Search “average salary Australia” and you will find a dozen confident numbers that do not agree with each other. That is not because one of them is lying — it is because they are measuring different things. This guide shows you what the official Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures actually measure, why the average and the median are different numbers, and how to use them to sanity-check a job offer. All figures were checked against ABS releases on 14 October 2026.
Key facts at a glance
| Official “average” measure | ABS Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) — average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE) for full-time adults |
|---|---|
| AWOTE, May 2026 | $2,083.70 per week, up 3.7% over the year |
| All employees, average weekly total earnings, May 2026 | $1,579.40 per week |
| Median employee earnings, August 2025 | $1,425 per week |
| Highest median industry, August 2025 | Mining — $2,761 per week |
| Lowest median industry, August 2025 | Accommodation and food services — $700 per week |
| Reference periods | AWE: May 2026, released 13 August 2026. Employee earnings: August 2025, released 12 December 2025 |
| Basis | Gross weekly earnings, before tax and before superannuation |
| Last verified | 14 October 2026 |
There is no single “average salary” in Australia
Australia’s official statistics agency publishes several different earnings numbers, and they are all correct. They differ because they cover different groups of people and different definitions of “earnings”. Three of them matter most, and mixing them up is the single most common mistake in articles about Australian salaries.
- AWOTE — average weekly ordinary time earnings, full-time adults. This is the headline series the ABS leads with, and it is the one most often quoted as “the average Australian salary”. It covers full-time adult employees only, and it counts ordinary time earnings only — no overtime.
- Average weekly total earnings, full-time adults. The same group, but including overtime.
- Average weekly total earnings, all employees. This one includes part-time and junior employees, which pulls the number down substantially.
There is also a completely separate ABS release, Employee earnings, which publishes the median rather than the average. Different measure, different release, different number.
So when you see a claim about “the average salary in Australia”, the only useful question is: which of these is it, and from which reference period?
What AWOTE actually measures
The ABS methodology defines weekly ordinary time earnings as “one week’s earnings of employees for the reference period, attributable to award, standard or agreed hours of work”. Critically, it is calculated before taxation and any other deductions — including superannuation — have been made.
That definition tells you three things about the headline number:
- It is gross. Income tax has not been taken out, so it is not what lands in anyone’s bank account.
- It excludes superannuation. Australian employers generally pay superannuation on top of salary, so the total cost of employing someone is higher than the earnings figure.
- It is ordinary time, meaning it excludes overtime. An industry where long overtime hours are normal will look better on total earnings than on AWOTE.
“Full-time” also has a specific meaning here. The ABS treats employees as full-time if they normally work the agreed or award hours for a full-time employee in their occupation, or — where no agreed hours apply — if they ordinarily work 35 hours or more per week.
Average versus median: why the gap matters
An average adds up everyone’s earnings and divides by the number of employees. A median lines everyone up from lowest to highest and takes the person in the middle.
When a small number of people earn very large amounts, they drag the average upwards but barely move the median. That is exactly what happens in Australia. The two official figures make the gap visible:
- AWOTE for full-time adults, May 2026: $2,083.70 per week
- Median employee earnings for all employees, August 2025: $1,425 per week
Part of that gap is the different population — AWOTE is full-time adults only, while the median covers all employees including part-time and junior staff. Part of it is the average being pulled up by high earners. Both effects point the same way, and that is why the two numbers are not comparable and should never be presented as if one confirms the other.
The practical consequence: if you are benchmarking your own pay, the median is usually the more honest comparison, because it tells you what the middle of the workforce actually earns rather than what an average skewed by a small number of very high incomes looks like.
Average weekly earnings, May 2026
From Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, May 2026, released 13 August 2026. Figures are in Australian dollars per week.
| Series (persons, trend) | May 2026 | Yearly change |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE) | $2,084.20 | +3.6% |
| Full-time adult average weekly total earnings | $2,160.10 | +3.5% |
| All employees average weekly total earnings | $1,579.40 | +2.5% |
The ABS also publishes the same series seasonally adjusted and original. On a seasonally adjusted basis, AWOTE for full-time adults was $2,083.70 per week, up 3.7% over the year. By sex, trend AWOTE was $2,181.50 for males and $1,934.50 for females. By sector, original AWOTE was $2,034.10 in the private sector and $2,263.10 in the public sector.
