How air traffic controller pay compares to the national average
Air traffic controllers are responsible for the safe and efficient movement of aircraft in controlled airspace and aerodromes. It is a highly skilled occupation with significant responsibility. However, when it comes to published salary data, the picture is incomplete. The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not release a median or average weekly earnings figure for air traffic controllers (ANZSCO 231112) in its Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours. Jobs and Skills Australia also lists median weekly earnings as not available. This is typical for smaller occupations where sample sizes are too small to produce reliable estimates.
What we do know from the ABS 2021 Census and Jobs and Skills Australia is that there are about 1,600 employed air traffic controllers, 83% of whom work full-time. The average full-time hours per week are 38 hours—exactly the standard used on this site to convert weekly pay to an annual figure. The median age is 41, and only 17% of the workforce is female. The main industries are Transport, Postal and Warehousing, and Public Administration and Safety.
What the data shows
While we cannot give a precise air traffic controller salary, we can place the occupation in context using the national full-time average. According to the ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey for May 2026, full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings are $2,083.70, which works out to about $108,352 per year. This is the reference line on this site. For comparison, the full-time adult median (from the ABS Employee Earnings survey, August 2025) is about $90,532 per year, and the all-employees median is about $74,100.
Air traffic controllers are likely to earn above the national median given the skill level, responsibility, and typical employer. Many work for Airservices Australia, a government business enterprise, or for the Department of Defence. Public sector full-time average weekly ordinary time earnings are $2,263.10 (about $117,681 per year), which is higher than the private sector average of $2,034.10 (about $105,773 per year). If air traffic controllers are predominantly in the public sector, their pay may align more closely with that figure.
A resident take-home sketch
To give a sense of what a typical air traffic controller might take home after tax, we can use the national full-time average as a proxy. On a salary of $108,352 per year, a resident for tax purposes in 2026–27 would pay:
- Nil tax on the first $18,200
- 15% on the next $26,800 ($4,020)
- 30% on the next $90,000 ($27,000) – but only $63,352 falls into this bracket (from $45,001 to $108,352), so $19,005.60
- Total tax: $23,025.60
- Plus Medicare levy of 2% on all taxable income: $2,167.04
- Total tax and Medicare: $25,192.64
- Net annual take-home: about $83,159.36, or $1,599.22 per week.
If the actual air traffic controller salary is higher—say, closer to the public sector average of $117,681—the tax would be higher, but so would the net pay. The point is that the national average provides a useful benchmark.
For a more personalised comparison, you can place a salary on the line to see how it stacks up against the national average, or explore state and territory averages to see how location affects pay. You can also browse job medians for other occupations with published data.
Where to find more information
If you are an air traffic controller or employer looking for official pay rates, the best sources are enterprise agreements (such as the Airservices Australia Enterprise Agreement) or the relevant award. The national minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 per hour, $1,004.90 per week, or about $52,255 per year on a 38-hour week, but air traffic controllers are covered by specific arrangements that pay well above this.
For broader earnings context, the ABS publishes Average Weekly Earnings twice a year (May and November), and the Employee Earnings and Hours survey provides medians every two years. The Guides on this site explain how these figures are collected and what they mean.