OUR MEDIAN INCOME If you noted down every Australian’s income and then ranked them from highest to lowest, the median would be the number exactly in the middle. If you’re a full-time worker and you earn more than $1261 a week (before tax and superannuation) then you are earning more than half of all other workers, aged 15 years and older. This equates to $65,577 a year. Of course, the numbers vary depending on what state you live in, and whether you live in a city or regional area. Those living in the ACT were paid the most, followed by Western Australia and the Northern Territory. If you live in a capital city, median wages are generally equal or higher than the state medians, except in Darwin. Perth had a median wage of $1400, while Brisbane’s was $1305 and Sydney had a median of $1304 ($67,808 a year before tax)
If this seems low, you’ll be even more surprised when you include those working part-time in the mix. This lowers the median pay to $1019 a week ($52,988 a year), according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Meanwhile, the top 10 per cent of employees earned more than $2109 per week. If you’re on a salary of $109,668 a year or more, you are actually in the top 10 per cent of all workers (including full-time and part-time employees). The large majority of workers (about 75 per cent) earn less than $78,624 a year before tax. Around 25 per cent of employees earn less than $660 per week, and around 50 per cent of employees earn between $660 and $1512 per week.
