Midwife salary and the national average
Midwifery is a skilled profession that sits within the health care and social assistance industry. According to the latest data from the ABS, the median full-time midwife earns $2,114 per week before tax. That figure comes from the Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, and is the median for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate. It is a useful benchmark because it excludes managers, part-time workers and juniors, giving a clearer picture of typical pay for the role.
How does that compare with the national full-time average? The ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey for May 2026 puts full-time adult ordinary-time earnings at $2,083.70 per week, or about $108,352 a year. So the typical midwife is earning slightly above that line. But there are important distinctions: the national figure is a mean, while the midwife figure is a median. Means can be pulled up by very high earners, whereas the median represents the middle of the distribution. For midwives, the median being above the mean for all occupations suggests that midwifery pay is relatively compressed and above the centre of the overall workforce.
Part-time work and total earnings
Only 43% of midwives work full-time hours, according to Jobs and Skills Australia. That is well below the all-occupations average of 69%. The median hourly earnings for midwives are $56, compared with $47 for all occupations. For a midwife working part-time, say 24 hours a week, the weekly pay would be around $1,344 before tax, which is below the national full-time average but still above the all-employees median of $1,436 per week. The high part-time share means that many midwives earn less annually than the full-time average, even though their hourly rate is strong.
How midwife pay is set
Most midwives are covered by the Nurses and Midwives Award or by enterprise agreements in public hospitals. The national minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 per hour, or $1,004.90 per week on a 38-hour week. Award minimums rose by 4.75% in that adjustment. The median hourly rate of $56 is well above the award floor, reflecting experience, qualifications and shift loadings. Midwives in senior roles, such as clinical midwifery consultants, can earn significantly more.
State and territory differences
The national full-time average masks variation across states. For example, the full-time average in the Australian Capital Territory is $119,090, while in Tasmania it is $96,008. Midwives working in higher-paying states may see their pay pulled above the national average, while those in lower-paying states may sit closer to the median. Unfortunately, state-level midwife medians are not published, but you can compare your location using our States and territories page.
What would move a midwife’s pay above or below the average?
Several factors can push a midwife’s earnings above the national full-time line:
- Experience and seniority: A midwife with ten years of experience will typically earn more than a new graduate. The median figure of $2,114 already reflects a mix of experience levels.
- Overtime and penalties: Shift work, weekends and public holidays attract loadings that can lift weekly earnings well above the base rate.
- Public vs private sector: Public hospital enterprise agreements often have higher base rates and better penalties than private hospitals.
- Location: Remote and regional areas may offer incentives or higher award rates.
- Full-time vs part-time: Working full-time obviously increases weekly pay, but many midwives choose part-time hours for work-life balance.
Conversely, a midwife working part-time, or one in a lower-paid private facility, may earn below the national average. New graduates also start on lower award rates until they gain experience.
How to use this information
If you are a midwife or considering the career, you can Place a salary on the line to see where your pay sits relative to the national full-time average. You can also explore Job medians for other health professions or Industry medians for health care and social assistance. For a deeper look at how figures are collected, see How the figures are set.
Tax and take-home pay
Remember that the figures quoted are before tax. For the 2026–27 income year, the tax-free threshold is $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 to most taxpayers. A midwife earning the median full-time amount of $2,114 per week would have an annual salary of about $109,928 (52 weeks), placing them in the 30% marginal tax bracket. After tax and Medicare, take-home pay would be roughly $80,000–$85,000 depending on deductions.
Final thoughts
Midwifery offers pay that is competitive with the national full-time average, especially given the high hourly rate. The profession’s high part-time share means that not every midwife will reach that full-time benchmark, but for those working full-time hours, earnings are solid. The data from the ABS and Jobs and Skills Australia provides a reliable picture, and you can use this site to compare your own salary against the national line.
For more guidance, see our Guides on understanding salary data and award rates.