Where does a lawyer salary in Melbourne sit against the Australian full-time average?
If you are looking for a single, official figure for a lawyer salary in Melbourne, you will not find one in the main public datasets. The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not publish occupation-specific earnings in its Average Weekly Earnings survey, and Fair Work’s Legal Services Award covers only minimum rates for certain classifications. However, by combining the best available sources we can still give you a clear picture of how pay for lawyers in Melbourne compares with the national full-time average.
The national full-time average: the line to beat
The ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey for May 2026 reports that full-time adult ordinary time earnings (seasonally adjusted) are $2,083.70 per week. Multiplied by 52, that is about $108,352 a year. This is the figure this site uses as its line. It is the benchmark against which we measure every salary.
For context, the full-time median (from the ABS Employee Earnings and Hours survey, August 2025) is about $90,532 a year. The all-employees median is about $74,100. The national minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 per hour, or $52,255 a year on a 38-hour week. Award minimums rose by 4.75% from that date.
What we know about lawyer pay nationally
The most comprehensive recent survey of legal salaries in Australia is the College of Law 2025 Australian Legal Salary Survey. It collected responses from more than 1,100 legal professionals and found an average base salary of $109,353 – a 7% increase from the previous year. That figure is just above the national full-time average of $108,352. The survey also reports an average bonus of $15,247, though only about one in three professionals received one.
It is important to note that the College of Law survey is a private industry survey, not an official government statistic. It covers all of Australia, not Melbourne specifically. But it is the best available indicator of what lawyers earn across the country.
The Fair Work minimums for legal roles
If you are working under the Legal Services Award 2020, your minimum pay is set by Fair Work. The award covers legal clerical and administrative employees, law graduates, and law clerks. It does not cover qualified solicitors or barristers, who are usually employed under individual contracts or enterprise agreements.
As of 1 July 2026, the weekly minimum rates are:
- Legal clerical and administrative employee, Level 1: $1,073.10
- Legal clerical and administrative employee, Level 2: $1,119.10
- Legal clerical and administrative employee, Level 3: $1,182.10
- Legal clerical and administrative employee, Level 4: $1,241.40
- Law graduate, Level 5: $1,291.80
- Law clerk, Level 6: $1,369.20
These are the legal minimums. Most lawyers in Melbourne earn well above these figures.
Victoria’s state average: a useful proxy
The ABS provides full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings by state. For Victoria, the figure is $2,041.10 per week, or about $106,137 per year. That is slightly below the national average of $108,352. However, legal professionals in Melbourne – the state’s capital and largest legal market – typically earn above the state average. The College of Law national average of $109,353 is above both the Victorian and national averages.
Putting it all together
While there is no official “lawyer salary Melbourne” figure, the evidence points to lawyers in Melbourne earning around or above the national full-time average of $108,352. The national legal average of $109,353 from the College of Law survey supports this. The Victorian state average of $106,137 is a lower bound, but Melbourne’s concentration of top-tier firms and corporate legal departments likely pushes pay higher.
If you want to see how your own salary compares, you can place a salary on the line and see where it falls relative to the national full-time average. You can also explore state and territory averages or look at job medians for other roles. For more detail on how these figures are set, see the data page.
What about the gender pay gap?
The College of Law survey reports an average gender pay gap of 16% among legal professionals, up from 10% the previous year. The ABS data for all full-time adults shows men’s average ordinary time earnings at $2,181.50 per week (about $113,438 a year) and women’s at $1,934.50 per week (about $100,594 a year). The gap persists across the profession.
Tax on a lawyer salary in Melbourne
If you earn a lawyer salary in Melbourne, your 2026–27 tax is calculated on the resident tax rates: nil on the first $18,200, then 15% up to $45,000, 30% up to $135,000, 37% up to $190,000, and 45% above that. The Medicare levy of 2% applies on top, though some people qualify for reductions. For a salary of $109,353, the tax (excluding Medicare) would be about $25,267, plus the Medicare levy of about $2,187.
Final thoughts
A lawyer salary in Melbourne is not published as a single number by the ABS or Fair Work, but the available data suggests it sits at or above the national full-time average. The College of Law survey provides the best national benchmark, and the Victorian state average gives a local reference. If you need a precise figure for your own circumstances, consider using the Guides section for tips on salary negotiation and benchmarking.
For more information on how this site calculates the line, visit About this site.