Understanding the NRLW salary cap through national earnings benchmarks
The NRLW salary cap is a key figure in women's rugby league, but it is not a statistic collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) or the Fair Work Ombudsman. This site draws on official sources to help you compare any salary – including the NRLW cap if you have that figure – against the national full-time adult average.
What the official sources tell us
The ABS publishes Average Weekly Earnings twice a year. The latest release for May 2026 shows that full-time adult ordinary time earnings (seasonally adjusted) are $2,083.70 per week. Multiplied by 52 weeks, that is about $108,352 a year. This is the line the site uses as the national full-time average.
For a broader view, the ABS Employee Earnings survey (August 2025) gives medians:
- Full-time employees: median weekly earnings of $1,741, or about $90,532 a year.
- All employees (including part-time): median weekly earnings of $1,425, or about $74,100 a year.
These medians are lower than the average because high earners pull the average up.
The national minimum wage and awards
Fair Work sets the National Minimum Wage at $26.44 per hour from 1 July 2026, which is $1,004.90 per week or about $52,255 a year on a 38-hour week. Award minimums rose by 4.75% in the same review. Most employees are covered by an award or registered agreement, which may set higher rates.
Tax on your salary
For the 2026–27 financial year, resident tax rates are:
- Nil on the first $18,200
- 15% on income from $18,201 to $45,000
- 30% on income from $45,001 to $135,000
- 37% on income from $135,001 to $190,000
- 45% on income above $190,000
Plus a 2% Medicare levy (subject to reductions for low-income earners).
How the site converts your salary
When you enter a yearly salary before tax, the tool divides by 52 to get a weekly figure, then by 38 (the standard full-time week) to get an hourly rate. It then shows the distance from the ABS full-time average of $2,083.70 per week. This works for any salary, including the NRLW salary cap if you have that number.
State and territory averages
Full-time adult ordinary time earnings vary across Australia. The on-site notes give these annualised averages (×52):
- New South Wales: $109,658
- Victoria: $106,137
- Queensland: $106,064
- South Australia: $102,450
- Western Australia: $115,825
- Tasmania: $96,008
- Northern Territory: $103,173
- Australian Capital Territory: $119,090
You can explore these on the States and territories page.
Putting the NRLW salary cap in context
Without an official published figure from the ABS or Fair Work, we cannot state the NRLW salary cap here. However, if you know the cap (for example, from NRL announcements), you can enter it into the tool on Place a salary on the line to see how it compares to the national average, medians, and minimum wage. The site also shows the hourly equivalent, which is useful for understanding pay relative to a standard working week.
Why official sources matter
The ABS and Fair Work provide the most reliable benchmarks for Australian pay. Using these avoids speculation and ensures consistency. The NRLW salary cap is set by the league, not by government statistics, so it falls outside these sources. But the same comparison method applies to any salary.
Further reading
- Job medians – see median earnings by occupation
- Industry medians – compare across industries
- Guides – articles on understanding pay
- How the figures are set – methodology behind the averages
- About this site – more on the data sources