What is the average salary in Australia?
The average salary in Australia is $108,352 a year for a full-time adult ($2,083.70 a week), from the ABS Average Weekly Earnings release for May 2026. That is the mean, so a minority of very high earners lift it. Including overtime the full-time average is $112,320, and across all employees, part-time included, it is $82,118. The typical worker earns less than the average: see the median below.
Median salary in Australia 2026
The median is the middle of the line: half of employees earn less, half earn more. The ABS publishes it in Employee Earnings (August 2025), the latest edition. Yearly figures are the ABS weekly figure × 52.
| Measure | Weekly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Median, full-time employees | $1,741 | $90,532 |
| Median, full-time men | $1,841 | $95,732 |
| Median, full-time women | $1,631 | $84,812 |
| Median, all employees | $1,425 | $74,100 |
| 10th percentile, all employees | $450 | $23,400 |
| 25th percentile, all employees | $900 | $46,800 |
| 75th percentile, all employees | $2,127 | $110,604 |
| 90th percentile, all employees | $3,000 | $156,000 |
The full median by state, age and industry is further down this page. To turn any of these into pay in the hand, use the take-home pay calculator.
Is your salary above average?
Enter your salary to see what share of Australian employees earn less than you, using the ABS's full count of weekly earnings from August 2025.
Is my salary above average?
Compare your gross salary with every employee the ABS counted in August 2025.
You earn more than 43% to 47% of full-time employees.
$85,000 a year is $1,635 a week. 43% of full-time employees earned under $1,600 a week and 47% earned under $1,700. The median for this group is $90,532 a year: you are below it.
Source: ABS Employee Earnings, August 2025 (Table 7), weekly earnings in main job before tax. Annual salary is divided by 52. The ABS counts employees in $100-a-week bands, so the result is a range. Earnings have grown since August 2025, so treat it as a slight overstatement of where you sit today.
Average vs median salary in Australia
“Average salary” usually means the mean: total earnings divided by the number of workers. The ABS measures it twice a year in Average Weekly Earnings, a survey of employers. The headline figure, full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings, is $2,083.70 a week, or $108,352 a year. It covers full-time adults only and excludes overtime and employer super.
The median is the middle earner: half earn more, half earn less. It comes from a different survey, the household-based Employee Earnings, run each August. The full-time median of $1,741 a week ($90,532 a year) is $17,820 a year below the full-time average, because a minority of very high earners pull the mean up. Counting part-time workers too, the median drops to $1,425 a week ($74,100 a year).
| Measure | Weekly | Yearly | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average, full-time adults (ordinary time) | $2,083.70 | $108,352 | AWE, May 2026 |
| Average, full-time adults incl. overtime | $2,160.00 | $112,320 | AWE, May 2026 |
| Average, all employees (incl. part-time) | $1,579.20 | $82,118 | AWE, May 2026 |
| Median, full-time employees | $1,741 | $90,532 | EE, August 2025 |
| Median, all employees | $1,425 | $74,100 | EE, August 2025 |
| Median, part-time employees | $701 | $36,452 | EE, August 2025 |
Yearly figures are the ABS weekly figure × 52. The median rose $26 a week (1.9%) in the year to August 2025; average full-time earnings rose 3.7% in the year to May 2026.
Average salary after tax
On the average full-time salary of $108,352, take-home pay is $83,159 a year for 2026-27, about $3,198 a fortnight. Each figure below links to the nearest full take-home breakdown.
| Salary | Before tax | Take-home 2026-27 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average full-time salary | $108,352 | $83,159 | AWE, May 2026 |
| Median full-time salary | $90,532 | $71,041 | EE, August 2025 |
| Median, all employees | $74,100 | $59,868 | EE, August 2025 |
| Average, all employees | $82,118 | $65,321 | AWE, May 2026 |
| 75th percentile, all employees | $110,604 | $84,691 | EE, August 2025 |
| 90th percentile, all employees | $156,000 | $114,090 | EE, August 2025 |
Take-home assumes an Australian resident for the full year, no HECS/HELP debt and no Medicare levy surcharge, after income tax, the low income tax offset and the 2% Medicare levy. Super is paid on top. Use the take-home pay calculator for your own situation (or the Fortnightly Pay & Tax Calculator Australia 2026-27 if you are paid fortnightly), or browse take-home pay on every salary and every salary as an hourly rate.
Average salary by state and territory
The ACT and Western Australia have the highest full-time average and full-time median. The average reflects the ACT's public service and WA's mining workforce; the median shows what a typical worker in each state earns.
| State | Average full-time (yearly) | Median full-time (yearly) | Median all employees (yearly) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | $119,090 ($2,290.20/wk) | $94,536 | $83,200 |
| Western Australia | $115,825 ($2,227.40/wk) | $98,800 | $78,000 |
| New South Wales | $109,658 ($2,108.80/wk) | $91,000 | $76,128 |
| Victoria | $106,137 ($2,041.10/wk) | $88,400 | $71,760 |
| Queensland | $106,064 ($2,039.70/wk) | $88,920 | $74,828 |
| Northern Territory | $103,173 ($1,984.10/wk) | $91,000 | $78,520 |
| South Australia | $102,450 ($1,970.20/wk) | $83,200 | $67,600 |
| Tasmania | $96,008 ($1,846.30/wk) | $83,200 | $67,600 |
Average: ABS AWE May 2026, full-time adult ordinary time earnings, original series. Medians: ABS Employee Earnings August 2025. Work out take-home pay in your state with the NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT and NT pay calculators.
