Graduate Salary in Australia: Law, Nursing, Engineering, Accounting, Teaching & Medicine

Graduate Salaries at a Glance

Two kinds of number are in the table, and they answer different questions. The survey median is what graduates who had a full-time job reported earning (QILT, 2025). The published start is a minimum or a scale step that an award, bulletin or agreement sets, which is what you can be sure of being paid. Take-home figures use the 2026-27 resident tax rates and Medicare levy with no HELP debt, and the HELP column shows the repayment at that income.

A survey median is not a rate anyone has to pay. It only counts graduates in full-time work, it was taken a few months after graduating, and it can’t say whether super is included. Treat it as a market reference and check the offer in front of you against the award or agreement minimum below.

Graduate Lawyer Salary

Law and paralegal studies graduates in full-time work reported a median of $80,000. The legal floor is narrower than the market: a law graduate doing practical legal training in a private firm is covered by the Legal Services Award at Level 5, at least $33.99 an hour, about $67,174 a year. Once admitted, a lawyer is award-free, so pay comes from the contract. We don’t publish firm salary bands, because no official source does. See Lawyer pay rates and, for take-home on $80,000, the take-home page for $80,000.

Graduate Nurse Salary

Nursing graduates in full-time work reported a median of $75,100. Public-sector nurses are paid on state scales, and a graduate registered nurse starts at the bottom of the base registered nurse scale. These are the first steps, before overtime, penalties and allowances:

Graduate Engineer Salary

Engineering graduates in full-time work reported a median of $82,500. The legal floor is the Professional Employees Award: a graduate engineer with a 4 or 5-year degree recognised by Engineers Australia is Level 1, pay point 1.1, at least $68,538 a year ($34.57 an hour), then moves through pay points 1.2 to 1.4 ($69,688, $72,590 and $76,267) as they are assessed competent. A 3-year degree starts at $66,825. Employers commonly pay above the award, which the survey median reflects. See Engineer pay rates.

Graduate Accountant Salary

Accountants are award-free: the Fair Work Ombudsman says accountants working for an accounting firm aren’t covered by a modern award, so the only legal floor is the National Minimum Wage and everything above it is in your contract or enterprise agreement. No official source publishes a graduate accountant pay scale, and we don’t estimate one. The closest official figure is the $74,000 median for business and management graduates, a broad group that includes accounting. See Accountant pay rates.

Graduate Teacher Salary

Teacher education graduates in full-time work reported a median of $82,100. Public-school graduates start on the first qualified step of their state’s scale:

Intern Doctor Salary

Medicine graduates in full-time work reported a median of $85,900. NSW Health pays interns $80,638 a year from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2025 (Information Bulletin IB2026_007, an interim increase pending the NSW Industrial Relations Commission’s decision, so it may have been updated). The Medical Practitioners Award sets a lower national-system minimum of $66,432 ($33.62 an hour) for employers such as private hospitals. Other states’ intern salaries aren’t shown because we couldn’t verify them from an official source. See Doctor pay rates.

What Your First Payslip Looks Like

Your first payslip shows gross pay, tax withheld, and super paid on top (12% if the offer is salary plus super; inside the package if it is a total remuneration offer). For a graduate on $80,000 a year, the 2026-27 resident rates give about $16,120 of tax and Medicare, leaving $63,880 a year or $1,228.46 a week. With a HELP debt the compulsory repayment is about $1,571 a year, taking the weekly figure to $1,198.25.

Look up the nearest salary to your offer on the take-home pay pages:

• Take-home pay on $80,000 (nearest page to the graduate lawyer survey median of $80,000)
• Take-home pay on $75,000 (nearest page to the graduate nurse survey median of $75,100)
• Take-home pay on $85,000 (nearest page to the graduate engineer survey median of $82,500)
• Take-home pay on $75,000 (nearest page to the graduate accountant survey median of $74,000)
• Take-home pay on $80,000 (nearest page to the graduate teacher survey median of $82,100)
• Take-home pay on $85,000 (nearest page to the intern doctor survey median of $85,900)

If you have a student loan, the HECS-HELP calculator shows your repayment, how it appears on a payslip and whether extra super beats paying down the debt. For the rest of your first job see the first job pay guide, the new job checklist and tax file number declaration.

What This Page Leaves Out

Graduate program salaries at individual employers, graduate accountant and graduate lawyer scales, and intern salaries outside NSW are not shown: no official source we could check publishes them, and job-board figures are not used here. Pay in the public sector also changes on scheduled dates, so check the state page or the agreement for the date your rate applies from.

Related Calculators and Guides

• Pay Rates by Job: award minimums for 40+ occupations
• Take-Home Pay on Every Salary
• HECS-HELP Calculator
• Average Salary in Australia
• First Job Pay Guide
• Pay Rise Calculator

Frequently Asked Questions