Overtime under this award is paid at the ordinary hourly rate, and not at all once your salary is 25% or more above your level's minimum — for a graduate, $85,672.50 (cl 18.2(a), cl 18.6).
A quantity surveyor is coded with civil engineers in ATO statistics but is a different job; see the surveyor page for land surveyors.
What civil engineers earn: 2023–24 tax returns
In the ATO’s Taxation statistics for 2023–24, 50,761 people gave their occupation as “Civil engineer”. Among those who reported wages, the median salary or wage income was $120,000 and the average $131,274. Their average taxable income was $136,604.
The ATO codes geotechnical, structural and transport engineers separately from civil engineers, though all four sit in the same civil engineering professionals group. Their figures are shown for comparison.
| Occupation on the tax return | People | Median salary or wages | Average salary or wages | Median taxable income | Average taxable income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil engineerATO occupation code 233211 | 50,761 | $120,000 | $131,274 | $120,637 | $136,604 |
| Engineer - geotechnicalATO occupation code 233212 | 4,127 | $118,380 | $130,823 | $120,396 | $138,695 |
| Engineer - structuralATO occupation code 233214 | 8,190 | $113,231 | $120,847 | $113,704 | $126,275 |
| Engineer - transportATO occupation code 233215 | 3,179 | $124,537 | $132,594 | $125,789 | $139,020 |
ATO figures come from 2023–24 individual tax returns: everyone who gave this occupation, including part-time and part-year workers. Salary or wages is the gross wage income people reported (averages and medians count only those who reported some); taxable income adds other income such as interest and business income and subtracts deductions. Neither figure is a full-time rate or a legal minimum.
Median full-time pay
Jobs and Skills Australia puts median full-time earnings for Civil Engineering Professionals (ANZSCO 2332) at $2,217 a week ($59 an hour), against $1,852 a week for all occupations.
Median weekly pay of full-time, non-managerial adult employees before tax and salary sacrifice, from the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (May 2025) as published by Jobs and Skills Australia. It reflects what employers actually pay, including people on enterprise agreements or above-award salaries, so it is a market figure, not a legal minimum.
Civil Engineer pay after tax
What each figure on this page leaves after income tax and the Medicare levy, worked out with the same tax engine as the rest of this site. Use the row nearest your own salary to sense-check the net pay on your payslip.
| Figure | Gross a year | Tax and Medicare | Take-home a year | A fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Award minimum — Level 1 Graduate professional — pay point 1.1 (4 or 5 year degree)MA000065, 2026–27 | $68,538 | −$12,452 | $56,086 | $2,157 |
| Median full-time pay — Civil Engineering ProfessionalsJobs and Skills Australia, May 2025 (weekly × 52) | $115,284 | −$27,411 | $87,873 | $3,380 |
| Median salary or wages — Civil engineerATO tax returns, 2023–24 | $120,000 | −$28,920 | $91,080 | $3,503 |
| Average salary or wages — Civil engineerATO tax returns, 2023–24 | $131,274 | −$32,527 | $98,747 | $3,798 |
2026–27 resident tax rates with the low income tax offset and the 2% Medicare levy; no HECS-HELP repayment and no Medicare levy surcharge. Superannuation is paid on top by your employer. Your employer withholds tax each pay from the ATO’s withholding schedules, so the tax on a payslip will not match these annual figures to the dollar. For the full breakdown see take-home pay on $130,000 (the nearest step to $131,274), or enter your own salary below.
The table assumes private hospital cover. A single person without it pays the Medicare levy surcharge of 1% to 1.5% once their income for surcharge purposes passes $105,000 (2026–27), which would lower the take-home on the higher rows.
Which award covers civil engineers
Part of Engineer Pay Rates, which lists every Professional Employees Award pay point and the rules all engineers share.
A civil engineer doing professional engineering work — duties that need qualifications at least equal to a graduate member of Engineers Australia — is covered by the Professional Employees Award 2020 [MA000065] whatever industry the employer is in (cl 4.1(a)).
The award has exclusions that matter for civil engineers. It does not cover employees who are covered by the Water Industry, Rail Industry, Port Authorities, Airport Employees or State Government Agencies awards (cl 4.2), or local government employees covered by another award (cl 4.3). If you work for a water utility, a rail operator, a port, an airport, a council or a state agency, check whether one of those awards or an enterprise agreement sets your pay instead.
A graduate engineer starts at Level 1 pay point 1.1 and moves up one pay point on each anniversary to 1.4 (Schedule A.1.3). An experienced engineer — a member of Engineers Australia, or someone with 4 years' professional engineering experience after qualifying — is Level 2, and Levels 3 and 4 cover engineers with more independence and responsibility.
Read the Professional Employees Award 2020 [MA000065] on the Fair Work Commission’s site (consolidated to 1 July 2026).
Civil Engineer award pay rates 2026–27
These rates apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. Part-time employees are paid the same hourly rates for the hours they work.