Average salary by industry
Mining pays more than double accommodation and food services on both the average and the median. Industries with many part-time and casual workers, such as retail and hospitality, have far lower medians than averages, because the median counts part-time workers and the full-time average does not.
| Industry | Average full-time (yearly) | After tax | Median all employees (yearly) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mining | $167,658 | $121,202 | $143,572 |
| Information media & telecommunications | $141,133 | $105,021 | $81,484 |
| Electricity, gas, water & waste services | $132,392 | $99,506 | $104,000 |
| Professional, scientific & technical services | $124,259 | $93,976 | $98,644 |
| Financial & insurance services | $121,748 | $92,269 | $104,000 |
| Education & training | $114,291 | $87,198 | $78,000 |
| Public administration & safety | $113,350 | $86,558 | $95,524 |
| Health care & social assistance | $105,934 | $81,515 | $67,600 |
| Transport, postal & warehousing | $105,680 | $81,342 | $76,440 |
| Construction | $103,236 | $79,680 | $78,000 |
| Wholesale trade | $103,111 | $79,596 | $74,880 |
| Rental, hiring & real estate services | $102,939 | $79,478 | $78,000 |
| Administrative & support services | $101,400 | $78,432 | $62,400 |
| Arts & recreation services | $97,625 | $75,864 | $59,800 |
| Manufacturing | $95,841 | $74,652 | $78,000 |
| Other services | $84,328 | $66,823 | $62,400 |
| Retail trade | $82,243 | $65,405 | $46,800 |
| Accommodation & food services | $78,515 | $62,870 | $36,400 |
| Agriculture, forestry & fishing | — | — | $62,400 |
Average: ABS AWE May 2026, original series (the AWE survey does not cover agriculture, forestry and fishing). Median: ABS Employee Earnings August 2025. For pay by job, see pay rates by occupation, mining and FIFO pay, tech salaries and teacher pay by state.
Median salary by age
Full-time earnings climb through your twenties and thirties and peak at 45–54, where the full-time median is $2,000 a week ($104,000 a year). These are medians from the Employee Earnings survey, the ABS's most recent earnings-by-age data.
| Age | Median full-time (yearly) | Men full-time | Women full-time | All employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15–19 | $44,408 ($854/wk) | $43,680 | $46,800 | $15,600 |
| 20–24 | $62,400 ($1,200/wk) | $62,400 | $63,388 | $49,400 |
| 25–34 | $85,696 ($1,648/wk) | $88,400 | $83,200 | $78,000 |
| 35–44 | $101,400 ($1,950/wk) | $108,836 | $91,000 | $88,400 |
| 45–54 | $104,000 ($2,000/wk) | $111,124 | $96,356 | $91,000 |
| 55–59 | $96,200 ($1,850/wk) | $104,000 | $85,800 | $81,900 |
| 60–64 | $91,000 ($1,750/wk) | $99,268 | $83,200 | $72,748 |
| 65 and over | $84,240 ($1,620/wk) | $93,600 | $78,000 | $58,448 |
Source: ABS Employee Earnings August 2025, Table 2 (median weekly earnings in main job, × 52). “All employees” includes part-time workers, which is why it is far lower for teenagers and over-65s.
Average salary by gender and sector
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| Average full-time (AWE, May 2026) | $113,412 | $100,594 |
| Median full-time (EE, August 2025) | $95,732 | $84,812 |
| Median all employees (EE, August 2025) | $83,200 | $65,000 |
On the full-time average, women earn 11.3% less than men. That raw comparison does not adjust for occupation or hours, which the ABS notes can significantly affect the gap. By sector, full-time adults in the public sector average $117,681 a year against $105,773 in the private sector (AWE, May 2026, original).
How salaries are spread: percentiles
The ABS publishes where employees sit across the whole earnings range. These cover every employee, full-time and part-time, in their main job.
| Percentile | Weekly | Yearly | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th | $450 | $23,400 | 10% of employees earned less |
| 25th | $900 | $46,800 | 25% of employees earned less |
| 50th | $1,425 | $74,100 | 50% of employees earned less |
| 75th | $2,127 | $110,604 | 75% of employees earned less |
| 90th | $3,000 | $156,000 | 90% of employees earned less |
For full-time employees only, the biennial Employee Earnings and Hours survey (May 2025) puts the lower quartile at $1,424 a week ($74,048), the median at $1,887 ($98,124) and the upper quartile at $2,560 ($133,120). That survey measures total cash earnings including overtime, so its median is higher than the $1,741 above.
Average salary questions
Data sources and methodology▼
Every salary on this page is an Australian Bureau of Statistics figure. The average is full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings from Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026 (seasonally adjusted for the national headline; original series for states, industries and sectors). Medians, percentiles and the checker use Employee Earnings, August 2025: median weekly earnings in main job, and the Table 7 count of employees in $100-a-week bands. Full-time quartiles come from Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025. Weekly figures are shown exactly as published; yearly figures are weekly × 52. Take-home pay uses our 2026-27 resident tax engine, the same one behind the take-home pay pages.
Sources & References
- 1Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, May 2026 (released 13 August 2026), Australian Bureau of Statistics
- 2Employee Earnings, August 2025 (released 12 December 2025), Australian Bureau of Statistics
- 3Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia, May 2025 (released 23 January 2026), Australian Bureau of Statistics
- 4Tax rates – Australian residents, Australian Taxation Office
Last verified: 23 September 2026. Our content is based on the latest information from official Australian government sources.
Anita Bell
AuthorFounder & Senior Bookkeeper
Accountancy degree (2015); certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One
Anita Bell earned her accountancy degree in 2015 and has worked as a senior bookkeeper with Prime Bookkeeping for over 5 years. This built her skills in Australian and New Zealand tax legislation and industry regulations. She is certified in Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB, Saasu, Zoho and Reckon One, and works with payroll and rostering software including Gusto, Deputy, Tsheets and KeyPay. She has strong experience in hospitality, building and construction, financial services, real estate, ecommerce, and medical and health services.
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