The National Line and Where You Stand
The national full-time adult ordinary-time average, as measured by the ABS Average Weekly Earnings for May 2026, sits at $2083.70 a week, or about $108,352 a year. This is the line that the site uses to show where your pay falls. But not every worker or every employer lines up neatly with that figure. Your state, your award, and even a benefit like an ADF salary sacrifice car can shift your effective pay away from the national average.
What the National Average Covers
The ABS figure is for full-time adult employees in ordinary-time earnings, before tax. It includes all industries and states, but it does not break out the Australian Defence Force separately. The ADF is a unique employer: its members are covered by the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal, not by the Fair Work Commission or an award under the Fair Work Act. That means ADF pay is set through a different process, and the ABS does not publish a specific average for ADF members in the same way it does for, say, mining or retail.
If you are in the ADF and you use a salary sacrifice car arrangement, your taxable income is reduced. But the site asks for your yearly salary before tax. That is the figure you should enter: your base salary before any sacrifice. The tool then compares that pre-sacrifice amount to the national line. If your pre-sacrifice salary is above $108,352, you are above the line; if below, you are below it.
State Averages Can Pull You Away
Where you live and work also matters. The ABS Average Weekly Earnings for May 2026 gives state full-time averages that differ from the national figure. For example:
- Australian Capital Territory: about $119,090
- Western Australia: about $115,825
- New South Wales: about $109,658
- Victoria: about $106,137
- Queensland: about $106,064
- South Australia: about $102,450
- Northern Territory: about $103,173
- Tasmania: about $96,008
If you are an ADF member posted to the ACT, your pre-sacrifice salary might be closer to that state's average than to the national line. Conversely, a posting to Tasmania could put you further above the state average if your ADF pay is higher than the local civilian rate. The site lets you Place a salary on the line and see the distance from the national average, but you can also check States and territories to see how your state compares.
Award and Tribunal Differences
The national minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 an hour, or about $52,255 a year on a 38-hour week. Award minimums rose by 4.75% from that date. But the ADF is not under an award. The Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal sets pay scales by rank and trade, and those scales are generally above the national minimum. ADF members also receive allowances and benefits, such as housing or the salary sacrifice car, that are not captured in the ordinary-time earnings measure.
When you compare your pay to the national line, remember that the line is an average of all full-time adults, not a median. The full-time median from the ABS Employee earnings (August 2025) is about $90,532, and the all-employees median is about $74,100. So the average is pulled up by higher earners. If your ADF salary is around the median, you may be below the national average line even if you are above the median.
How Salary Sacrifice Changes the Picture
A salary sacrifice car arrangement reduces your taxable income. For example, if your pre-sacrifice salary is $100,000 and you sacrifice $15,000 for a car lease, your taxable income becomes $85,000. But the line uses the pre-sacrifice $100,000. So on the site, you would enter $100,000 and see that you are about $8,352 below the national average. If you entered the post-sacrifice amount, you would appear further below. Always use the pre-sacrifice figure.
The ATO sets the rules for salary sacrifice. For 2026–27, the tax brackets are: nil up to $18,200; 15% from $18,201 to $45,000; 30% from $45,001 to $135,000; 37% from $135,001 to $190,000; and 45% above $190,000. The Medicare levy of 2% applies before any reductions. Salary sacrifice lowers your taxable income, which can reduce your tax and Medicare levy, but it does not change the pre-sacrifice salary that the site uses for the line.
Why the Line Matters
The line is a benchmark. It is not a target or a guarantee. If you are an ADF member with a salary sacrifice car, your pre-sacrifice salary might be above the national average, especially if you are a senior rank. But if you are a junior member, you might be below it. The site’s chart draws your position relative to the line, and you can see the gap in weekly and hourly terms on a 38-hour week.
For more context on how different industries and occupations compare, see Job medians and Industry medians. The Guides section also explains how the figures are set and what they mean for your pay.
A Final Note on Sources
The national average is from the ABS Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026. Medians are from ABS Employee earnings, August 2025. The minimum wage is from Fair Work, effective 1 July 2026. The ADF pay structure is not published in those datasets, so the site does not have a specific ADF average. You can still use the tool by entering your pre-sacrifice salary and seeing where it lands against the national line.
If you want to understand how the line is calculated, visit How the figures are set. For more about the site’s purpose, see About this site.