Where the Australia minimum wage sits against the full-time average
If you are earning the Australia minimum wage, your yearly salary before tax is about $52,255 based on a 38-hour week. That figure comes from Fair Work’s national minimum wage rate of $26.44 an hour, effective from 1 July 2026. It is the legal floor for adult employees not covered by an award or registered agreement.
How does that compare to the national full-time average? The ABS Average Weekly Earnings (May 2026) reports the full-time adult ordinary-time average at $2083.70 a week, which works out to $108,352 a year. The minimum wage is therefore about 48% of the full-time average. In other words, a person on the minimum wage earns roughly half what the typical full-time worker earns.
The full-time average and medians
The site’s line is the ABS full-time average of $108,352. For context, the full-time median (from ABS Employee Earnings, August 2025) is about $90,532, and the all-employees median is about $74,100. The minimum wage sits well below both medians. Even the all-employees median, which includes part-time and casual workers, is about 42% higher than the minimum wage.
Men’s full-time average is about $113,412 and women’s about $100,594, so the minimum wage is less than half the male average and just over half the female average.
State full-time averages
Full-time averages vary across states and territories. The highest is the Australian Capital Territory at about $119,090, followed by Western Australia at $115,825 and New South Wales at $109,658. The lowest is Tasmania at $96,008. In every state, the minimum wage is well below the state full-time average. For example, in Tasmania, the minimum wage is about 54% of the state average; in the ACT, it is about 44%.
You can see how your own salary compares by using the Place a salary on the line tool, or explore state-by-state figures on the States and territories page.
How the minimum wage is set
Fair Work reviews the national minimum wage each financial year. The 2026–27 increase of 4.75% also applied to award minimum wages. The rate applies to employees who are not covered by an enterprise agreement or a modern award. If you are covered by an award, your minimum pay may be higher than the national minimum wage.
For more detail on how all the figures on this site are sourced, see How the figures are set.
Tax on the minimum wage
Using the ATO’s 2026–27 resident tax rates, a person earning exactly the minimum wage of $52,255 would pay:
- $0 on the first $18,200
- 15% on the next $26,800 (income from $18,201 to $45,000) = $4,020
- 30% on the remaining $7,255 (income from $45,001 to $52,255) = $2,176.50
- Total tax: about $6,196.50, plus the 2% Medicare levy ($1,045.10) before any offsets or reductions.
Take-home pay after tax and Medicare would be roughly $45,013. The effective tax rate is about 13.9%.
Award minimums and the minimum wage
Award minimum wages rose by the same 4.75% from 1 July 2026. Many award rates are higher than the national minimum wage. For example, a hospitality award may have a higher base rate for a level 1 employee. If you are on an award, your minimum pay is set by that award, not the national minimum wage. The national minimum wage acts as a safety net for those not covered by any other instrument.
What this means for you
If you are earning the minimum wage, your pay is significantly below the national full-time average and the full-time median. This is by design – the minimum wage is a floor, not a target. Most full-time workers earn more. To see where your salary sits on the line, use the Place a salary on the line tool. You can also compare your pay to industry medians on the Industry medians page.
Remember: the figures here are before tax and do not include superannuation. The national minimum wage includes the 4.75% increase from July 2026, but future reviews may change the rate.