Architect salary Melbourne: where the national line meets the award and the state
Every salary on this site is measured against the national full-time adult ordinary-time average: $2,083.70 a week, or about $108,352 a year, drawn from the ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey for May 2026. That is the line. For an architect working in Melbourne, the figure you actually take home can sit well below or above that line, depending on your classification, your experience, and the fact that you are in Victoria rather than, say, Western Australia or the ACT.
The award sets the floor
The Architects Award 2020 (MA000079) is the legally enforceable minimum for the occupation. It covers graduates of architecture, experienced graduates, and registered architects. The rates that apply from 1 July 2026 are published by Fair Work and are national – they do not vary by state. For a graduate of architecture at the entry pay point, the minimum annual salary is $68,191 (weekly $1,307.20). After two pay points that rises to $75,401. An experienced graduate (Level 2(a)) earns at least $78,838. A registered architect starts at the same $78,838 and can progress to $83,716 (Level 2(b), second pay point).
These are minimums. Many architecture firms in Melbourne pay above the award, especially for registered architects with several years of experience. The award also includes higher rates for casual employees and penalty rates for public holidays and overtime. The hourly rate for a full-time registered architect at the top pay point is $42.23, which is well above the national minimum wage of $26.44 per hour (from 1 July 2026).
Victoria’s average provides the context
Melbourne is in Victoria, and the ABS state-level data for May 2026 gives Victoria’s full-time adult ordinary-time average as $2,041.10 per week, or about $106,137 a year. That is about $2,200 a year below the national line. So an architect earning exactly the Victorian average would be slightly below the national line. But an architect on the award minimum for a registered architect ($83,716) is about $22,400 below the Victorian average. That gap reflects the fact that the award is a floor, not a typical salary.
For comparison, the full-time average in New South Wales is $109,658, in Queensland $106,064, and in Western Australia $115,825. The highest is the ACT at $119,090. The lowest is Tasmania at $96,008. Melbourne architects, therefore, sit in a mid-range state. If you are an architect in Melbourne earning above the award, you might be close to or even above the Victorian average, especially if you work in a large commercial practice or in the public sector (where the national public-sector full-time average is $117,648).
What the ABS does and does not tell us
The ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey does not publish a separate figure for architects. It breaks earnings down by industry (e.g., professional, scientific and technical services) and by state, but not by occupation. For occupation-specific medians, the ABS Employee Earnings and Hours survey (most recently August 2025) gives a full-time median of about $90,532 and an all-employees median of about $74,100. Those medians cover all occupations, not just architects. The site’s Job medians page can help you compare, but for architects you will need to rely on the award minimums and state averages as the best publicly available benchmarks.
How the line works for you
When you Place a salary on the line, the tool converts your yearly figure to a weekly amount (based on a 38-hour week) and shows how far it is from the national full-time average. For an architect in Melbourne, entering $83,716 (the top award minimum) would show a weekly figure of about $1,604.80 and a distance of about $479 below the line. Entering $106,137 (the Victorian average) would put you about $42 below the line. Entering $115,000 would put you about $6,648 above the line.
Remember that the national line is an average, not a target. Many occupations sit below it, many sit above. The award ensures a minimum, and the state average gives a realistic marker for Melbourne. The States and territories page lets you compare Victoria with other parts of Australia, and the Guides section explains how awards and enterprise agreements interact with the line.
Tax and take-home pay
For the 2026–27 income year, the resident tax rates 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 (with reductions for low incomes). An architect on $83,716 would pay about $17,217 in tax plus $1,674 Medicare levy, leaving a take-home of about $64,825. On $106,137, tax and Medicare would be about $24,450, leaving about $81,687. On $115,000, take-home would be about $87,100. These are rough estimates; the ATO provides a more precise calculator.
The bottom line
Architect salary in Melbourne is not a single number. It ranges from the award floor of around $68,000 for a new graduate to well over $100,000 for a senior registered architect in a competitive firm. The national line of $108,352 is a useful reference, but your actual position depends on your classification, your employer, and the fact that Victoria’s average is slightly below the national figure. Use the site’s tools to see where your salary sits, and check the How the figures are set page for the methodology behind the averages and medians.