers (i.e. multi-billionaires such as Twiggy Forrest, the Atlassian fellas) will inevitably skew the results.

A median, on the other hand, organises a dataset in ascending order before revealing the middle value.

So what does this look like in the context of personal income in Australia?

Median Salary in Australia (2023)

Now keep in mind these media figures are slightly out of date with the next official report due to be published on December 6th, 2023 — watch this space for the update.


In the meantime, you can check out the full run of the numbers in the link below.

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Garry Lu
WORDS by
After stretching his legs with companies such as The Motley Fool and the odd marketing agency, Garry joined Boss Hunting in 2019 as a fully-fledged Content Specialist. In 2021, he was promoted to News Editor. Garry proudly retains a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, black bruises from Muay Thai, as well as a black belt in all things pop culture. Drop him a line at [email protected]

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