What is the average salary for a production manager in Australia?

The ABS does not publish an average salary specifically for production managers. The most reliable figure is the median full-time weekly earnings of $2,298 from the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (May 2025), as reported by Jobs and Skills Australia. That works out to about $119,496 a year before tax. Because it is a median, half of full-time production managers earn more and half earn less. The national full-time ordinary-time average across all occupations is $2,083.70 per week ($108,352 a year), so production managers typically earn above that average.

How much take-home pay does a production manager get after tax?

Using the 2026–27 tax rates (nil up to $18,200, 15% to $45,000, 30% to $135,000, plus 2% Medicare levy), a production manager earning the median of $119,496 a year would pay roughly $26,369 in income tax and $2,390 in Medicare, leaving about $90,737 a year, or $1,745 per week. This is a rough estimate; individual circumstances such as deductions, HELP repayments, or family tax benefits will change the final amount.

How does a production manager salary compare by state?

State-level data for production managers specifically is not published. However, the ABS Average Weekly Earnings (May 2026) shows full-time ordinary-time averages by state: Western Australia ($115,825 a year), Australian Capital Territory ($119,090), New South Wales ($109,658), Victoria ($106,137), Queensland ($106,064), South Australia ($102,450), Northern Territory ($103,173), and Tasmania ($96,008). A production manager earning the national median of $119,496 would be above the state average in every state except the ACT, where it is roughly on par.

Production manager salary: how it compares to the national full-time average

Where the production manager salary sits against the national line

If you are a production manager in Australia, your pay is likely above the national full-time average. The most current published figure for the occupation is a median of $2,298 per week for full-time workers, according to the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (May 2025), as reported by Jobs and Skills Australia. That is about $119,496 a year before tax.

For context, the national full-time adult ordinary-time average from the ABS Average Weekly Earnings (May 2026) is $2,083.70 per week, or $108,352 a year. This site draws the line at that average. A production manager on the median earns roughly $214 more per week than the average worker across all occupations.

Median versus average

It is important to note that the production manager figure is a median, not an average. The median is the middle point: half of full-time production managers earn more than $2,298 a week, half earn less. The national average is pulled higher by very high earners, so the median for all full-time workers is lower — about $1,741 per week ($90,532 a year) from the ABS Employee Earnings survey (August 2025). That makes the production manager median about $557 per week above the all-occupations full-time median.

A take-home sketch

Using the 2026–27 resident tax rates and the 2% Medicare levy, a production manager earning the median of $119,496 a year would pay:

$0 on the first $18,200
$4,020 on the next $26,800 (15%)
$22,349 on the remaining $74,496 (30%)
Total income tax: about $26,369
Medicare levy: about $2,390
Take-home: roughly $90,737 a year, or $1,745 per week

This is before any deductions, HELP repayments, or offsets. It gives a sense of how the median production manager salary translates into weekly cash in hand.

How it compares to the minimum wage and award rates

The national minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is $26.44 per hour, $1,004.90 per week on a 38-hour week, or about $52,255 a year. Award minimums rose by 4.75% from that date. A production manager on the median earns more than double the minimum wage. Most production managers are covered by the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 or similar awards, which set higher minimum rates for classifications like Production Manager (Level 1 or 2). Those award rates are well below the median, reflecting that experienced managers typically negotiate above-award salaries.

State and territory differences

The ABS Average Weekly Earnings (May 2026) gives full-time ordinary-time averages by state. While production manager medians by state are not published, you can compare the national median to each state’s average:

Western Australia: $115,825 a year
Australian Capital Territory: $119,090
New South Wales: $109,658
Victoria: $106,137
Queensland: $106,064
South Australia: $102,450
Northern Territory: $103,173
Tasmania: $96,008

A production manager on the national median of $119,496 would be above the state average in every state except the ACT, where it is almost identical. In Western Australia, the gap is narrower because the state average is already high, partly due to mining and resources.

Where to find more detail

For a deeper look at how your salary compares to the national line, visit Place a salary on the line. You can also explore Job medians for other occupations or Industry medians to see how production managers stack up in manufacturing, mining, and other sectors.

What the data does not tell us

The median figure of $2,298 per week comes from the ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, which is the most authoritative source for occupation-level earnings. However, it does not break down by years of experience, company size, or geographic region within a state. It also excludes managers (the survey uses full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate), but the Jobs and Skills Australia profile for Production Managers includes all full-time workers in that occupation. The figure is a reliable benchmark but not a guarantee.

Key takeaway

A production manager in Australia typically earns above the national full-time average. The median of $2,298 per week ($119,496 a year) places the role well into the top half of full-time earners. After tax, the weekly take-home is around $1,745, assuming no deductions. For a personalised comparison, use the line tool on this site.

For more on how the figures are set, see How the figures are set. If you have questions about the methodology, About this site explains the sources and limitations.