Engineering salary in Australia: a take-home sketch
If you're asking about an engineering salary in Australia, the first thing to know is that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) does not publish a single average for the occupation 'engineer'. Instead, the best public proxy is the Professional, scientific & technical services industry, which covers engineering design, consulting, and technical services. According to the ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey for May 2026, full-time adult ordinary-time earnings in that industry were $2,389.60 per week, or about $124,259 a year (multiplied by 52 weeks).
That figure sits well above the national full-time adult ordinary-time average of $2,083.70 per week ($108,352 a year) – the line this site uses as its reference. It also exceeds the full-time median of about $1,887 per week ($98,124 a year) and the all-employees median of $1,436 per week ($74,672 a year) from the ABS Employee Earnings and Hours survey (August 2025).
What the ABS data tells us about engineering pay
The ABS Employee Earnings and Hours survey (May 2025) gives a broader view: all Professionals (which includes engineers, accountants, IT specialists, and others) earned an average of $2,049.60 per week in total cash earnings. That's about $106,579 a year. The same survey shows that Professionals had an average hourly rate of $64.50, the second-highest of any occupation group after Managers ($69.20).
Engineering is a diverse field. A civil engineer working in construction may earn differently from a software engineer in IT or a mechanical engineer in manufacturing. The industry breakdown from the ABS Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026, shows that Construction full-time ordinary-time earnings were $2,032.30 per week, Manufacturing $2,041.10, and Information media & telecommunications $2,714.10. So an engineer in tech could earn significantly more than the professional services average.
Take-home pay: a resident's perspective
Using the professional services industry average of $124,259 a year, here's a rough take-home calculation for a resident taxpayer in 2026–27:
- Taxable income: $124,259
- Tax on first $18,200: $0
- Tax on $18,201 to $45,000: 15% of $26,800 = $4,020
- Tax on $45,001 to $124,259: 30% of $79,259 = $23,777.70
- Total tax: $27,797.70
- Medicare levy (2%): $2,485.18
- Net annual income: about $93,976
- Net weekly income: about $1,807
Compare that to the national full-time average of $108,352:
- Tax: $23,025.60
- Medicare: $2,167.04
- Net annual: about $83,159
- Net weekly: about $1,599
So an engineer on the industry average takes home roughly $10,800 more per year than someone on the national average. That gap narrows if you consider the full-time median ($98,124) – net about $75,500 – or widens if you're in a higher-paying engineering subfield.
How engineering pay compares by state
The ABS Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026, also gives state-by-state full-time averages. An engineer's salary will vary depending on where they work:
- New South Wales: $2,108.80 per week ($109,658 a year)
- Victoria: $2,041.10 ($106,137)
- Queensland: $2,039.70 ($106,064)
- South Australia: $1,970.20 ($102,450)
- Western Australia: $2,227.40 ($115,825)
- Tasmania: $1,846.30 ($96,008)
- Northern Territory: $1,984.10 ($103,173)
- Australian Capital Territory: $2,290.20 ($119,090)
Western Australia and the ACT have the highest state averages, partly due to mining and public-sector engineering roles. Tasmania is the lowest. The professional services industry average of $2,389.60 is above every state average except the ACT – reflecting that engineering services are often concentrated in higher-paying sectors.
The minimum wage and award rates
For context, the national minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 per hour, or $1,004.90 per week on a 38-hour week – about $52,255 a year. Award minimums for engineering trades and technical roles rose by 4.75% in the 2025–26 review. A graduate engineer on a professional award might start around $70,000–$80,000, but most engineers are covered by individual agreements or enterprise bargains that pay well above the minimum.
Where to go from here
If you want to place a salary on the line and see how it compares to the national average, the tool on this site uses the ABS figure of $2,083.70 per week. You can also explore state and territory averages or industry medians to see how engineering pay varies across Australia. For a deeper look at how the ABS collects these figures, see how the figures are set.
Remember: the figures here are averages and medians. Your own engineering salary will depend on your specialisation, experience, employer, and location. The take-home sketch above is a guide – actual tax outcomes depend on deductions, offsets, and other factors.
Key takeaways
- The ABS does not publish a single 'engineering salary'. The best proxy is the Professional, scientific & technical services industry average: $2,389.60 per week ($124,259 a year).
- That is about 15% above the national full-time average of $2,083.70.
- After tax and Medicare, the industry average yields roughly $93,976 a year in take-home pay.
- Engineering salaries vary widely by state and sub-industry. Western Australia and the ACT are the highest-paying states.
- The national minimum wage and award rates are much lower; most engineers earn well above these floors.
For more context on how your pay stacks up, check the job medians page or the guides on salary negotiation and benchmarking.