Pilot Salary Australia 2026 — Air Pilots Award Minimum Pay

How pilot pay is set

Pilots are covered by the Air Pilots Award 2020 [MA000046], a modern award that sets minimum annual salaries. Unlike most awards, it sets pay as annual salaries by type of flying and aircraft rather than as hourly rates.

The award is a floor. Most airline pilots — at Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, Rex and regional carriers — are paid under their airline's enterprise agreement, which pays well above these minimums and has its own seniority scales. The award rates matter most in general aviation: charter, aerial work, flight instruction and smaller operators.

The figures on this page come from the Air Pilots Award 2020 [MA000046]. Modern award in operation since 1 January 2010; the Fair Work Commission's consolidated version incorporates amendments up to and including 14 July 2026 (PR811739).

Pilot pay scale 2026

Annual full-time base salary before tax and before superannuation.

Every salary links to its take-home figure. Take-home pages exist for every $1,000 up to $150,000 and in wider steps above that, so a salary without a page of its own links to the nearest one.

Cadet and trainee pilot pay

The award has no separate cadet or student-pilot rate for general aviation. A pilot covered by the award must hold a commercial pilot's licence or airline transport pilot's licence, and the lowest minimum salary is First Officer/Second Pilot on a single engine aircraft UTBNI 1360 kg at $52,257 a year.

Second Officer under Training — defined as "a pilot under initial training for a second officer position" — has a minimum of $75,738 a year on wide-body aircraft from the first full pay period on or after 14 July 2026.

Flight instructors (clause A.1.7) are paid on appointment as follows: Grade III at the single engine (or multi engine) charter salary; Grade II at that charter salary plus $4669.27 per annum; Grade I plus $9338.55 per annum. A Grade I single-engine instructor gets increments of $1186.91 per annum in the sixth, seventh and eighth year of service with the same employer.

An aerial application pilot with more than 6 months' industry experience must be paid at least the 1001–2000 flying hours rate ($1004.90 a week) (clause C.9.2).

Casual pilots, allowances and other rules

• Casual pilots (clause 10.2): "A casual pilot will be paid per flying hour at the rate of 1/800th of the annual salary prescribed for the class of work performed (including additions to salary)."
• Casual loading (clause 10.4): "A casual employee will be paid an amount of 25% for each hour in addition to the amount in clause 10.2 or 10.3. This loading is instead of entitlements to leave and other matters from which casuals are excluded by the terms of this award and the NES."
• Casual minimum payments (clause 10.6): for a period of duty (including rostered stand-by) of 4 hours or less, a minimum payment of 2 hours; for a period of duty exceeding 4 hours, a minimum of 4 hours. Where actual flight time is longer, payment is for each flying hour or part thereof.
• Worked casual rate from Schedule F: a casual captain on a single engine aircraft UTBNI 1360 kg is paid $90.98 per flying hour ($58,226 ÷ 800 × 1.25), before any additions to salary.
• Clause 10 does not apply to aerial application pilots. A casual aerial application pilot must be paid $301.05 per day, with a minimum of one day's pay for each day they report for work (clauses C.9.3 and C.9.4).
• Instrument rating allowance (clause A.1.4): Command or Class 1 $8196.42 a year; Co-pilot or Class 2 $5329.91; Night VFR or Class 4 $2049.11.
• Aircraft additions (clause A.1.3): piston engine on commuter operations $2049.11 a year; Airline Transport Pilots Licence $6763.17; turbo-prop $8924.25; turbo jet $14,332.54. A First Officer/Second Pilot receives 65% of the piston, turbo-prop or turbo jet additions (clause A.1.6).
• Supervisory additions (clause A.1.14) for non-instructor pilots: from 5% of salary (training pilot or senior pilot, 10 pilots or less) up to 12% (check and training pilot designated as Chief Pilot, 11 pilots or more).
• Chief Flying Instructors receive an extra 6%, 8%, 10% or 15% of salary for a private, commercial, instrument or instructor school rating (clause A.1.13).
• Ordinary hours of work must not average more than 38 per week (clause 15.2).

What a pilot salary is worth after tax

Every salary in the tables links to its take-home figure — for example take-home pay on $58,000 and take-home pay on $100,000. Allowances and loadings are taxed as ordinary income on top of base salary.

What this page does not show

• Airline enterprise agreements (Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar, Rex, QantasLink and others): pilot pay tables are in each airline's enterprise agreement lodged with the Fair Work Commission. They were not read from an FWC-published copy for this page and are not reproduced. Search the FWC's agreement database at fwc.gov.au to read them.
• Salary-survey and media figures for pilot earnings are not used on this page.
• Helicopter aircrew (Schedule E) rates are not reproduced here.

Pilot salary questions