These are tax-return figures for the 2023–24 income year, the latest the ATO has published. They count part-time optometrists and practice owners as well as full-time employees, so they are not a salary rate.
Is there an award for optometrists?
No modern award names optometrists. The Health Professionals and Support Services Award [MA000027] covers employers in health care, and its list of common health professions (Schedule B) names orthoptists but not optometrists; the Fair Work Ombudsman's summary of who the award covers doesn't list optometrists either.
The award does provide for health professions that are not on its list (clause B.2(c)), so it may still cover an employed optometrist. Neither the award nor the Fair Work Ombudsman's summary settles that, so this page publishes no award minimum — ask the Fair Work Ombudsman about your own job.
An optometrist who owns a practice, or contracts to one, is not an employee, so no award, minimum wage or payslip applies to that work.
Orthoptists are on the award's list, at AQF level 8 or 9. For how the award's health professional rates work, see our Health Professionals Award rates page.
Optometrist salary in Australia: the ATO’s 2023–24 figures
Every year the ATO publishes what people earned, grouped by the occupation they put on their tax return. The 2023–24 figures (released on 17 June 2026) are the most recent. For occupation code 251411, Optometrist, 5,540 people reported an average taxable income of $107,824 and a median of $100,818. Those who were paid a salary or wage had an average of $86,992 and a median of $92,133 from it.
| Who | People | Average taxable income | Median taxable income | Average salary or wages | Median salary or wages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 5,540 | $107,824 | $100,818 | $86,992 | $92,133 |
| Female | 3,426 | $98,911 | $94,689 | $82,211 | $87,058 |
| Male | 2,114 | $122,270 | $109,838 | $94,773 | $100,551 |
Taxable income is everything a person earned — salary, business and contracting income, investments — less their deductions; the ATO’s averages and medians for it include everyone in the occupation, whatever hours they worked. Salary or wages is only what employers paid, and its figures cover only the people who were paid one. Neither is a full-time salary rate.
Optometrists and orthoptists
The ATO groups optometrists with orthoptists in unit group 2514. The rows show each occupation and then the whole group.
| Occupation | People | Average taxable income | Median taxable income | Average salary or wages | Median salary or wages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 251411 Optometrist | 5,540 | $107,824 | $100,818 | $86,992 | $92,133 |
| 251412 Orthoptist | 1,068 | $76,095 | $73,881 | $70,736 | $72,732 |
| 2514 Optometrist or orthoptist | 6,608 | $102,696 | $94,689 | $84,345 | $87,688 |
ATO Taxation statistics 2023–24, Individuals Tables 15A and 15B. Whole dollars, before tax.
Optometrist and orthoptist income by state, 2023–24
State figures are only published for the whole unit group, so they include the 1,068 orthoptists counted with the 5,540 optometrists. The 13 people who lodged from overseas are left out.
| State or territory | People | Average taxable income | Median taxable income | Average salary or wages | Median salary or wages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 2,185 | $102,356 | $92,063 | $82,643 | $85,036 |
| VIC | 1,954 | $93,214 | $86,418 | $79,351 | $81,078 |
| QLD | 1,264 | $107,810 | $102,860 | $89,803 | $92,643 |
| WA | 503 | $116,272 | $109,460 | $88,792 | $94,544 |
| SA | 430 | $109,869 | $104,021 | $91,713 | $98,766 |
| TAS | 108 | $109,888 | $105,468 | $88,590 | $95,159 |
| ACT | 112 | $120,671 | $104,349 | $88,010 | $94,137 |
| NT | 39 | $127,037 | $120,615 | $104,477 | $106,349 |
ATO Taxation statistics 2023–24, Individuals Table 15D. Whole dollars, before tax.
Optometrist salary after tax
What each figure above leaves after income tax and the Medicare levy at 2026–27 rates, treating it as taxable income with no deductions. The ATO figures are from 2023–24, so this shows what the same income takes home today, not what it took home then.
| Gross a year | Income tax | Medicare levy | Take-home a year | A fortnight | HELP repayment, if any |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $92,133Median salary or wages — ATO 2023–24, optometrists paid a salary or wage | −$18,160 | −$1,843 | $72,130 | $2,774 | −$3,391 |
| $100,818Median taxable income — ATO 2023–24 | −$20,765 | −$2,016 | $78,037 | $3,001 | −$4,694 |
| $107,824Average taxable income — ATO 2023–24 | −$22,867 | −$2,156 | $82,801 | $3,185 | −$5,744 |
2026–27 resident tax rates with the low income tax offset and the 2% Medicare levy, assuming private hospital cover (without it, the Medicare levy surcharge adds up to 1.5% at these incomes — check yours with the Medicare levy surcharge calculator). The last column is the compulsory repayment if you still have a HELP debt; it comes out of take-home pay on top of tax. Super is paid on top by an employer at 12%.
For the full breakdown at the median, see take-home pay on $101,000 (the nearest step to $100,818), or put in your own salary below.
What an optometrist’s pay looks like on a payslip
An employed optometrist gets a payslip each pay day showing gross pay, the PAYG tax withheld (which already allows for the Medicare levy), any HELP repayment withheld, and the super the employer paid on top. Check the tax withheld against the tax withheld calculator and each line against understanding your payslip.
At the $92,133 median salary or wage, an employed optometrist takes home about $2,774 a fortnight after tax and the Medicare levy with no HELP debt — or about $2,644 with one, once the compulsory HELP repayment is withheld as well.
Contracting rather than employed? Compare the two with the contractor pay calculator.
What this page does not show
- An award minimum for optometrists: neither the Health Professionals Award nor the Fair Work Ombudsman's summary confirms that one applies.
- A Jobs and Skills Australia employee median: JSA publishes "N/A" for optometrists and orthoptists, as it does wherever the survey estimate has a high standard error.
- A salary ladder by years of experience: no primary source publishes one, and we do not estimate salaries.
Optometrist salary questions
Other doctor and dentist salaries
How this page is sourced▼
Income figures are the ATO’s Taxation statistics 2023–24, Individuals Table 15, read from the spreadsheet the ATO publishes on data.gov.au on 9 October 2026 and transcribed to the dollar. They describe what people reported on their tax returns; they are not pay rates. Employee medians come from Jobs and Skills Australia’s occupation profiles, and award and public hospital salaries from the instrument named beside each table.
Take-home figures use the same tax engine as the rest of this site. Nothing on this page is estimated: a figure we could not read from a primary source is listed under “What this page does not show” instead.
Sources & References
- 1Taxation statistics 2023–24, Individuals Table 15: average and median taxable income, salary or wages and total income, by occupation and sex— Australian Taxation Office (data.gov.au)
- 2Individuals statistics for Taxation statistics 2023–24— Australian Taxation Office
- 3
- 4Health Services Award [MA000027] — who the award covers— Fair Work Ombudsman
- 5Optometrists and Orthoptists (ANZSCO 2514) occupation profile — median earnings published as N/A— Jobs and Skills Australia
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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