Original, seasonally adjusted and trend: which number should you quote?
The ABS publishes every AWE series three ways, and the three are not interchangeable:
- Original. The raw figure for the reference period, with no adjustment. It carries whatever seasonal pattern is normal for that time of year.
- Seasonally adjusted. Removes the regular seasonal pattern so one period can be compared with the next. This is the version most commentary quotes.
- Trend. A smoothed version that takes out both the seasonal pattern and irregular one-off movements. It is the best guide to the underlying direction, but it is also the version most sensitive to revision.
Because of that, two articles can quote two different “average salary” numbers for the same period and both be technically right — one is using the original series, the other the seasonally adjusted or trend series. The gap is usually small, but it is enough to make a headline number look inconsistent.
There is a second reason figures move. AWE is published twice a year, for May and November reference periods, roughly three months after each period ends, and later releases can revise earlier figures. So a number you read today may differ slightly from the same number six months ago. When you cite an ABS figure, name the series, the reference period and the version — for example, “AWOTE, full-time adults, May 2026, trend”.
Median weekly earnings by industry
This is the table most people actually want, and it does not come from the AWE release. It comes from Employee earnings, August 2025, released 12 December 2025, which publishes median weekly earnings in the main job by industry.
| Industry | Median weekly earnings, August 2025 |
|---|---|
| Mining | $2,761 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | $2,000 |
| Financial and insurance services | $2,000 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | $1,897 |
| Public administration and safety | $1,837 |
| Information media and telecommunications | $1,567 |
| Construction | $1,500 |
| Education and training | $1,500 |
| Manufacturing | $1,500 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | $1,500 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | $1,470 |
| Wholesale trade | $1,440 |
| Health care and social assistance | $1,300 |
| Administrative and support services | $1,200 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | $1,200 |
| Other services | $1,200 |
| Arts and recreation services | $1,150 |
| Retail trade | $900 |
| Accommodation and food services | $700 |
Two things to notice. First, the spread is enormous — the highest median industry earns roughly four times the lowest. Second, several industries sit at exactly $1,500, which is how the ABS publishes rounded medians rather than a sign that those industries pay identically.
Median earnings by occupation and qualification
From the same release, August 2025:
- Occupation: the highest medians were Managers ($2,072 per week) and Professionals ($1,900). The lowest were Sales workers ($742) and Labourers ($940). Hourly rates told a similar story — Professionals $59.50 and Managers $58.80, against Sales workers $30.80 and Labourers $32.00.
- Qualification: median weekly earnings were highest for employees with a postgraduate degree ($2,000) and lowest for those without non-school qualifications ($1,000).
The gap between occupation groups is narrower on hourly rates than on weekly earnings, which reflects the different hours typically worked in each occupation. If you are comparing roles, compare hourly rates before you compare weekly pay.
Median earnings by state and territory
Also August 2025, median weekly earnings in the main job:
| State or territory | Median weekly earnings |
|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | $1,600 |
| Northern Territory | $1,510 |
| Western Australia | $1,500 |
| New South Wales | $1,464 |
| Queensland | $1,439 |
| Victoria | $1,380 |
| South Australia | $1,300 |
| Tasmania | $1,300 |
Within the capital cities, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth had the highest median weekly earnings ($1,500), followed by Melbourne and Hobart ($1,400). Outside the capitals, regional Western Australia was highest ($1,400) and regional South Australia lowest ($1,200).
State medians are a useful reality check against the national figure. A salary that looks average nationally can be well above or below the local median depending on where you are moving to — and local medians feed directly into what housing actually costs you.
