Australia’s highest paying jobs and income distribution: your go-to guide
Australia may not have the biggest population in the world at approximately 24.5 million people, but we still live in a vast country, with sometimes quite drastically different incomes across our states and cities.
So, who holds Australia’s highest paying jobs?
To get a better picture of who earns what in our great nation, in addition to where they live, how old they are and other key facts, we’ve compiled a handy summary.
Australia’s highest paying jobs
Based on the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) findings for 2015-16, the following roles take the top 10 spots for highest paying jobs, on average. We’ve also included how many people have these jobs.
Profession |
Average annual salary |
Number of people |
Surgeons |
$393,467 |
3,822 |
Anaesthetists |
$359,056 |
3,181 |
Internal Medicine Specialists |
$291,140 |
8,191 |
Financial Dealers |
$263,309 |
4,617 |
Psychiatrists |
$211,024 |
2,740 |
Other Medical Practitioners |
$199,590 |
27,461 |
Judicial and Other Legal Professionals |
$198,219 |
3,073 |
Mining Engineers |
$166,557 |
8,655 |
Chief Executives and Managing Directors |
$158,249 |
166,741 |
Engineering Managers |
$148,852 |
25,457 |
While some of the medical professionals cover the top of the list with the absolute highest paying jobs in Australia, we also see broader representation from the legal, mining, financial and business industries.
Income versus age
Let’s take a look now at the population itself to see when we tend to earn the most money.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) most recent data on the subject from May 2018 reveals that household earning rises quite dramatically from our teens until mid-life, then gradually falls as we approach retirement.
Age Bracket |
Average Weekly Total Cash Earnings |
20 years and under |
$383.70 |
21 to 34 years |
$1,127.60 |
35 to 44 years |
$1503.70 |
45 to 54 years |
$1544.20 |
55 years and over |
$1,373.40 |
Additionally, 2016 census data from ABS show that the median weekly household income in Australia is $1,438, which is up from 2011 figures of $1,234 per week.
Where do high earners live?
High earners might want to live in a highly sought-after area, whereas those with lower salaries might prefer an area with more manageable rental costs.
For opulent mansions and neighbours with full pockets, the ATO’s statistics show that the following suburbs came out on top:
- Sydney’s suburbs of Edgecliff, Darling Point, Point Piper or HMAS Rushcutters
- Hawksburn and Toorak, close to the Melbourne CBD
- Vaucluse, Watsons Bay, Dover Heights, HMAS Watson, and Rose Bay North in Sydney
- Sydney’s Bellevue Hill
- Portsea on the Mornington Peninsula
Australian state economic rankings
The Australian Government has regularly releases data on unemployment rates around the country.
Here are the rankings in full, as of December 2018*:
State |
Unemployment Rate |
Overall State Ranking |
ACT |
3.6% |
1 |
NT |
5% |
4 |
WA |
6.3% |
8 |
NSW |
4.3% |
3 |
VIC |
4.2% |
2 |
QLD |
6.1% |
7 |
TAS |
5.9% |
6 |
SA |
5.3% |
5 |
*The data is current as of 7 Feb 2019 and is updated on a regular basis.
How do you compare against the rest of Australia?
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