Legal assistant salary and the national full-time average
If you are a legal assistant or considering the role, you might wonder how the pay compares with the typical Australian full-time worker. The national benchmark is the ABS Average Weekly Earnings figure for full-time adult ordinary-time earnings, which stood at $2,083.70 per week in May 2026 (about $108,352 per year). That is the line on this site. But a legal assistant’s salary is often set by a different yardstick: the Legal Services Award.
The award minimum for legal assistants
Fair Work’s Legal Services Award (MA000116) covers legal clerical and administrative employees. The pay guide effective from 1 July 2026 lists two common classifications:
- Legal clerical and administrative employee, level 1 – $1,073.10 per week ($28.24 per hour)
- Legal clerical and administrative employee, level 2 – $1,119.10 per week ($29.45 per hour)
These are minimum rates. Many legal assistants are paid above the award, especially if they work in private practice in a major city or have several years of experience. But the award gives a clear floor.
How the award rate sits against the national average
At $1,073.10 per week, a level 1 legal assistant earns about 51.5% of the national full-time average of $2,083.70. Even the level 2 rate ($1,119.10) is only 53.7% of the average. That is a large gap, but it is important to remember that the national average includes all full-time occupations – from managers and professionals to trades and labourers. Legal assistants are typically classified as clerical workers, and the median earnings for all employees (full-time and part-time) in August 2025 was $1,425 per week, according to the ABS. The full-time median was about $1,741 per week ($90,532 per year). So the award minimum for a legal assistant is also below the full-time median.
Why state and sector matter
The national average masks big differences across states. For example:
- Australian Capital Territory – full-time average about $2,290 per week ($119,090 per year)
- Western Australia – about $2,227 per week ($115,825 per year)
- Tasmania – about $1,846 per week ($96,008 per year)
A legal assistant in Canberra or Perth might command a higher salary than one in Hobart, even though the award minimum is the same everywhere. The public sector also pays more on average: the ABS reports full-time adult ordinary-time earnings in the public sector at $2,263.10 per week, compared with $2,034.10 in the private sector. Legal assistants in government legal offices may therefore earn more than those in private firms.
Other benchmarks: minimum wage and medians
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 per year). The legal assistant award rate is above that, but not by a huge margin. The ABS also publishes median hourly earnings for all employees: $42.90 per hour in August 2025. The legal assistant award hourly rate ($28.24) is well below that median, reflecting the clerical nature of the role.
What this means for your salary check
If you are a legal assistant, your actual pay may be higher than the award if you have a collective agreement or an individual arrangement. The ABS notes that individual arrangement is the most common method of setting pay (38.5% of employees), followed by collective agreement (34.6%). So many legal assistants are not on the award rate. To see where your salary sits on the line, you can place a salary on the line and compare it with the national full-time average, your state average, or the award minimum.
You can also explore states and territories to see how your location affects the benchmark, or check job medians for clerical and administrative roles. For more detail on how the ABS calculates these figures, see how the figures are set.
A note on taxes
If you earn the legal assistant award minimum of $55,801 per year (level 1, $1,073.10 × 52), your 2026–27 tax would be roughly:
- Nil on the first $18,200
- 15% on the next $26,800 (to $45,000)
- 30% on the remaining $10,801 Plus the 2% Medicare levy (before any reductions). That works out to about $7,600 in tax and Medicare, leaving a take-home of about $48,200 per year. The national full-time average earner ($108,352) would pay about $26,700 in tax and Medicare, taking home about $81,650.
Final thoughts
The legal assistant salary under the award is a clear example of how a specific occupation can sit well below the national full-time average. But the award is only a floor. Actual salaries vary by state, sector, experience, and bargaining power. Use the tools on this site to see how your own pay compares.
For more reading, see our guides on understanding award rates and negotiating salary.