The average salary in Australia is currently $104,520. But that number doesn't say as much as you'd think it does.
At some point or another you’ve probably searched up “average salary in Australia” and been hit with more numbers and terms than you know what to do with.
Attempting to understand all the earnings data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shouldn’t feel like doing mental parkour… so we’re here to help!
In their bi-annual earnings report, you’ll see the ABS mention both ordinary time earnings (OTE) & total earnings and there are important differences between the two.
According to the ABS, the average OTE of a full-time Australian worker is $2,010 per week (or $104,520 per annum) pre-tax.
Sounds like a lot, hey? But if you’re not earning this much - don’t feel bad!
While this figure is reflective of the Australian population, it’s also a little misleading because the average is calculated by summing up all the salaries in the dataset.
So it can be skewed upwards thanks to the 1%-ers who earn massive salaries. Think major CEOs of listed companies who get paid multi-million dollar salaries.
💡 Fun fact: the CEO of Macquarie, Shemara Wikramanayake earns the highest salary in Australia of over $30 million!
Although a big difference between male and female salaries remains, the gender pay gap narrowed slightly from 11.9% to 11.5% compared to previous earnings data collected.
In Australia, mining is the highest paid industry and most mining companies are based in WA. Meanwhile, many politicians and professional consultants are based in ACT, increasing the overall salaries of the state.
Were you surprised by any of the figures in this report?
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