The national full-time average
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Average Weekly Earnings survey for May 2026 puts full-time adult ordinary-time earnings at $2,083.70 per week. Multiplied by 52, that works out to about $108,352 a year. This is the benchmark used by Average line to show where any salary sits relative to the typical full-time worker. The figure has risen 3.7% annually, reflecting moderate wage growth across the economy.
Medians and the minimum wage
Averages can be pulled up by high earners, so medians give a clearer picture of the typical worker. The ABS Employee Earnings and Hours survey (August 2025) reports a full-time median of about $1,674 per week, or roughly $90,532 a year. For all employees (including part-time and casual), the median is about $1,436 per week, or $74,100 a year. At the bottom end, the national minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 per hour, or $1,004.90 per week on a 38-hour week, which comes to about $52,255 a year. Award minimums rose 4.75% at the same time.
How Ally Langdon's current pay compares
Ally Langdon, host of A Current Affair on Nine, is reported to be on a package worth $1.4 million per year, according to. That is about 13 times the national full-time average of $108,352. It dwarfs the full-time median of $90,532 and the all-employees median of $74,100. Even the highest state full-time average – the Australian Capital Territory at about $119,090 – is less than a tenth of Langdon's reported salary. Her pay places her far above the typical Australian worker, but within the television industry it is still significantly less than top male talent.
The gender pay gap in context
Langdon's $1.4 million is less than half of her former Today show co-host Karl Stefanovic's $3 million salary, according to the same article. This mirrors the broader gender pay gap. The ABS reports that men's full-time ordinary-time earnings average $2,181.50 per week (about $113,412 a year), while women's average $1,934.50 per week (about $100,594 a year). In the public sector, the gap is narrower: men average $2,399.30 per week (public) vs $2,154.00 (public), but in the private sector the gap is wider: $2,139.50 vs $1,840.80. Langdon's situation highlights how even at the top of the earnings scale, the gap persists even when a woman is the network's most influential female star.
What would move this pay above or below the average
For a salary to be above the national full-time average, it needs to exceed $108,352 per year. A salary below that line would be anything less than that. Langdon's $1.4 million is far above that line. To be below the average, a salary would need to be less than $108,352. Most Australian workers earn below that: the all-employees median is $74,100, and the minimum wage is $52,255. The average is pulled up by high earners like Langdon. If she secures a raise to match Stefanovic's $3 million, her salary would be about 28 times the average, further widening the gap between top media salaries and typical earnings.
How the figures are set
The ABS calculates Average Weekly Earnings twice a year – for May and November. The next release will be for November 2026 in February 2027. The data is based on a survey of employers and measures ordinary-time earnings for full-time adults, excluding overtime. Medians come from the Employee Earnings and Hours survey, also from the ABS. The minimum wage is set by Fair Work each financial year. Place a salary on the line to see how any figure compares to the national average. For more on how the data is compiled, see How the figures are set.