Last updated: March 19th, 2024
Making a decent income is critical to staying afloat in the current environment of rising prices and interest rates — as well as striving towards long-term financial goals.
Australia was ranked the second-richest country in the world in 2022.
It accounts for 3% of the world’s total millionaires.
But we all know wealth isn’t evenly distributed. The Melbourne Institute reported in October that the number of households living on below-average incomes was increasing, and “poverty is a real and desperate issue.”
Let’s explore what the average salary in Australia is, how incomes vary across different states and industries, and what you can expect from wages in 2024.
Important!
Aggregate salary averages are notoriously poor at providing you with meaningful insights. I’ve segmented the data (by state, industry, gender, and more) to provide you with a more sophisticated snapshot of Aussie incomes.
Average Australian Salary By Industry And State.
If you work in the mining sector, you’re more likely to earn an above-average salary, with average weekly earnings of $2,854.
Other high-paying sectors included:
| Sector | Avg. Weekly Earnings |
|---|---|
| Information media & telecommunications (includes online publishing, data storage/software) | $2,317 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | $2,170 |
| Financial and insurance services | $2,159 |
| Utilities such as electricity, gas, water and waste services | $2,155 |
Not surprisingly — given the state’s expansive mining sector — full-time employees in Western Australia earn the highest average weekly salary in Australia.
(Related: How To Invest Money In Australia).
The public-service heavy workforce in the Australian Capital Territory accounts for it having the second-highest average weekly earnings for full-time employees.
Image source: ABS, Average Weekly Earnings, May 2023.
How Much Do Australians Earn On Average, Weekly & Annually?
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data from 2023, full-time workers in Australia, on average, bring home:
- $1,838 in weekly income (or $1908.10 if you include overtime earnings).
- Approximately $95,500 in annual income (based on ordinary weekly income X 52 weeks).
These are pre-tax numbers, but exclude any amounts salary sacrificed.
Important!
Of course, not everyone works full-time. Around 23%, or 2.7 million, of all Aussie workers have casual jobs with earnings that vary week-to-week.
According to the same ABS data from 2023, part-time workers bring home average weekly total cash earnings of $798.70, which equates to approximately $41,484 annually (based on ordinary weekly income X 52 weeks).
(Related: Interest Rate News: When Will They Go Down)?
When you account for all workers, the average income per week is more than 20% lower at $1,400.
that of a person employed on the minimum award wage.
Although the national minimum wage increased by 5.75% this year — at $23.23 a hour, it equates to just $882.80 per week.
Important!
In some industries, annual salaries may also be boosted by bonuses.
For instance, an ABS Earnings Indicator update found salaries paid by employers rose by 3.8% between August and September 2023 due to the payment of cyclical bonuses.
What Is The Median Salary In Australia?
Average salary figures are great for creating sensationalist headlines but are poor at providing meaningful insights.
Median income figures paint a very different picture.
If we instead turn to the median — the exact middle number in a range — we find a typical average income for employed Australians is closer to $56,547 (based on ABS data from 2020-21).
Tasmanian employees receive the lowest at $50,130.
| Median Income (20-21) | Median Income Growth (Last Year) | Median Income Growth (Since 2016) | Income Share (top 1% earners) | Income Share (top 5% earners) | Income Share (top 10% earners) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | $54,890 | 4.9% | 12.8% | 9.8% | 22.5% | 33.4% |
| New South Wales | $55,854 | 5.7% | 14% | 11.2% | 24.3% | 35.2% |
| Victoria | $54,088 | 3.9% | 12.5% | 9.8% | 22.5% | 33.5% |
| Queensland | $53,643 | 4.8% | 12.2% | 8.4% | 20.6% | 31.6% |
| South Australia | $52,767 | 4.6% | 11.4% | 8.0% | 20.1% | 30.7% |
| Western Australia | $58,591 | 6.1% | 13.3% | 9.5% | 21.9% | 32.9% |
| Tasmania | $50,130 | 4.6% | 11.6% | 7.5% | 19.5% | 30.1% |
| Northern Territory | $65,906 | 6.3% | 12% | 6.0% | 16.9% | 27.1% |
| Australian Capital Territory | $71,093 | 4.1% | 12.6% | 6.9% | 18.6% | 28.9% |
Source: ABS, Personal income in Australia 2020-21 financial year (released December 2023).
What Are The Biggest Influences On Average Yearly Salary?
Average salaries don’t reflect the enormous variance in what you as an individual could earn. Your compensation depends on many factors, including:
| The profit margins in your chosen industry, e.g., how much can your employer afford to pay? |
| Your performance, especially when you’re pushing for a salary increase at your current job. |
| Working conditions. Jobs that few people want can attract higher pay, especially riskier/dirtier jobs that require extensive travel or intensive working hours. |
| Education and skills required. Highly specialised roles that require a Masters or Doctorate-level education often pay better. Skills shortages can force employers to offer higher salaries to compete for a small pool of qualified hires. |
| Your experience and influence level, e.g., the C-suite tends to earn more. Some senior executives at large listed companies raked in pay rises more than double the rate of inflation this year, according to the Governance Institute of Australia. |
Average Weekly Earnings In Australia By Gender And Sector.
ABS data shows men out-earn women in both the public and private sectors.
The public sector attracted a higher average wage, at $2,000 per week across all full-time employees, compared to average earnings of $1,797 working full-time in the private sector.
| Average Weekly Salary | Full-time Employees | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Sector | $2,000 | $2,124 | $1,897 |
| Private Sector | $1,797 | $1,905 | $1,604 |
The gender pay gap fell to a new low of 21.7% in 2023, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).
That’s technically a decrease of 1.1 from 2022, but unfortunately, aggregate numbers like the one cited by the WGEA fail to analyse the earning disparity in a way that offsets for:
- Number of hours worked.
- Type of employment (casual, part-time, full-time).
- Career choices (industry, sector).
- Time off work.
Government agencies must report on this important cultural trend in more sophisticated ways.
(Related: Will Australia Go Into A Recession In 2024?)
How Does The Cost Of Living In Australia Affect Salaries?
Your take-home pay buys you less when purchasing power is eroded by inflation.
Rising prices across essential goods and services has seen many Aussies struggling in 2023, in what many social welfare groups describe as a cost of living crisis.
Currently, the CPI (consumer price index) is sitting at 5.4% — meaning prices are 5.4% higher than the same time last year.
But wages still aren’t keeping up with CPI rises, meaning ‘real’ incomes are falling and wage growth is non-existent.
What Size Pay Rise Should You Expect In 2024?
You might typically expect to receive a pay rise every year or so based on performance, but that’s not always the case.
However, most bosses aren’t planning on pay rises above the current 5.4% inflation rate — meaning the typical Australian income won’t match the pace of price rises.
(Related: How To Buy Gold In Australia).
Robert Walters’ managing director Andrew Hanxson said salary increases were less likely in industries including tech and transformation, business development, management, and sales and marketing.
Australia’s competitive talent market looks set to continue, which could be good news for people looking to get a raise or change jobs to secure a higher salary.
While workers are human beings, not commodities, to a large extent, the size of your salary is determined by supply and demand in the market.
If you’re in demand, maybe it’s time to get that bread!
Jody
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