The National Full-Time Average Line
This site uses the national full-time adult ordinary-time average as its benchmark. According to the ABS Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026, that figure is $2,083.70 per week, which works out to about $108,352 per year (multiplied by 52). When you place a salary on the line, you see how your own pay compares to this national marker.
Reading Your Pay as a Year, Week, and Hour
The contact smart salary tool on this site lets you enter your yearly pre-tax salary and instantly see it broken down into a weekly figure and an hourly figure, based on a standard 38-hour week. It also shows the dollar distance between your pay and the national full-time average. This makes it easy to understand where you sit in the broader Australian earnings landscape.
For example, if your annual salary is exactly the national average, you would see $2,083.70 per week and about $54.83 per hour. If you earn more or less, the tool highlights the gap.
How Your Pay Compares
The national full-time average is just one reference point. The ABS also publishes medians: the full-time median is about $90,532 per year (ABS Employee Earnings, August 2025), and the all-employees median is about $74,100 per year. These medians tell you the midpoint of earnings – half of all workers earn less, half earn more.
For men, the full-time ordinary-time average is about $113,412 per year; for women, about $100,594 per year. These figures come from the same ABS survey and reflect ongoing differences in earnings by sex.
Understanding the Averages and Medians
It is important to keep the average and median distinct. The average is pulled higher by very high incomes, while the median better represents the typical worker. The ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey is designed to measure the level of average gross weekly earnings, not the earnings of the 'average person'. Changes in the average can be affected by shifts in the composition of the workforce, not just individual pay rises.
The ABS publishes these estimates twice a year, for May and November. The May 2026 release is the most recent. The survey collects data for the last pay period ending on or before the third Friday of May. It excludes irregular payments such as annual bonuses, so caution is advised if using these figures to derive annualised earnings.
State and Territory Averages
Full-time average earnings vary across Australia. Based on the on-site figures derived from the ABS, the state and territory averages are:
- New South Wales: about $109,658 per year
- Victoria: about $106,137 per year
- Queensland: about $106,064 per year
- South Australia: about $102,450 per year
- Western Australia: about $115,825 per year
- Tasmania: about $96,008 per year
- Northern Territory: about $103,173 per year
- Australian Capital Territory: about $119,090 per year
These are full-time adult ordinary-time averages, annualised. You can explore more detail on the states and territories page.
Tax and Take-Home Pay
Understanding your gross salary is only part of the picture. For the 2026–27 income year, the ATO has set the following resident tax rates:
- Nil on the first $18,200
- 15% on income from $18,201 to $45,000
- 30% on income from $45,001 to $135,000
- 37% on income from $135,001 to $190,000
- 45% on income above $190,000
A Medicare levy of 2% applies before any reductions. These rates are for residents and do not include the Medicare levy surcharge or other offsets. The contact smart salary tool shows your pre-tax figures, but you can use the tax brackets to estimate your take-home pay.
The National Minimum Wage
Fair Work sets the national minimum wage, which from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 per hour, or $1,004.90 per week on a 38-hour week, annualising to about $52,255 per year. Award minimum wages increased by 4.75% from the same date. This is the legal floor for award-free employees, and many workers are covered by awards or enterprise agreements that pay more.
Putting It All Together
When you contact smart salary on this site, you get a clear, three-way view of your pay: as a year, a week, and an hour. You also see how far you are from the national full-time average. Whether you are checking your own salary, negotiating a raise, or just curious, this tool gives you a quick and reliable comparison based on official ABS data.
For more context, explore the job medians and industry medians pages, or read about how the figures are set. The national average is updated twice a year with each ABS release, so you can always come back to see how the line has moved.