{"id":5620,"date":"2026-09-21T03:33:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T03:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/?p=5620"},"modified":"2026-09-21T03:45:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T03:45:06","slug":"a-guide-to-the-average-salary-in-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/free-resources\/a-guide-to-the-average-salary-in-australia","title":{"rendered":"A Guide To The Average Salary In Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The average salary in Australia is $2,083.70 a week for full-time workers based on the latest ABS figures<\/a>. That headline number moves depending on industry, state and gender, and this guide breaks down where those differences come from to see how your own pay compares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the average salary in Australia?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings reached $2,083.70 in May 2026, up 3.7% over the year. Median weekly earnings across all employees sit considerably lower, at $1,436, since that figure includes part-time and casual work alongside full-time roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By industry<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pay varies just as much by role as by sector, according to Jobs and Skills Australia’s occupation and industry profiles<\/a>. Construction managers sit towards the top, with median full-time earnings of $3,751 a week, reflecting the seniority and project oversight the role typically carries. Entry-level roles such as retail sales positions sit well below the national median, with full-time earnings often under $1,300 a week, in a workforce that skews younger and includes a high proportion of part-time work. The gap between the two shows how much seniority and role type shift the figures within a single industry, not just between industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By state<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Location has a similar effect. The ACT recorded the highest average full-time earnings<\/a> in May 2026, at $2,289.40 a week, followed by Western Australia at $2,227.60 and New South Wales at $2,109.20, according to ABS data<\/a>. Tasmania sits at the lower end, reflecting a different industry mix and a smaller share of high-paying sectors like mining and technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By gender<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A gap persists across both sectors. In the private sector, average full-time earnings for men were $2,139.50 a week compared to $1,840.80 for women. In the public sector, the gap was narrower in percentage terms but still present, at $2,399.30 for men compared to $2,154.00 for women. The ABS tracks this gap as part of its broader gender pay gap reporting, noting that compositional factors such as industry, occupation and hours worked all contribute to the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What affects where you sit on the scale<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Industry and location explain a large part of the average salaries in Australia, but experience, qualifications and demand for particular skills matter just as much within any single sector. A more senior title, a licence or certification relevant to the field or working in a capital city rather than a regional area can shift pay noticeably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fairer read on where you sit comes from comparing pay against similar job ads in the same industry and location, rather than the national average alone. Check the relevant award rate through the Fair Work Ombudsman<\/a> if entitlements are unclear. Negotiation plays a bigger role than most people expect, especially with concrete results from a current role to point to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find a role that pays what you’re worth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The average salary in Australia gives a benchmark, but it does not reveal what a specific employer is offering for a specific role. CareerOne<\/a> lists salary details on thousands of current vacancies, including jobs in Sydney<\/a> and other major cities, allowing pay to be compared by industry, location and experience level before applying. Reading a job ad’s salary range or preparing to negotiate is easier with the right guidance, and CareerOne’s career advice hub<\/a> has more on both.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The average salary in Australia is $2,083.70 a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-free-resources"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5620"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5621,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5620\/revisions\/5621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.careerone.com.au\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}