Civil engineer minimum salaries by level, 2026–27
Annual wages from clause 14.1; weekly is the award's own conversion (annual x 6/313); hourly and casual rates are exactly as Schedule C publishes them. The 3-year degree rate does not apply to a graduate engineer, whose degree must be 4 or 5 years.
| Classification | Hourly | Weekly (38 hrs) | Annual | Casual hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Graduate professional — pay point 1.1 (4 or 5 year degree)Graduate civil engineer (4 or 5-year degree recognised by Engineers Australia) | $34.57 | $1,313.83 | $68,538 | $43.21 |
| Level 1 Graduate professional — pay point 1.2 | $35.15 | $1,335.87 | $69,688 | $43.94 |
| Level 1 Graduate professional — pay point 1.3 | $36.62 | $1,391.50 | $72,590 | $45.78 |
| Level 1 Graduate professional — pay point 1.4 | $38.47 | $1,461.99 | $76,267 | $48.09 |
| Level 2 Experienced professionalExperienced engineer: Engineers Australia member, or 4 years' experience after qualifying | $39.77 | $1,511.23 | $78,836 | $49.71 |
| Level 3 Professional | $43.46 | $1,651.57 | $86,157 | $54.33 |
| Level 4 Professional | $49.02 | $1,862.74 | $97,173 | $61.28 |
Annual is the award's own full-time annual salary, before tax and before superannuation. Casual hourly includes the 25% casual loading.
Civil Engineer penalty rates and overtime
| When you work | Full-time / part-time | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| Monday–Saturday before 6 am or after 10 pm | 125% | 150% |
| Sunday | 150% | 175% |
| Public holiday | 150% | 175% |
Percentages of the minimum hourly rate for hours worked at the employer's direction (cl 18.4, Schedule C). There is no Saturday daytime penalty under this award.
Overtime
- Hours beyond 38 a week (or an agreed average) are paid at the minimum hourly rate, not time and a half — $34.57 an hour for a graduate at pay point 1.1 (cl 18.2(a)).
- The overtime, penalty and record-keeping clauses stop applying once your contract salary is at least 25% above the minimum for your level (cl 18.6): $85,672.50 for a pay point 1.1 graduate, $98,545 at Level 2 and $121,466.25 at Level 4.
- Below that line, time off instead of overtime pay can be agreed hour for hour (cl 18.3).
Work out a shift with penalties or overtime using the overtime pay calculator.
Allowances
| Allowance | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle allowance | At least $1.00 per km | When you and your employer agree that you will use your own vehicle on the employer's business (cl 16.3). |
| Travelling expenses | Reasonable costs | All reasonable expenses, including accommodation and meals, incurred while travelling on the employer's business (cl 16.2). |
Checking a civil engineer payslip
- Pay point rises: as a graduate you move up one pay point on each anniversary — from $68,538 at 1.1 to $69,688, $72,590 and $76,267 — unless your employer defers it, and either way it must be confirmed in writing (Schedule A.1.3–A.1.4). If your rate has not changed after an anniversary, ask why.
- Vehicle allowance: if you agree to use your own car for site visits or other work travel, the award requires at least $1.00 a kilometre (cl 16.3), and it must appear as its own line on the payslip, not folded into salary (Fair Work Regulations reg 3.46(1)(g), noted in cl 16).
- Recorded hours: below the cl 18.6 salary line your employer must keep records of hours over 38 a week, before 6 am or after 10 pm, and on Sundays and public holidays (cl 18.5) — the hours any overtime or penalty line on your payslip is paid for.
- Super and deductions: each payslip must show the super your employer paid, or will pay, for the period and the fund it goes to, and every deduction — salary sacrifice included — with the fund or account it was paid into (Fair Work Ombudsman, pay slips).
For what every line on a payslip should show, see understanding your payslip.
What this page does not show
- Public sector and enterprise agreement scales for civil engineers at councils, road and water agencies.
- Pay by state: the ATO's state table (Table 15D) covers only the wider civil engineering professionals group, so it is not shown here.
- Recruiter salary bands from graduate to principal: they are not official figures.
Civil Engineer pay questions
Pay rates for other jobs
How this page is sourced▼
Every minimum rate was read from the Fair Work Commission's consolidated text of the Professional Employees Award 2020, consolidated to 1 July 2026, on 9 October 2026. Casual rates are the award's own published figures wherever it publishes them. Nothing is estimated.
Income figures are the ATO’s Taxation statistics 2023–24, Individuals Table 15A, exactly as published: the occupation is what each person wrote on their tax return.
The median comes from Jobs and Skills Australia’s occupation profile and is a market figure, not an entitlement. Take-home figures use the same tax engine as the rest of this site. Award rates change every 1 July, so re-check after the next Annual Wage Review.
Sources & References
- 1Professional Employees Award 2020 [MA000065] — consolidated to 1 July 2026— Fair Work Commission
- 2Taxation statistics 2023–24, Individuals Table 15: average and median taxable income and salary or wages by occupation— Australian Taxation Office (data.gov.au)
- 3
- 4Pay slips— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 5Annual Wage Review 2025–26 decision [2026] FWCFB 3500— Fair Work Commission
Last verified: 9 October 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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