Turning weekly figures into annual ones
The ABS publishes weekly earnings, not annual salaries. If you want an annual figure you have to do the arithmetic yourself, and it is worth understanding what you are doing when you do.
Multiplying a weekly figure by 52 gives a rough annual equivalent:
- AWOTE ($2,083.70) × 52 ≈ $108,352
- All employees average weekly total earnings ($1,579.40) × 52 ≈ $82,129
- Median employee earnings ($1,425) × 52 ≈ $74,100
Three cautions. The ABS does not publish these annual figures — they are a rough conversion, not an official statistic. The weekly figures are gross and exclude superannuation, so they are not comparable to a total employment cost. And the three numbers above come from two different releases with different reference periods, so they should not be read as a time series.
Once you have an annual figure, the next step is working out what you actually keep. That depends on the resident tax rates, the Medicare levy and whether you are treated as a resident or a foreign resident for tax purposes.
Step-by-step: benchmarking a job offer
- Identify the industry your role sits in and find the median for that industry in the ABS table above.
- Check whether your role is more like a Manager or a Professional in the occupation breakdown, and note that those two groups sit well above the all-employee median.
- Compare hourly rates, not weekly earnings, if the role involves shift work, overtime or variable hours.
- Check the median for the state or city you are moving to, not just the national number.
- Convert the weekly figure to an annual equivalent by multiplying by 52, and remember it is gross and excludes superannuation.
- Work out the tax position — see our guides to Australian tax rates and the Medicare levy — to estimate your take-home pay.
- Set that against local costs using our guide to the cost of living in Australia.
Common mistakes
- Quoting a “mean” as “the average”. Most salary websites publish averages, which sit well above what the middle of the workforce earns. If a number looks flattering, check whether it is an average or a median.
- Mixing reference periods. AWOTE for May 2026 and the industry medians for August 2025 are from different releases nine months apart. Comparing them directly is misleading.
- Forgetting that the figures are gross. A $2,083 weekly AWOTE figure is not $2,083 in your account. Tax and the Medicare levy come out first.
- Forgetting superannuation. Australian employers generally pay superannuation on top of salary. It is part of your total remuneration but it is not part of the earnings statistics.
- Using a national average to judge a local offer. State medians range from $1,300 to $1,600 per week. The national number hides that.
- Treating a job-board number as official data. Seek, Indeed and similar sites publish their own averages from their own advertiser base. They are not ABS statistics and are not comparable.
FAQ
What is the average salary in Australia?
There is no single official figure. The headline ABS series is AWOTE — full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings — which was $2,083.70 per week in May 2026, seasonally adjusted. If you want the figure that reflects the middle of the workforce rather than the average, the ABS median was $1,425 per week in August 2025.
Why is the average so much higher than the median?
Because a small number of very high earners pull the average up without moving the middle of the distribution. The two figures also cover different populations — AWOTE covers full-time adults only, while the median covers all employees including part-time and junior staff.
Does the average salary include superannuation?
No. The ABS defines weekly ordinary time earnings as calculated before taxation and any other deductions, including superannuation. Australian employers generally pay superannuation on top of salary.
Is the average salary figure before or after tax?
Before tax. All the ABS earnings figures are gross. To work out what you keep, you need to apply the resident tax rates and the Medicare levy to your own taxable income.
How often are these figures updated?
Average Weekly Earnings is published twice a year, for May and November reference periods, about three months after the reference period. The May 2026 release came out on 13 August 2026, and the next release is scheduled for 25 February 2027. The Employee earnings release used for the industry and state medians was published on 12 December 2025 for the August 2025 reference period.
Can I use these figures to negotiate my salary?
They are a useful sanity check, but they are broad. Industry medians do not account for your experience, your city, your specific occupation within the industry, or the size of the employer. Use them as a benchmark, not as a target.
Official sources
- Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, May 2026 — Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Average Weekly Earnings, Australia — methodology — Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Employee earnings, August 2025 — Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Earnings and working conditions — Australian Bureau of Statistics
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