The national full-time average and where the NBL salary cap fits
Every salary benchmark needs a reference point. On this site, the line is drawn at the national full-time adult ordinary-time average: $2,083.70 a week, or about $108,352 a year, according to the ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey for May 2026. That figure comes from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and is updated twice a year, in May and November. It represents the average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults, before tax, and is the most widely used measure of typical full-time pay in Australia.
But not everyone earns that amount. The NBL salary cap, which governs how much a National Basketball League team can spend on player salaries, is a completely different benchmark. It is not published by the ABS, Fair Work, or the ATO, and it is not part of the national wage data. The cap is set through collective bargaining between the league and the players' union, and it changes from season to season. Without an official public figure from the NBL, we cannot place it precisely on the line. What we can do is explain how the national average is built and why a professional athlete's pay can sit far from it.
How the national average is calculated
The ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey collects data from employers across all industries and states. The May 2026 release shows that full-time adult ordinary-time earnings rose 3.7 per cent annually to $2,083.70. That is the average for all full-time adults, but it hides a lot of variation. Men earn a higher average ($2,181.50 per week, or about $113,438 a year) than women ($1,934.50 per week, or about $100,594 a year). The public sector average ($2,263.10) is higher than the private sector ($2,034.10). And state averages range from $96,008 in Tasmania to $119,090 in the Australian Capital Territory.
These differences come from the mix of industries, occupations, and hours in each state. For example, Western Australia's high average ($115,825) reflects a large mining and resources sector, while Tasmania's lower average ($96,008) reflects a higher share of hospitality and retail jobs. The national average is a weighted mean, so it moves when the composition of the workforce changes. If more high-paying jobs are created in one state, the national figure rises even if individual wages stay the same.
Medians tell a different story
The average can be pulled up by very high earners. The median gives a better sense of what a typical full-time worker earns. According to the ABS Employee Earnings survey for August 2025, the median weekly earnings for full-time employees was $1,741, which works out to about $90,532 a year. That is about $18,000 below the average. For all employees (including part-time and casual), the median was $1,425 a week, or about $74,100 a year. Half of all employees earn less than that.
If the NBL salary cap were known, it would almost certainly be well above both the average and the median. Professional athletes in major leagues are among the highest-paid workers in the country. But the cap itself is a team-level limit, not an individual salary. A star player might earn several times the cap average, while a rookie on a minimum contract might earn less than the national full-time average. Without the actual cap figure, we can only say that the NBL operates in a different labour market from the one measured by the ABS.
Award wages and the minimum
For most Australian workers, pay is set by modern awards or enterprise agreements. The national minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 per hour, or $1,004.90 per week on a 38-hour week, which comes to about $52,255 a year. That is the floor. Award minimums rose by 4.75 per cent in the 2026 Annual Wage Review, as published by Fair Work. The Modern Awards Pay Database contains the detailed rates for each classification, including wage-related allowances and penalty rates.
A worker on the minimum wage earns about half the national full-time average. Someone on a typical retail or hospitality award might earn between $55,000 and $70,000 a year, depending on penalties and loadings. These are the wages that most Australians live on. The NBL salary cap, by contrast, is negotiated in a completely different framework, under the Fair Work Act but through a specific enterprise agreement that covers players. That agreement sets minimum player salaries, but the cap itself is a league-wide constraint designed to maintain competitive balance.
State differences and the NBL
The NBL has teams in several states and territories. A player in Melbourne (Victoria) might be on a different contract value than a player in Cairns (Queensland), but the salary cap applies uniformly across the league. The state averages from the ABS show that full-time workers in Victoria earn about $106,137 a year, while those in Queensland earn about $106,064. These are close to the national average. But an NBL player's salary is not tied to the state they play in; it is determined by the team's cap space and the player's market value.
If you are an NBL fan trying to understand where the cap sits relative to typical wages, the best reference point is the national full-time average of $108,352. That is the line on this site. The cap is likely higher, but without an official public figure, we cannot say by how much. For a more precise comparison, you would need to consult the NBL's collective bargaining agreement or its annual salary cap announcement.
Using this site to place your own salary
If you want to see where your own pay sits against the national average, you can place a salary on the line. The tool takes a yearly figure before tax and shows you the weekly and hourly equivalents on a 38-hour week, plus the distance from the full-time average. You can also explore states and territories to see how averages differ across Australia. For industry-specific medians, check the industry medians page. And if you want to understand how the figures are set, read the guides and the about this site page.
Key takeaways
- The national full-time adult ordinary-time average is $2,083.70 per week ($108,352 per year) from ABS Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026.
- The full-time median is about $90,532 per year, and the all-employees median is about $74,100 per year (ABS Employee Earnings, August 2025).
- The national minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 per hour ($52,255 per year on 38 hours).
- The NBL salary cap is not published in any of these datasets. It is a league-specific figure set by collective bargaining.
- State averages range from $96,008 (Tasmania) to $119,090 (ACT), reflecting different industry mixes.
- Award minimums rose 4.75% in 2026, as per Fair Work's Modern Awards Pay Database.
Without the NBL salary cap figure, we cannot draw a direct line. But the national average provides a useful benchmark for understanding where professional sports pay sits in the broader Australian labour market.