ABS earnings · May 2026
Average salary in Australia
The average full-time salary is $108,352 a year before tax, and $83,480 after it.
- Average full-time salary
- $108,352
- a year before tax · $2,083.70 a week
- After tax
- $83,480
- a year · $3,210.76 a fortnight
- Median, all employees
- $1,425
- a week, August 2025 · part-time included
Earnings figures verified against the official sources — how we check.
Your salary, as a share of the average
78%
$85,000 is $23,352 below the average full-time salary in Australia, $108,352. After tax the gap is $15,880 a year.
At least half of all employees earned less than this a week in August 2025, and no more than three quarters.
How it’s made up
Enter your details above to see this.
ABS average weekly ordinary-time earnings for full-time adults, May 2026, multiplied by 52. Tax for a single resident at 2026-27 rates.
These are the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ figures for what full-time adults earn in ordinary hours, multiplied by 52 here to make a year. The pay calculator works out the take-home on any salary, and the minimum wage is the floor beneath all of them.
Average salary by state
| State | A year | After tax |
|---|---|---|
| ACT $2,290.20 a week | $119,090 | $90,781 |
| Western Australia $2,227.40 a week | $115,825 | $88,561 |
| New South Wales $2,108.80 a week | $109,658 | $84,367 |
| Victoria $2,041.10 a week | $106,137 | $81,973 |
| Queensland $2,039.70 a week | $106,064 | $81,924 |
| Northern Territory $1,984.10 a week | $103,173 | $79,958 |
| South Australia $1,970.20 a week | $102,450 | $79,466 |
| Tasmania $1,846.30 a week | $96,008 | $75,085 |
| Australia $2,083.70 a week | $108,352 | $83,480 |
All rows are the ABS’s original series. The headline at the top of this page is the seasonally adjusted one,which in May 2026 was the same figure.
Average salary by industry
| Industry | A year | After tax |
|---|---|---|
| Mining $3,224.20 a week | $167,658 | $121,592 |
| Information media and telecommunications $2,714.10 a week | $141,133 | $105,411 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services $2,546.00 a week | $132,392 | $99,827 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services $2,389.60 a week | $124,259 | $94,296 |
| Financial and insurance services $2,341.30 a week | $121,748 | $92,588 |
| Education and training $2,197.90 a week | $114,291 | $87,518 |
| Public administration and safety $2,179.80 a week | $113,350 | $86,878 |
| Health care and social assistance $2,037.20 a week | $105,934 | $81,835 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing $2,032.30 a week | $105,680 | $81,662 |
| Construction $1,985.30 a week | $103,236 | $80,000 |
| Wholesale trade $1,982.90 a week | $103,111 | $79,915 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services $1,979.60 a week | $102,939 | $79,799 |
| Administrative and support services $1,950.00 a week | $101,400 | $78,752 |
| Arts and recreation services $1,877.40 a week | $97,625 | $76,185 |
| Manufacturing $1,843.10 a week | $95,841 | $74,972 |
| Other services $1,621.70 a week | $84,328 | $67,143 |
| Retail trade $1,581.60 a week | $82,243 | $65,725 |
| Accommodation and food services $1,509.90 a week | $78,515 | $63,190 |
Full-time men averaged $2,181.00 a week and women $1,934.50; the public sector $2,263.10 and the private sector $2,034.10.
Average or median?
The middle employee earned $1,425 a week in August 2025, counting everyone in their main job, part-time included. Among full-time employees the median was $1,841 a week for men and $1,631 for women. The spread below is the one your result is placed in.
| Employees earning less | A week | A year |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $450 | $23,400 |
| 25% | $900 | $46,800 |
| 50% (the median) | $1,425 | $74,100 |
| 75% | $2,127 | $110,604 |
| 90% | $3,000 | $156,000 |
From the ABS’s Employee earnings release, a household survey. The ABS warns that caution should be exercised when comparing these household-survey earnings with Average Weekly Earnings, which comes from an employer survey with a different scope, coverage and method.
What the average leaves out
It counts ordinary hours only. With overtime, full-time adults averaged $2,160.00 a week, or $112,320 a year. It also leaves out anything salary sacrificed, and payments that are irregular — an annual bonus is the ABS’s own example — which is why the ABS advises caution in turning a weekly average into a yearly one. The year on this page is that sum done anyway, labelled as ours.
When these figures change
Average Weekly Earnings is published twice a year: the May survey in August and the November survey in February. The figures here are from the May 2026 release of 13 August 2026; the next is expected in February 2027, and this page is checked against it when it lands. The median comes from a survey the ABS is redesigning, and its next release date has not been set.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average salary in Australia?
What is the average salary after tax in Australia?
Is $100,000 a good salary in Australia?
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Why is the median salary lower than the average?
Where these figures come from
- ABS — Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, May 2026 — read 2026-10-09.
- ABS — Average Weekly Earnings, Australia methodology, May 2026 — read 2026-10-09.
- ABS — Employee earnings, August 2025 — read 2026-10-09.
- ABS — Characteristics of Employment methodology, August 2025 — read 2026-10-09.
How we check sets out how every figure on this site is verified.